The Good, Bad and Ugly covering the Avalanche preseason

The past week with the Colorado Avalanche provided some interesting preseason moments as well as a lot of player movement, while offering glimpses of Coach Jared Bednar’s systems.

THE GOOD

1. The Colorado Avalanche launched into the preseason winning all three of last week’s exhibition games. The last time the Avalanche won three games in the preseason? 2013, the year they made the playoffs. Without putting too much weight on the exhibition record, for a team who limped into the regular season the last two years, potentially costing themselves a playoff berth due to a slow start, the wins hint at the promise of something better.

2. So far, the Avalanche have scored 11 goals in three preseason games, eclipsing their dismal total of six tallies for all of last year’s preseason games, and matching the previous year’s total of 11. The best news, Colorado will be playing three more games this week.

3. In the last week, Colorado converted on two of nine power play opportunities, successfully killed 14 penalties, gradually improved their face off wins in each consecutive game (winning 58% in their last tilt against the Los Angeles Kings) and spread out their goal scoring among eight different players.

4. Forward Mikhail Grigorenko elevated his game, scoring two goals in the Kings game and notching three tallies for the week. His effective two-way play rose to another level, putting him in contention for a center position on one of the top lines.

5. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov impressed in his Colorado debut against Los Angeles as he stopped 33 of 34 shots to earn a .971 save percent. Returning from his back up role for Russia, Varlamov looked effective in all aspects of his game as he managed to control rebound opportunities as well as block shots.

6. The rookie camp players adapted well to Bednar’s systems. The veterans actually looked, um, rough. Chris Bigras and Nikita Zadorov chose wisely in participating in rookie camp as they seem the most comfortable with the new defensive schemes.

7. The Avalanche travelled to Minnesota where they beat the Wild 4-2. Yes, it’s only a preseason game, but any time you can beat a team that previously seemed to be the thorn in your side, it’s a good day.

8. Colorado managed a comeback win in an otherwise ugly game against the Dallas Stars. But two things stood out. The team struggled in the first two periods yet managed to adapt their play for the third period, scored three goals, and pulled out a come from behind win. Didn’t see too many of those last year.

9. All six of the World Cup competitors have returned to the Avalanche and are participating in practice.

10. Matt Duchene managed to win one of the ugliest hockey trophies ever when Canada won the World Cup of Hockey. Hopefully he can bring some of the winning attitude back to the Avalanche.

11. The best news of all – only 11 days until the Colorado Avalanche’s season opener!

THE BAD

1. Regardless of who makes the final cut, there will be no more than seven Avalanche members who were on the team when they made the playoffs in 2013, of which, only six of them played in the postseason. The lack of postseason experience causes some concern. On the other hand, based on the last two seasons, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.

2. The Avalanche continue to deal with injuries. Mikko Rantanen injured his foot but has started skating, John Mitchell and Blake Comeau (unspecified injuries) are the most notable players injured in either practice or preseason games. Coach Bednar spoke wisely about not rushing players back, wanting them to start the season healthy, which is the silver lining.

3. The World Cup of Hockey missed something when Team North America failed to advance out of the round robin level. When a team goes 2-1, they should advance. Also, they were the most exciting team in the tournament. While the rest of the tourney was intriguing, it failed to re-capture the excitement of the ‘kids’ team.

4. Avalanche fans will not get to hear Marc Moser call the Swedish chef line of Bourque-Bourke-Bourque as Troy Bourke was sent down to San Antonio this past weekend. Even one shift would have been a kick to hear.

5. Altitude Sports had a glitch during the start of last Wednesday’s match against the Dallas Stars and missed the first ten minutes of the game, broadcasting a syndicated show instead. Granted it’s the preseason, but if the Avalanche aren’t going to televise the games, for the love of all that’s hockey, at least make sure the radio feed is functioning properly.

THE UGLY

1. Matt Duchene suffered a separated shoulder mid-September during a Team Canada World Cup practice. He showed grit and managed to continue to contribute on the team’s fourth line despite the injury. But the fact he was injured is ugly. He is skating with the Avalanche now but one has to wonder how the injury may impact his play and how he will weather the long NHL season.

2. USA Today picked the Avalanche to finish dead last in their division and with the third worst record in the NHL. What kind of metrics were used to project the Avalanche would finish nine points lower than they did this past year?

3. Why, oh why, can’t the Avalanche broadcast their preseason games? It’s disheartening to find a number of other teams televising their exhibition games and yet the Avalanche couldn’t even manage to show one. Wouldn’t it make sense to generate interest and excitement in their team by allowing people to watch the evolution with the new coach and the players vying for meaningful roles? It works for the Denver Broncos.

4. Some of the hardest choices for the coaching staff are coming up in the next week. Getting down to the final roster always seems a bit ugly, especially since there are always one or two guys who could go either way. Nine players were sent to San Antonio on Sunday and seven were reassigned last Thursday. Keep an eye out for the final roster moves, however ugly they may be.

WHAT TO WATCH:

1. The Avalanche have three more preseason games this week – Tuesday at home against the Wild, Wednesday on the road against the Stars, and then Saturday against the Kings in Las Vegas. Of course, they aren’t being televised so really what to watch is much more of what to listen to or read about. Sigh. The whining will stop now. Heavy sigh.

2. There should be some interesting line juggling as the coaches try out different player combinations before honing the roster. Of particular interest are the defensive pairings as the competition for placement and partners continues to heat up.

3. More roster cuts should be upcoming as the team needs to pare down from the current 30 players to the NHL mandated 23 by October 11.