The Good, the Bad and the Ugly covering the Colorado Avalanche the past week

 

The Colorado Avalanche continue their roller coaster ride to the postseason, packed with thrills, chills and ugly in the St. Patrick’s day edition of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

POT O’ GOLD (aka ‘€˜The Good’€™)

1. The Colorado Avalanche walloped the Mighty Ducks, one of the hottest teams in the NHL, ending the Ducks 14 game point streak. Ye’€™ grand goaltender Semyon Varlamov hosted a shutout as the Avalanche won 3-0. Give that man a Guiness!

2. A tip of the hit to Coach Patrick Roy when he rolled out the new forward lines against the Phoenix Coyotes. It’€™s been a long time since the team has run four balanced lines and it was a thing of beauty.

The Shawn Matthias, Carl Soderberg and Gabriel Landeskog line generated momentum in the neutral zone with their physical play while their puck possession created great scoring chances. Blake Comeau up with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikkel Boedker utilized their speed to disrupt opponents and get the pucks on net. All rainbows and unicorns with these line combinations.

3. Colorado’s penalty killing units deserve special recognition, nay, even an Irish jig, for successfully killing off 25 penalties in a row. It took three consecutive power play chances for the Winnipeg Jets to finally end the streak. Here’s to another 25 consecutive penalty kills!

4. M-m-m-m-m-Matt Duchene racked up two goals and three assists in the last three games, notching at least one point in each game. In the six games they have played in March, Duchene earned seven points, more than the entire month of February, and only failed to get a point in the Nashville loss. For the season, he has scored a career high 29 goals and leads the team with 55 points.

5. Captain Gabriel Landeskog stepped up and owned his mistake on his hit on the Anaheim Ducks Simon Despres, leading to a three game suspension. He showed leadership and poise in his post-suspension remarks. Thank you for acting like an adult and rising to the challenge, showing how to learn from mistakes.

6. The Minnesota Wild own a 2-8-3 home record in 2016 and will host seven of their remaining 13 games at home. And by next Monday, both teams will have only nine games remaining. There is plenty of room for optimism the Avalanche can overtake the Wild. Hang onto that Irish whiskey for the playoffs. Hope should be alive and well in Colorado.

7. Avalanche defensemen have contributed to five of the last 8 goals scored. Francois Beauchemin earned three assists and Erik Johnson added a goal and an assist. In fact, Erik Johnson seemed to find another level to his game in the past week. He regained his speed, pushed play into the offensive zone, and was more effective defending the crease in addition to garnering two points. Shillelaghs to both!

In case you missed it, below is Erik Johnson’s goal against the Winnipeg Jets.

8. Newcomer Shawn Matthias scored two important goals last week. Top o’ the morning to ye’ sir and welcome aboard the Avalanche playoff train!

9. Colorado now ranks seventh among all NHL teams for power play goals scored, sixth in short handed goals, and their special teams rank tenth overall. They have come a long way since a very dreary October.

PADDY WAGON (aka ‘The Bad’)

1. Landeskog’s hit on the Ducks Despres showed room for growth. The team needs their captain for the playoff run, especially since he has been playing so well.

2. While the hit was worthy of suspension, there have been a number of similar hits this season which were not even fined. The Department of Player Safety needs to develop consistency in what constitutes a suspendable offense and stick with it.

Winnipeg’s Drew Stafford only received a one game suspension for his February hit on Nick Holden which broke his nose, caused two black eyes, required six stitches and glue to repair and forced him to wear a full cage. One game for a head hit causing injury versus three games for a cross check that didn’€™t cause injury.

Currently, it appears as if there is one set of rules for Avalanche players and another set for everyone else. May the cat eat you DOPS and may the devil eat the cat (an Irish curse).

3. Losing to the Winnipeg Jets hurt. The Avalanche need to win the games against the non-playoff contenders left on their schedule. Losing the eighth Wild Card spot and being tied with the Wild while they have a game in hand is ugly.

4. With less than four minutes to go in the Jets game and down by one goal, the Avalanche earned a power play opportunity on which they failed to capitalize. In a playoff race, one would like the team to seize on those rare chances to come out of a rough game with at least one point.

MEAN LEPRECHAUNS (aka ‘The Ugly’)

1. Watching former Avalanche player now Anaheim Duck Jamie McGinn get chippy with his former team mates, including actions worthy of an instigator penalty near the end of the game on Beauchemin, was disheartening. Many had considered him a significant loss in last season’s trade. In traditional Irish slang, may he Tear his Hole off the Hagart (which means ‘go away!’).

2. Defenseman Chris Bigras suffering from concussion symptoms creates concern for his health as well as the Avalanche’s defensive scheme. He kept improving with each game and had earned special teams opportunities. The team doesn’€™t seem to have anyone who can fill his shoes and they need his help for the last dozen games.

3. Please, for the love of all that is green and Irish, solve the problem with the third period. A two goal lead going into the third period should be something a playoff team can protect and at least come out with a point. The Avalanche have lost eight games when leading after the second period this season.

4. For the love of great Landy’s beard, what the shamrock was Altitude sports doing when they aired an interview with a Colorado Rapids soccer player during the intermission of the game against the Ducks? It’€™s a hockey game ye’ be coverin’. That’€™s worse than the hangover from green beer.

GREEN BEER AND WILD GEESE (aka ‘€˜What to Watch’)

1. Could Zach Redmond be facing a return to the San Antonio Rampage after the video capture of Roy’s reaction to Redmond’s turnover that led to the Jets’€™ game winning goal? If so, will the Avalanche call up another defenseman if Bigras remains injured? Could Nikita Zadorov be the lucky charm for the Avalanche?

2. Will Landeskog be able to return to the ice on Sunday playing with the same intensity he exhibited before the suspension?

3. Colorado has only two non-emergency call ups between now and the end of the regular season. Keep an eye on how that influences the way the Avalanche manage injuries and player movement.

In honor of St. Patrick’s day, TGBU sends you off with an old Irish blessing – May the road rise up to meet you and may the wind always be at your back!