Andre Burakovsky – B It’s wild that Burky ended with seven shot attempts, and yet the one that frustrated me the most is the one he didn’t take at the end, instead dropping it to Erik Johnson, who wasn’t in a shooting position. Burky had a really solid game otherwise, although I just don’t love him a ton on the…...

One of the many things I love about the NHL’s regular season is that every year there are a handful of games that you almost have too many storylines and in the ashes of the postgame scramble to pump out content you don’t even know what to make of it. Tonight’s 5-3 final with the St. Louis Blues surviving the…...

The Avs started their season without superstar center Nathan MacKinnon and head coach Jared Bednar. Now, they’re going to be without their captain. The NHL Department of Safety announced on Thursday afternoon that Gabriel Landeskog has been suspended for two games for a hit late in the season opener on Kirby Dach. On the ice, the refs gave Landeskog two…...

Bowen Byram announced his presence to the entire NHL as the Avs dominated Chicago in the opening game of the season. No MacKinnon no problem as the Avs top six and defense provided more than enough scoring for Darcy Kuemper. https://youtu.be/qDRbtJYgUcg

Andre Burakovsky – C+ I liked Burky a lot in the first period. Made the nice feed cross-ice to Johnson for his breakaway goal, and had some nice passes. After that, there were some struggles. He was put in a weird spot behind the net on the power play and had a tough turnover at his own blue line that…...

Philipp Grubauer won plenty of games last year for the Colorado Avalanche. 30 of 40 of them, in fact, as he had a Vezina Trophy-caliber season. Yet, when the NHL season opened last night, Grubauer was in Seattle watching four pucks find their way behind him as he started and lost the first game in Kraken history. Back in Denver,…...

The preseason is over. The roster is set. Opening night in the NHL is tonight. We’ve done podcasts and preview videos and written pieces about the team. It’s just about time for the NHL season to get underway. Before it happens, though, we’re going to do one more roundtable discussion about the Avalanche and the rest of the league. Let’s…...

The Avs season begins tomorrow, and while the defense won’t be at full power for opening night, the defense that has been built is hard to argue with. One final beast of a preview before it’s back into the fray. https://youtu.be/oIHTcheLo9A

The Three-Headed-Monster could be poised for one of the best years of hockey seen in a long, long, time. Will the Era of Mikko arrive? Will MacKinnon finally break 100 points? Who is even capable of stopping this line? All that and more in the top line season preview. https://youtu.be/Rq4g2BdPav4

The Avalanche announced the last of their transactions this morning as they cut their roster down to the required limit. Instead of actually getting to 23, the Avalanche will open with a 21-man roster after they sent defenseman Justin Barron and forward Mikhail Maltsev to the Colorado Eagles. Defenseman Jacob MacDonald was placed on waivers yesterday and cleared. He is…...

With two spots virtually set in stone on the Avs second line, Colorado is going to need everything they can get out of Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky. The one remaining spot may just fall to the hand of the least experienced player on the roster. https://youtu.be/T7o5nIr4kEk

It’s been a busy couple of days for the Avalanche, at least in terms of news, as the team continues to make its way to next Wednesday’s opening night tilt against the Chicago Blackhawks. This isn’t going to be a lengthy piece so let’s just take a look at where things sit with the Avs right now, starting with the…...

With a bottom-six that is still not entirely set, questions remain about who slots in where on the Avs third line. While flexibility will be necessary the Avs will look to lean on the same players they used last season to elevate their depth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ARC46P2hGg

The Avs have well over half a dozen forwards that are likely to see time on the fourth line this season. With those spots mostly locked up for opening night, the question becomes what is it going to take to earn an opportunity and who is going to take advantage of it? https://youtu.be/pl3z1rPGRo8

Jack Johnson – D Well we’re starting to see the cracks in his game that have plagued him his entire career. Poor decisions with the puck and just getting lost in his own end on cycle. On the fourth Vegas goal, he was with Karlsson, and then suddenly lost him and was covering no one, and Karlsson ended up scoring.…...

The Avs have some unfinished business to attend after yet another second-round exit last season. With the start of the season right around the corner DNVR Avs kicks off their season preview with the goaltenders and asks the question, can Darcy Kuemper be the man in Colorado? https://youtu.be/_P1q5mzW5t8

Jack Johnson – C It was a bit of a step back for JJ in this one. He took another penalty, which was a pretty blatant interference that he didn’t disguise all that well, considering the ref was about five feet away. Penalties may be a concern when the regular season starts. Beyond that, it was a little more sloppy…...

One of the challenges of covering preseason hockey is trying to find meaning in a situation that is inherently lacking. If you’re a bottom-line only kind of person, the end results are irrelevant because these don’t actually count in the standings. If you’re a person who loves the thrill of preseason camp battles, the reality is that even in that…

Artem Anisimov – D For a guy who’s fighting to keep his NHL career alive, it sure doesn’t look like there’s a whole lot left in the tank. Played over six minutes of power-play time and did nothing with it other than fumbling a few passes. The reality is that he was once a real solid NHL player, but time…...