Thread: THE official Colorado Avalanche/NHL thread!!!

In Pittsburgh, of all places, Steel City-area product Nate Guenin was told by Patrick Roy to "get a place" in Denver. In other words, the journeyman defenseman was told by the Avalanche coach and Hockey Hall of Famer that he had finally made it to the big leagues.

At age 30, Guenin is gladly being kicked out of a NHL team's hotel for the first time in his career. It's the green light he patiently waited for since graduating from Ohio State in 2006.

"Pretty special," Guenin said of Roy's three words he will never forget.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/...ard-road-reach

Wasn't defense supposed to be a problem for the 2013-14 Avalanche, the flaw the team would try to airbrush as best it could from the overall picture? The Avs would have to win every game 6-5, the critics chirped, their defense and goaltending too suspect to realistically count upon.

More than 10 percent through the season, only one NHL team has been stingier allowing goals than the Avs, who have allowed 12 in nine games. The Boston Bruins, entering Tuesday, had allowed 10 — but in two fewer games played.

Question is: Are the Avs just lucky so far with standing-on-their-heads goaltending from Semyon Varlamov and J.S. Giguere, or has the defense been better than anyone thought?

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/...c-team-defense

KUSA - Ray Bourque is still motivating the Colorado Avalanche.

Bourque joined the team in March 2000 after nearly 21 seasons with the Boston Bruins and became the rallying point around the Avs' 2001 Stanley Cup championship. The team was driven to get the defenseman his one and only Cup before ending a 22-year career.

Last week, Bourque met with the current Avs squad before their game in Boston, and Bourque kept it simple: Why Not. "When we met Ray Bourque in Boston, Ray said, 'Why not us?' And that's been the words we've been using," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said Thursday morning. "'Why not ... another win tonight?'"

rest - http://www.9news.com/news/article/36...ives-Avs-boost

Last night, Vic mentioned this again, and said someone needs to make up shirts with "Why not us" on the front of them.

Paul Stastny's contract is up after this season, when he could become an unrestricted free agent. He's playing for a team that probably could use more help on defense and has two top-quality young centers already. Does that mean Stastny likely is gone in the spring as trade bait or when the market opens next summer for free agents?

Maybe not. You can never have too much pitching in baseball, and Avalanche coach and vice president of hockey operations Patrick Roy said Thursday an NHL team can never have enough quality centers.

"It's a beautiful problem to have," Roy said. "I'd rather deal with this than having no centers. Honestly, it hasn't been a problem so far. Everybody is having their share of ice time. We're very lucky. You look at all the teams at the top of the standings, they all have three very good centers and four good lines. When you build a team, you want to build it (up) the middle."

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/...-coach-patrick

Nice goal by Duchene! Spinning behind the net. Very Forsberg-esque.

Nice goal Matt............

Saw EJ's too......wooo hoooo!

Damn, Duchene is on fire. Top shelf.

Great game guys.....so fun to watch these games!!!!!

Originally Posted by wayninja

Damn, Duchene is on fire. Top shelf.

What a sick shot that was on the second goal.

Duchene 2nd in league in goals, 2 behind Ovechkin. 6th in points.

Giguere 1st in sv% and GAA. Varmalov 6th in sv%, 8th in GAA. Defense contributes to those stats as well of course.

Overall the Avs are #2 in the league in goal differential, 2nd in goals against(!), 10th in goals scored. Avalanche giving up only 1.4 goals per game.

How nice it is to see the team play well in all phases so far. Roy is doing a lights out job right now.

Originally Posted by zbeg

What a sick shot that was on the second goal.

Duchene 2nd in league in goals, 2 behind Ovechkin. 6th in points.

Giguere 1st in sv% and GAA. Varmalov 6th in sv%, 8th in GAA. Defense contributes to those stats as well of course.

Overall the Avs are #2 in the league in goal differential, 2nd in goals against(!), 10th in goals scored. Avalanche giving up only 1.4 goals per game.

How nice it is to see the team play well in all phases so far. Roy is doing a lights out job right now.

I don't remember feeling this 'magical' about the avs since the 90's. Duchene is really turning into the next Forsberg love-affair for me.

The only thing I really worry about it is that we really don't have that Blake-Foote defense that was so dominant. I guess as long as the goalies keep playing solid hockey we should be fine.

Originally Posted by wayninja

I don't remember feeling this 'magical' about the avs since the 90's. Duchene is really turning into the next Forsberg love-affair for me.

The only thing I really worry about it is that we really don't have that Blake-Foote defense that was so dominant. I guess as long as the goalies keep playing solid hockey we should be fine.

What people fail to realize about hockey is that you can have the best goalie on the planet, but if your defense blows, the goalie will blow. Did you know that a 100 MPH slapshot can rebound off of a goalie's pad at 60+ MPH? If you have someone on the doorstep that is in the right place at the right time to get that rebound, they're going to get it and shoot before the goalie reacts. It's the goalie's job to make the first save. If there is a rebound, it's the defenseman's job to clear the puck from the front of the net. As you saw with the Avs the past two years, the defense was so horrid that it wouldn't have mattered if Patrick Roy, circa 2000, was our goalie because the record would've played the same song. Unlike the NFL, in hockey, defense makes all the difference. The best defense in the league will more beat the best offense in the league nine times out of 10. An above average defense can make an average goalie look great.

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

What people fail to realize about hockey is that you can have the best goalie on the planet, but if your defense blows, the goalie will blow. Did you know that a 100 MPH slapshot can rebound off of a goalie's pad at 60+ MPH? If you have someone on the doorstep that is in the right place at the right time to get that rebound, they're going to get it and shoot before the goalie reacts. It's the goalie's job to make the first save. If there is a rebound, it's the defenseman's job to clear the puck from the front of the net. As you saw with the Avs the past two years, the defense was so horrid that it wouldn't have mattered if Patrick Roy, circa 2000, was our goalie because the record would've played the same song. Unlike the NFL, in hockey, defense makes all the difference. The best defense in the league will more beat the best offense in the league nine times out of 10. An above average defense can make an average goalie look great.

Well, we managed to beat the Penguins even though they got tons more shots on goal than we did...

I hear you, but Goalies do matter. Varley made some sick saves last night. Blake and Foote were more than just good defensemen. They were big and punishing. They could wear opposing lines down quickly with their physical play. Also, Blake had amazing accuracy with his one-timers.

Fun.

Originally Posted by wayninja

Well, we managed to beat the Penguins even though they got tons more shots on goal than we did...

I hear you, but Goalies do matter. Varley made some sick saves last night. Blake and Foote were more than just good defensemen. They were big and punishing. They could wear opposing lines down quickly with their physical play. Also, Blake had amazing accuracy with his one-timers.

Shots on goal isn't a telling statistic. The qualify of shots was low for the most part.

We beat the Pens with defense...killing SEVEN power plays and not letting guys like Malkin and Crosby do what Malkin and Crosby do. That was a perfect defensive game. Yes, goalies matter. I know that. My point wasn't that goalies don't matter. My point was that if you have a shit defense, like the Avs have had the past couple-few years, the goalie doesn't matter. When the offense works and the defense does their job, the goalie is put in a better position to make saves like Varley did last night and like Giggy has in his two shutouts.

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

Shots on goal isn't a telling statistic. The qualify of shots was low for the most part.

We beat the Pens with defense...killing SEVEN power plays and not letting guys like Malkin and Crosby do what Malkin and Crosby do. That was a perfect defensive game. Yes, goalies matter. I know that. My point wasn't that goalies don't matter. My point was that if you have a shit defense, like the Avs have had the past couple-few years, the goalie doesn't matter. When the offense works and the defense does their job, the goalie is put in a better position to make saves like Varley did last night and like Giggy has in his two shutouts.

Shots on goal can be a misleading stat, I agree. However, I watched the game. The penguins were pressuring all night and Giggy was making great saves. We really had no business winning that game or shutting the Penguins out. And it was more goalie than defense.

Again, I'm not disagreeing with you on principle, I just don't see the quality of defensive play being the major factor in that game. We've definitely been helped out by the quality of play from our goal tenders, and I think our defense men are the avs weakest link. Not to say that they are bad, just that they are the weakest part of a team playing really good hockey.