Stockholm, Sweden – The Colorado Avalanche fell 4-3 in overtime to Matt Duchene and the Ottawa Senators on Friday night in Stockholm, Sweden in the first of the NHL’s two-game Global Series.
With the page officially turned on the Duchene saga, this was the first game the coaching staff needed to start assessing their roster to start to find a replacement for the role that Duchene filled for the nearly nine years. And at least for tonight, Alexander Kerfoot filled that role.
Kerfoot had two points (1G, 1A) and three shots on goal in 14:56 of ice time tonight, and was a threat all game long.
“I thought he was good tonight” head coach Jared Bednar said. “I thought he was making plays out there, he was playing dangerous. I liked his commitment to come back into the d-zone”
Knowing the Duchene situation was bound to end in a trade, Kerfoot was brought in as a college UFA over the summer to give the Avs some more skilled depth at center. And Kerfoot knows that. This is the exact situation in which the team is looking for him to step up.
“I mean, I think that’s what you want as a hockey player,” Kerfoot said. “To be able to play against anyone. You don’t want to be sheltered in your minutes, you want the coach’s trust, and to be reliable at both ends of the ice, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
And while it was a good night for him, it’s just that, one good night. In order for the Ads to have continued success without Duchene, it’s going to take a group effort. But having players like Kerfoot chipping in, along with other rookies Tyson Jost, J.T. Compher and newcomer Vladislav Kamenev, who is expected to join the Avalanche next week, things are going exactly as planned.
“I’m obviously not gonna step in and do what [Duchene] did,” Kerfoot told BSN Denver. “He’s been in this league a long time, and he’s a hell of a hockey player. And I think that a lot of guys are going to have to step up to fill his void.”
The Avs showed resilience tonight against their former franchise cornerstone and his new team. Colorado came back from a deficit two times to force overtime. In addition to Kerfoot’s two-point night, the Avs got contributions from Nail Yakupov, and Nathan MacKinnon. Avs’ new defensemen Samuel Girard also picked up his first point in an Avs uniform, showing off his skating ability and creativity before setting up the shot that led to the Kerfoot tip.
Colorado’s top line stayed hot as all three players picked up a point on a nice passing play that tied the game up late in the third period.
The Avalanche will take on the Senators for the second of a back to back tomorrow night at 7 PM Local time (11 AM MST) in Stockholm, Sweden.
0 Comments (4 conversations)
Nels
Um, is it just me or does Kerfoot have more points and goals right now than our previous #2 center?
i can’t believe he’s playing rocco over either one of them. i like rocco, but he’s an ahl player.
Mark T
I think with Soderberg out he needed Bourque for the PK. That in my mind is the justification for Bourque over AJ.
AceODale
Jesse, thanks for making the sacrifice and going all the way to Sweden just to keep us updated on the Avs.
Av-a-dabba-doo
I don’t want to be negative, and I am not ignoring the positives from this first game w/o Duchene, but if I’m honest I experienced no small amount of frustration watching this one. Still far too many bad decisions, ill-advised pass attempts (resulting in loss of possession), and just poor overall execution in the offensive zone. Add to that a pretty shoddy OT effort, and that’s not the way you win games, folks. Glad we tallied a point. At some point these continued gaffes must trace their way back to coaching. I realize that no team plays mistake-free hockey, of course, but the excellent ones do not commit such errors constantly. We do. Let’s hope that the second game in Sweden is a marked upgrade in quality from the first.
Mark T
The Avs deserved to lose that one. Far too many giveaways and missed defensive assignments. The OT goal was also 100% Landeskog’s fault as he was covering literally no one when his guy, Stone, scored a wide-open goal.
Also, Tyson Barrie continues to cement my opinion of him with his complete lack of ability to handle opposing players in front of the net. Sam Gerard already looks better defensively than Barrie. It’s my hope that he gets moved to forward. Failing that, I want him traded because despite all the points he puts up, he seems to cost us just as many, and for a defenseman that’s completely unacceptable.
JDC15
Good post until you wanted to move Barrie to forward.
Mark T
Why shouldn’t he be moved to forward? He can still play the point on the powerplay. I think his skillset is perfectly suited to playing forward.
JDC15
Oh I don’t know because he has spent his entire career at a defenseman, or that he is 2nd pairing defenseman, or that playing forward is completely different than playing defense, or that you don’t have forwards qb power plays because of ice time. And contrary to your opinion you don’t give a guy who is horrible a $5M dman contract. It’s the type of comment back in the day you’d here from uniformed fans about Ozolinish. Joining the offense from the d spot is a distinct skill when to pinch or sneak down in the slot, as compared to forward playing off the half boards, behind the goals, living in the slot in front of the crease. The numbers he creates from d wouldn’t translate pt for pt to forward. Look at a scoring chart for where his points come from, 80% from face off dots and out. Compare that to a forward who is usually 80% inside and below the face off dots. It’s asinine to here fans say move defenseman to forward. Name me ONE NHL defenseman that has done it. Outside of Sergei Federov, who was a hall of Famer, and arguably the best skater ever, I’ve never seen a forward move back to defense. Sure some forwards are on the point on the power play Joe Sakic a home town advantage, but he didn’t qb the power play because he played with a Dmen like Ozo, Blake, and Bourque. But it is a complete different skill set and it doesn’t happen for a reason. Another thing. You want to create ANOTHER hole on the defense, to move Barrie to forward, where is he going to play. Not on the 1st line, who is he going to replace on the 2nd line? Then your going to what put him on the third line the 4th line? What so he can get 10-12 minutes a game instead of 20-22? Then playing out of position in a third less time, what is his point production going to do, go up?????
Yeah it is a stupid, dumb, uninformed opinion.
Chris DeMott
Brent Burns
JDC15
Greer seems to think the way he is going to stick in the NHL is to be an agitator. He’s better than that and he needs to play smarter.