MacKinnon makes preseason debut in 2-1 win, Ben Meyers shines

Inch by inch, preseason began to resemble the opening night lineup. It’s been an interesting experiment with decision-guys getting extended looks. According to Jared Bednar, there are three roster spots up for grabs come opening night. Bednar said he will make reassignments sometime Saturday or Sunday.

This is understandably contingent on the health of Darren Helm. Helm’s injury status is not new, and he sounds close to returning but has remained in a no-contact jersey.

More than that, Gabriel Landeskog is expected to miss a more significant amount of time which leaves considerable room for opportunity – at least for the start of the season.

The decision guys include Anton Blidh, Lukas Sedlak, Ben Meyers, and Martin Kaut. Mikhail Maltsev could be considered among them but has not skated in practice or appeared in a game since the September 28th game against the Las Vegas Knights. He has missed time to sort out his work visa.

Shane Bowers has also not been reassigned, and Bednar has liked his camp compared to past years, but the feedback sounds like he still imagines Bowers in Loveland.

“I’d like to see him be more of an impact player on a nightly basis with the Eagles in whatever role they put him in,” Bednar said. “I’d like him to be a guy pushing for a top six role, but there’s a lot of competition there.”

Bowers was scratched tonight.

This leaves the final four: two players with a healthy dose of NHL games under their belt, players accustomed to depth roles (Sedlak and Blidh), and two young hopefuls trying to earn the trust of Colorado (Meyers and Kaut).

Lines:

Lehkonen-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Rodrigues-Newhook-Nichushkin
Cogliano-Meyers-O’Connor
Blidh-Sedlak-Kaut

Toews-Makar
Byram-Manson
Girard-Johnson

First Period:

Dallas took a bench minor 6:35 into the first, and Colorado’s powerplay units resembled what we might expect for opening night. They couldn’t capitalize on the chance, but the top unit was moving the puck well and controlled possession. There were a few good chances, and it was an improvement from what we’ve seen in preseason so far.

Georgiev went to play the puck behind the net, and a Dallas forechecker applied pressure and forced a turnover. It created a double-play at the netfront, but a swift Cale Makar block read it perfectly. I’ll give Georgiev credit, I didn’t like the original play, but he got back into position athletically.

It was a good period for Georgiev, especially with a lot of action in his end. He faced 18 shots to Dallas’ 10. The first three lines of the forward group were running as expected, but it was the fourth line of Blidh-Sedlak-Kaut that was deployed sparingly.

It was a slow period and Colorado looked a bit sleepy at times. Some of the regulars who have not seen as much preseason play looked like they were shaking off the dust a bit, but even their play at that effort level separated their skill from the decision-guys in a noticeable way. MacKinnon, for example, didn’t look like he had missed a beat.

Second Period:

I liked Georgiev’s vision through traffic for shots from up high in addition to his calm with play down low between the hash marks. He looked dialed in, but he simply got beat 4:27 into the second. The Avs D, Johnson and Girard, pulled into the system a second too soon and a miscalculation from Girard pointed Newhook to go wide. Nichushkin was a second late getting to Joel Kiviranta. Riley Damiani received his pass in the slot, now uncovered with a Newhook out of the way, and Damiani’s shot went past Georgiev sitckside. Georgiev pulled up in the crease to try and anticipate the shot, and it opened the net right up.

Beyond that, the pace quickened in this period. Ben Meyers has one of his best periods I’ve seen all preseason. He’d won 8/10 draws at the faceoff dot and had two excellent looks: a shot from the right circle that hit the post and out, and a bold play at the netfront. 

That fourth line continued to be a weak link with each player held to under 7 minutes of ice time. Of them, only Blidh had a single shot on net.

Colorado was down 1-0, outshot 25-18, but with more shots on net in the second than Dallas (8-7). As the period winded down, Dallas’ ambitious Colin Miller placed Lehkonen in a chokehold and MacKinnon busted in to confront him. Later, Dallas attempted to clear the puck and launched into the Avs bench – a sitting Pavel Francouz made the save. It livened things up a bit.

Third Period:

Nathan MacKinnon stickhandled down the slot and drew a cross-checking call (that looked more like a slash). It was a great play and even though it was stopped, and it created to a powerplay chance at 8:52 into the third. It felt like necessary momentum in a period that saw few events.

I really liked the game Meyers’ had. He stayed strong on the puck in the neutral zone along the boards and carried it in. Logan O’Connor met him between the hash marks and snuck the puck between the skates of Dallas. He picked it up on the other side and gave the puck a lift when his stick whacked the ice and bounced in at 12:36. Even though it was a little funky, Meyers was prepared to bat the puck in from midair just in case.

Mackinnon attempted a shot, Lehkonen tried to collect the rebound, and somehow Anton Khudobin couldn’t settle it. Colorado was able to reset with the puck coming back out to Toews who passed it back to Girard at the point. Girard found Rantanen who fired a one-timer into a wide-open net from the right side. Colorado preyed on the chaos of the sequence. It was their first lead of the game with less than three minutes remaining.

Dallas would pull their goaltender, but Colorado would outlast them in the final minutes. The Avs won 2-1.

Observations:

• I’ve alluded to it already, but you have to appreciate the turnaround for Meyers in this game. He’s struggled to have an impact in games and definitely appeared to be adjusting the differences and speed of the Avs’ systems at times. In this game, he looked more confident and took risks in the o-zone. Bednar talks about valuing players who are difficult to play against and Meyers leaned into that area of his game. The line of Cogliano-Meyers-LOC also puts Meyers in his most familiar position at center. They also play a similar way.
• Nathan MacKinnon looks like he never stopped being involved in gameplay – he didn’t miss a beat and looked as ready as anyone. It’s no secret the apparent friendship Lehkonen and MacKinnon have, but it’s reflected in their play together too. They find each other so easily and seamlessly.
• Anton Blidh remained a standout in the eyes of Bednar. Looking at his game more closely, I can rationalize why Bednar describes him as “loud”. There’s reliability in terms of effort. He completes every hit. He’s not lackadaisical about it either. He’s fully engaged and seeks out those battles. The trouble for me remains his offensive skill. I don’t love his puck management and he plays a simple game. I think Bednar takes comfort in the simplicity though. He even said as much. I’ve often wondered how these down-to-the-wire roster decisions get made and I think Bednar appreciates knowing exactly what he’s going to get from Blidh. Slotting him in as a fourth-line player also grants him allowances: where he lacks skill he can make up for it with physicality.
• As for the other decision-guys, Sedlak and Kaut, it was not a compelling showing for either player to make or break their case for an opening night job. They just didn’t have much impact on the game. They had some of the least time on ice (Kaut served part of MacKinnon’s double-minor), and struggled to stay visible. Unfortunately, visibility in a limited role is exactly what would be expected of them in a bottom-six role with the Avs, so doing just that is imperative. Bednar, however, doesn’t sound hyper-fixated on this game alone in terms of how he will make reassignment decisions and it will be with the input of Chris MacFarland and Joe Sakic as well.