Following our initial series preview, we have a chance to reevaluate and elaborate on our predictions for the Stanley Cup Final. The Vegas Golden Knights secured a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 1. Nobody anticipated this would be a quick series, and with every one of us choosing Florida to win it, it’s a great time to…
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos were back on the practice field on Thursday, but the big story in Denver is the NBA Finals starting Thursday night. Broncos head coach Sean Payton said he’s meeting up with some friends who also played quarterback at Eastern Illinois—Tony Romo?—to go to Game 1. “We get together once a year,” Payton. “It’s gonna be…
We’re back with another edition of the Avalanche Roundtable. Rudo is on vacation this week so it’ll just be the remaining three of us to talk about big-time player acquisitions. We saw landscape-altering deals last year with the trades of Matthew Tkachuk and free agent signing of Johnny Gaudreau. Who is the best player that gets traded this summer? AJ:…
The Best players in the Avs forward core gave a valiant effort all season, at times dragging this team to victory. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen led the way, Val Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen found their place, but when it came time for the playoffs the second lind had problems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M1KXCC9kl8
For this week’s roundtable, we’re going to examine some of the latest changes from front office departures to head coaching vacancies. There have already been several, so expect some of these changes to be a reoccurring topic for discussion especially as new departures mean new options for the coaching carousel. Brendan Shanahan’s decision not to retain Kyle Dubas has invited…
While injuries can certainly explain a lot of the issues the Avs’ bottom-six faced this season there are still a lot of things that came up on the disappointing side of things. Especially for players like Alex Newhook and Logan O’Connor in the playoffs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS90fZZgF84
Even the goalie position couldn’t escape the wrath of injuries for Colorado this season, However, for the most part, the Avs look smart for taking a risk on Georgiev as their starter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UunM2vfivQc
Beginning this week, we’re going to be using Monday as a vehicle for both a written roundtable and then using it as the jumping-off point for the podcast. Today we’re going to start with a look at Colorado’s free-agent priorities. Let’s see how the gang feels about it. Let’s start in-house. Which Avalanche pending UFA would you prioritize re-signing? AJ:…
He bounced between forward and defenseman early in youth hockey. His coaches saw a natural fit on the backend and liked him there. Maybe it was because the Minnesota-native grew up watching players like Jared Spurgeon, and maybe his older brother who also played defense had an influence on his decision to commit to the position. Eventually, the right-shot defender…
Studs Nathan MacKinnon You can’t say this guy didn’t do everything in his power to make it happen. They ended up taking the first goal away and giving it to Rantanen and then followed it up by taking his second goal away entirely due to offside. The guy left it all out on the ice. He was incredible from start…
“You lose, you go home.” That’s what Jared Bednar said ahead of Game 6. It really is that simple. After a valiant Game 6 performance, the Avs returned home to Ball Arena for one last battle to decide their fate. Earning the start in net, as he has all series, was Alexandar Georgiev. Colorado had their work cut out for…
Jesse’s Observations Andrew Cogliano An ugly scene, that has only gotten worse since the initial play itself. Meghan and I both felt this situation was significant enough that we both had something to say about it, so look out for her take on this whole situation down below. I try really hard to not be someone that blames officiating, or…...
Adam Mares, Eric Wedum and Dev Johnson break down the Nuggets’ statement win in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Suns, Jamal Murray out-dueling Devin Booker and Kevin Durant and how Denver managed to dominate Phoenix at Ball Arena. Also, notes on Denver’s defense, Nikola Jokic’s weird night, Aaron Gordon’s physicality and Bruce Brown rising to a new…
Colorado will not go quietly this year. Artturi Lehkonen leading the way in forcing a Game 7 in what has been an extremely difficult series. Goals from Mikko Rantanen and Erik Johnson were also critical. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROiAfbl9xFQ
Studs Colorado’s top line Nathan MacKinnon rather remarkably recorded zero points tonight but was an incredibly important driving factor in multiple goals. Mikko Rantanen scored a goal and recorded an assist. Artturi Lehkonen was the third guy on the line most of the night and scored two goals. Evan Rodrigues was a part-time participant on the top line and snuck…
Do or die, now or never, lose and go home. Whichever cliche you wanted to use, they applied to this game. The Colorado Avalanche went into Climate Pledge Arena on the brink of elimination, looking desperately to find a way to win Game 6 and send things back home for a decisive Game 7. This series has felt like a…
Studs Nathan MacKinnon I know, people will immediately point to him yelling at the refs after what looked like an apparent missed tripping call. Him being a little behind the play because of that, led to a late line change, which led to a man being open in the slot and a goal against. He’s gotta be better there, I…
The Department of Player Safety assessed Cale Makar a one-game suspension following his hit on Jared McCann in Game 4. As a result, Makar was not an option for tonight. Returning to the lineup and making his playoff debut was defenseman Jack Johnson. The series was tied, and the Avs had a chance to go up in the series or…
The Avs cannot continue to make their life more difficult then it needs to be. Fantastic plays from Mikko Rantanen and quality goaltending will only get them so far. As a team they must play better. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWK8zw52sNg
Studs Alexandar Georgiev I’ll start this by saying I really don’t like the first goal by Will Borgen. It’s yet another shot from distance that beats Georgiev cleanly. I don’t think Georgiev plays it very well and makes himself really small as the shot is getting released. I don’t like it. I’ve also always said that I can dislike the…