The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from the Avalanche's past week

 

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The Colorado Avalanche weathered another weird scheduling week by the NHL, facing off against only two opponents on back-to-back nights where former Avalanche players did the bulk of the scoring. One continues to wonder what the Avalanche did to so irritate the hockey gods.

THE GOOD

1. The Colorado Avalanche boast a winning record for the month of October, something they haven’t had in the two previous seasons. Also, their points to date place them in the postseason as of now, with two games in hand compared to the other Central Division teams ranked above them. That’s a pretty amazing start considering all the offseason changes.

2. Forward Matt Duchene leads the team with seven points over the seven games played with five goals and two assists. Fellow center Nathan MacKinnon has quietly accumulated six points for October, notching one goal and five assists. Who said he was a slow starter?

3. Duchene showed up big against the Arizona Coyotes, scoring two goals, including the game-winner. Looks like he is earning his Alternate Captain ‘A’.

4. Rene Bourque tallied his 300th career point against the Coyotes, hitting the net to score the go-ahead goal early in the third period. It was his 665th game appearance. Congratulations!

5. Coach Bednar is gambling the young guns can live up to and/or exceed expectations as MacKinnon and Rantanen lead in offensive power play ice time over the last two games while Erik Johnson and Nikita Zadorov combined for most defensive minutes on the penalty kill. Tyson Barrie and Patrick Wiercioch led in power play minutes for defensemen over the weekend.

6. Goaltender Calvin Pickard continues to solidify his position as a quality backup. He garnered wins in both of his appearances while earning a .912 save percent and a goals against average of 2.50.

7. MacKinnon and Duchene are flexing their muscles at center, taking on larger roles on both the power play and penalty kill. MacKinnon, in particular, has taken a more prominent role on special teams play. The assistant captains are earning their leadership roles on the ice, taking the additional responsibility and rising to the challenge.

8. Colorado hustled out a victory against the Arizona Coyotes with assists on all three goals from defensemen. Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie, and Eric Gelinas all earned a point supporting the offense with an assist.

9. In the last two games, the Avalanche outshot their opponents 71-47. Maybe the new systems are starting to take hold.

10. Colorado ranks sixth in scoring on power play opportunities for the month of October.

11. Stick taps go to Mark Rycroft for his Saturday trick-or-treat suit. Some days, his suits alone make the post-game show worth watching.

THE BAD

1. The new set design for the Avalanche post-game show looks like a Japanese sushi bar. While the design may work for a restaurant, all the bright lights hurt the eyes and distract from the hosts. And bring back the wheel!

2. Getting shutout against the Winnipeg Jets at home was disappointing and the lackluster first period by the Avalanche didn’t help. The team’s third-period play, however, offered a silver lining as Colorado dominated, outshooting the Jets 20-4. Winnipeg goaltender Michael Hutchinson, unfortunately, played an outstanding game as the Avalanche could not get a single puck in the net.

3. Two former Avalanche players scored against the team over the weekend. Shawn Matthias scored the lone goal game winner in the Jets game while Radim Vrbata, who was with the team in the early 2000’s, scored the first goal of the game for the Coyotes. Maybe Colorado should consider guarding former team members as a strategy. You know, since there seems to be kind of a trend and all.

THE UGLY

1. The Avalanche rank 22nd among NHL teams for successfully killing off penalties. However, they have successfully killed off all eight of their short-handed situations in the last two games. So, improving, but still worrisome.

2. Colorado trails only the Pittsburgh Penguins for the number of tripping calls so far this year. For a fast team, it seems odd so many of their penalties are for tripping, a frequently called penalty when one is getting beat to the puck.

3. Another shout out to NHL schedulers as the Avalanche face their third set of back-to-back games this weekend. Three sets of back-to-back games during a three week period when the team had lots of time off seems at best, poorly planned. Maybe Colorado should send them a gift basket or something so they can get a reasonable schedule next year.

WHAT TO WATCH

1. Forward Gabriel Bourque was reassigned to the San Antonio Rampage so he can get more playing time. The Avalanche now have 22 players on their roster. Coach Bednar said they weren’t initially planning on calling anyone up right away. It should be interesting to watch if the team will continue to run with 22 guys or if they will eventually add a player to fill out the 23 player limit.

2. Colorado is one of 16 NHL teams who have yet to score a short-handed goal this season. Could this be the week?

3. The Avalanche ramp up their schedule as they face four division foes over the next week, starting with tonight’s game at home hosting the Nashville Predators. This week’s schedule also includes a home game Saturday against the Minnesota Wild followed by an away game Sunday afternoon against the St. Louis Blues. Maybe the team could start a kick-starter fundraiser for those gifts baskets for the NHL management.