How the Avalanche can survive the loss of Gabe Landeskog

Maybe it’s just a weird quirk of mine, but I’m always pessimistic when times are good and optimistic when times are bad.

So, I’m here to tell you that, while the loss of Gabe Landeskog for 4-6 weeks definitely was not good news today for the Colorado Avalanche, I am optimistic they can survive this and still sneak their way into the playoffs.

Why? Because, history for one thing. Did the Avs fall apart when they lost Peter Forsberg for the rest of the playoffs after Round 2 in 2001? Did the Avs fall apart when they lost Erik Johnson to a season-ending leg injury toward the end of last season? Did the Avs fall apart when they lost both Forsberg and Joe Sakic to injury at the same time in the ’90s, only to win most every game for about 2-3 weeks?

No, to all.

The Avs – especially this group of core players – have sometimes played better when everybody is counting them out, when they’re the underdog. We saw it at the end last year, when Johnson’s injury meant total doom, according to the pundits. But they rallied around each other and got into the playoffs without him.

Everybody said they would be horrible last season, coming off that 48-point disaster, and what happened?

Injuries to top players can be good for teams in the short term. In the long term? No, not usually. But this team is perfectly capable of winning some games without Gabe Landeskog in the lineup.

Here are more specifics on how that can happen, according to yours truly:

• Derick Brassard will take Landy’s spot on the top line. He’s capable of being a solid fill-in. Here’s a veteran can who can make plays, who has scored at a decent clip in his career. He’ll also take Landy’s spot on the first power-play unit, and I’ve liked his play on the PP so far. Has he been awesome? No, but he’s been looking for an opportunity to prove he’s a very good player again, and now he really has it.
• This might make Avs D-men more involved in the play offensively, which I think is a good thing. Specifically, I think Jared Bednar should turn Erik Johnson loose more offensively, maybe even spot shift him down low on the PP. It’s time to think out of the box a little bit here, get creative. Why not utilize EJ’s skill on the offensive end more?
• I think Bednar should just play seven D right now. Quit trying to get blood out of a stone from lower-line guys who just can’t produce much offense, and rotate seven D instead. Bednar has done it before, to some good results. I think Ryan Graves should stay in the lineup and be that seventh guy. Nikita Zadorov will be back tomorrow, but I don’t think Graves should pay the price and sit, while guys on the third and fourth line go another goose-egg game on the score sheet.
• Bednar will probably try to tighten up more defensively in the neutral zone, especially without the back-checking Landy. Yeah, that might cost some offensively, but it’s easier to win a low-scoring game than a higher one. It’s not like Bednar isn’t always trying to get his team better defensively, but it’s another thing to get players to buy in when they know there is still a lot of star power up top. Now that the captain is out, players know they’re going to have to play the system defensively.

We’ll see what happens. Hey, if the Avs lose out from here, not the end of the world either. Their own first-round draft pick will be better. This has just been one of those seasons, hasn’t it?

But hockey is a team sport. One guy doesn’t determine all. See you tomorrow.