Archive for October, 2009

On a rare Saturday afternoon game at Pepsi Center, the Colorado Avalanche continued to ride the wave of youthful energy and potent offense with a 3-0 win over the 0-2 Vancouver Canucks. For the first time since 2002, the Avalanche have started the season with two straight wins.

Craig Anderson was once again named the first star of the game today after making 35 saves for what was a very convincing shutout. He has now made 73 saves on 75 shots in two games to start the season.

+ Craig Anderson controlled his rebounds early in the game and cruised through the afternoon with ease. Why is early rebound control such an important factor for Anderson? Because it allows him to settle into the game quickly and with a lot of confidence. Goaltending is all about rhythm, so the more action a goalie sees early, the better his timing and rebound control will usually be through three periods.

+ Anderson’s special talent is his ability to make the desperate save. His footwork is still a little rusty, but even when he’s caught out of position after making the first save, he was able to scramble, flop or flip over in order to make the second and third save. He was great at covering the puck in and around his crease today with a lot of bodies and traffic around him. It wasn’t always pretty, but he got the job done and once again inspired his teammates and fans.

+ It’s always a great story when a hard-working goalie that has paid his dues as a backup gets rewarded with minutes. During his post-game interview with Kyle Keefe on the ice, you could see how happy Anderson was with his performance. In just two games, Anderson has proved what I already knew – he’s a full-blown NHL starter.

+ The defensive pairings consisted of Adam Foote with J-M Liles, then Brett Clark with Kyle Cumiskey and then Scott Hannan with Kyle Quincey. Ruslan Salei was the healthy scratch once again.

- Colorado struggled in their own zone throughout the entire game. Although they didn’t have any recorded giveaways in the first period, they had four in the second and five in the third (nine total). There was very little support for the puck carrier deep in their own zone, which resulted in too many turnovers along the boards or in the neutral zone. There was no physical edge to their defensive effort and they were very passive in front of Anderson, as he had to deal with tons of traffic, especially in the second period.

+ One noticeable aspect of the team’s penalty killing that I do like is the positioning of the forwards. One of them is religiously playing much higher up in the zone, which is an effective way to force the point-men to make quicker decisions with the puck. That forced a few turnovers and sloppy passes, which made the PK more effective than usual.

- Kyle Quincey struggled defensively in this game with four total giveaways and an undisciplined penalty at 5:06 of the second period. On the offensive side he did pitch in an assist, but overall he struggled in his own zone. Kyle Cumiskey made better decisions with the puck and was much more confident today, but he was still caught out of position a number of times, in particular on the penalty kill in the second period.

+ Beyond the strong performance from Colorado’s top line, I was impressed with the effort of T.J. Galiardi. His natural offensive skill is obvious, but today he had a great defensive effort by blocking a few shots, forcing a few turnovers and being in good position, especially in the neutral zone. One reason why he’s a defensive asset for this team is due to his strong skating ability, so expect his minutes to slowly rise as he continues to play responsibly.

+ Matt Duchene was sensational in this game. His confidence is rising fast and his drive, passion, vision and lethal speed is very noticeable. His tenacity on the puck was great in all three zones today, especially when he drew a penalty on Alexander Edler at 9:44 of the second period. He then promptly had a scoring chance while playing on the top PP unit with Stastny and Hejduk. Ultimately he provides a ton of energy, skill and desire…and he’s only 18.

+ Duchene had two takeaways, hit two posts and had at least two quality scoring chances in 15:29 of ice time. He was also a huge factor in killing penalties. He deflected a pass and then batted the puck out of mid-air and down the ice in the first period and in the second he had a great short-handed individual effort that energized the bench and fans.

+ Wojtek Wolski was pretty opportunistic on his game-winning goal, but I’m still impressed with his level of play in the first two games. Today he did an excellent job of reading plays and staying around the net when the puck was in the slot. He did not have many mistakes in his own zone and offensively he was a threat every single shift. 

- For the second consecutive game, the Avs were very weak in the faceoff circle. In the first period, they only won six out of 21. It may seem like a worthless statistic, but winning faceoffs leads to puck possession. Overall they were 23-28 in the faceoff circle, which is only 45% total.

- The penalty killing units need to be more physical in the slot area. They are still way too passive and need to stop watching the play and start forcing the puck-carrier to make quicker decisions. They do a good job of getting sticks in passing lanes, but there was way too much traffic in front of Anderson.

- Too many times the puck is dumped  just to relieve pressure that’s not really there. Part of this is due to a lack of outlet options or support along the boards from the forwards, but it’s also due to the fact that they just don’t have a lot of patience. All too often the defensemen are getting control of the puck and after one or two strides, either flipping the puck down the ice or straight up icing it.

- Overall it was not a very cohesive game in their own zone, but thanks to the top line and great goaltending from Anderson, the Avalanche were able to get out of this game with two points. Similar to San Jose’s effort on Thursday night, Vancouver looked considerably out of sync and rusty. Wolski’s game-winner for example was a result of a terrible shiftfrom Kyle Wellwood and Mason Raymond.