Anyways, since the All-Star break just ended and the Avalanche are getting back on the ice tonight I wanted to take a moment to write about the seasons biggest surprises and disappointments thus far.

Surprises

The first player that came to mind when I began brainstorming was Ryan O’Reilly. He is having an absolutely amazing season. He is leading the Avalanche in all three scoring categories with 14 goals, 22 assists, and 36 points. He may only have one game winning goal under his belt, but Radar always seems to come through in the clutch.

I can’t even count all the times O’Reilly’s play away from the puck has helped contribute to the Avs taking or eliminating a lead late in games. A goal that really stands out to me is from January 2nd, 2012. The Avs were in Los Angeles and found themselves down by one with under five minutes to play.

O’Reilly picked up a loose puck and made a subtle, but effective move to get into open ice around a defenseman. The move also changed the angle of which he was shooting from and Kings goaltender Jonathon Quick could not adjust quick enough. O’Reilly beat him to tie the game at one forcing overtime. The Avs eventually won the game in a shootout. They never would have had the chance if it wasn’t for O’Reilly.

Hopefully he will pick up where he left off before the All-Star break and help lead this team to a playoff appearance.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere has been a huge surprise in my book. He was signed in the summer to backup Semyon Varlamov, but has been the better goalie at this stage in the season. I don’t like to rely on stats to prove a point about goaltenders so you can look at those yourself. The reason I don’t bring them up is because both play a different amount of games, face a different amount of shots, and the team in front of them doesn’t play the same from night to night.

I’m basing my opinion on what I have seen from both goaltenders. Giguere appears to be more consistent on a night-to-night basis which is extremely important in this league. He makes the big saves when the team needs them most, and nine times out of ten he doesn’t allow those bad angle/flukey goals that Varlamov does.

With that being said I’m chalking up Varlamov as one of this season’s disappointments.

Disappointments

Varlamov was acquired in a trade from the Washington Capitals this off-season in exchange for a first round pick in the 2012 entry draft. That is a steep price to pay for a somewhat unproven number one goaltender in the National Hockey League. I was on the Varly bandwagon early in the season and still am to a certain extent.

Courtesy of www.zimbio.com

He lacks consistency from game to game, but when he’s on, he’s on. He can step up and make the big save to preserve the win for the team when he’s having a good day. Catch him on an off night and watch out. Bad angle goals, pucks sneaking through the arm and chest, and poor rebound control. I know every goalie has bad nights, myself included, but it seems like Varly has them more often than other goaltenders in the league.

Of course, one could argue that the team in front of him played like crap and left him out to dry which is a very good point. I guess I just feel a little disappointed with his performance this season. If he doesn’t help carry this team to a playoff berth I’ll feel extremely let down.

David Jones has let me down game after game this season. He has only managed to score nine goals through 42 games this season after racking up 27 in the 77 games he appeared in last season. I expected to see him producing more offensively and don’t really have an explanation for why he seems a little off this year. Maybe it has something to do with his marriage over the summer and trying to juggle hockey and married life, but who knows.

Overall, as a team, I have been satisfied with the Avs so far this season. They got bigger on offense and defense as well as more stable between the pipes. They have hit a few rocky patches where it seemed like everything that could go wrong did, but they always bounced back and would go on a tear trying to make up ground that they lost while in the slump.

In my (un)professional opinion the Avs will most likely miss the playoffs again this season which will cause another mini-overhaul of the roster during the off season maybe including Joe Sacco this time.

I’m curious as to who your biggest surprises and disappointments of the season are up to this point. Leave a comment below or shoot me an e-mail – admin@putitoniceblog.com

Offense

Hockey players are always talking about how they love going on the road early in the season as it helps to build team chemistry, and this trip has definitely done that for the Avs. The offense looked a bit shaky in the first two games of the season, but they started to gel as the trip wore on. Things came to a head on October 13th in Ottawa when the Avs slaughtered the Senators 7-1 and made ex-Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson wish he never left the Mile High City. Two nights later in Montreal the offense continued to roll and put up five goals against Carey Price and his Canadiens in a 6-5 shootout victory.

I have kept my eyes on a few players so far this season and the two who have impressed me the most have to be Gabriel Landeskog and Joakim Lindstrom. Landy appeared to be nervous in the season opener, which is to be expected. I assumed he would calm down and grow more comfortable as the season wore on. However, I did not expect him to score a goal in just his third NHL game. Granted, the puck hit him in the foot and found its way in to the net, but hey, a goal is a goal, right? Regardless of that, he scored a legitimate goal the next night that I’m sure he wishes would have been his first. Much like with Matt Duchene, Joe Sacco is playing Landeskog in all situations (even strength, penalty kill, and power play) and he is killing it. It’s great to see Sacco having so much confidence in him this early in his career.

Another player I have been pleasantly surprised by is Lindstrom. I have seen Lindstrom play live when he was a member of the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. He was a fan favorite back then and finished the season close to averaging a point per game. With that being said the AHL and NHL are two different leagues so I was a bit skeptical at first. He was scratched for the first three games, but got his chance in Ottawa and lit it up with two goals. Yeah, it was against the bottom-dwelling Sens, but he showed a lot of promise and potential. Lindstrom proved to me that he is ready for the NHL and that leading the Swedish Elite League in points last season was no fluke.

Defense

I noticed a BIG difference in this years defensemen compared to those from just a season ago. Off-season additions Shane O’Brien and Jan Hejda have already made an impact just six games into this long season. Their tough style of play is just what the Avs were missing last year. Opposing forwards no longer park themselves in front of the net without being punished. The D corps are always there to protect our new goaltenders and forces opponents to think twice before crashing the net. Not only is their physical aspect amazing to watch, but they know how to play defense.

Shane O'Brien | zimbio.com

Gone are the horrible turnovers of last year. The poor decisions made with the puck have been sliced to a minimum AND the best part is these guys actually know how to defend. The Avs were horrible with allowing quality scoring chances last season and the majority of the shots given up so far this year have been from the outside where it is generally difficult to score. If there is a minor lapse in the defense one of our two new goaltenders will be standing in the way of the puck and the back of the net.

Goaltenders

The Avs gave up a lot (2012 first round pick) to bring in Semyon Varlamov from the Washington Capitals, but it is paying off huge thus far. In four games Varly has stopped 135 of 144 shots, including all 30 in a 1-0 shutout victory over the Bostom Bruins on October 10th. He is a battler. Just when you think he is down and out and the Avs are about to give up a goal his athleticism and flexibility allow him to make the most outstanding saves at key times. Goalies like Varly who are able to make those big saves when the team needs them can single handily lead the team to victory. The Avs also have a new backup goalie who was signed over the summer.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere is a veteran goaltender who knows his role on this team. He understands that he is a backup goaltender and has been playing that role for a few years now, but Giggy is no slouch. When he does get a chance to play he also steps up and makes the big saves to keep the team in the game. Unlike in years past Sacco has given the backup starts very early in the season. Giggy has already started and completed two games, a 7-1 win in Ottawa and a 3-2 overtime when at Toronto.

Summary

Since this is a long ass post I’ll provide a summary for those of you who like to skim.

Gabriel Landeskog and Joakim Lindstrom are proving their worth in this young season and have both recorded two goals in six and four games, respectively. They have also both seen power play time and have impressed me each game.

The new defensive additions of Shane O’Brien and Jan Hejda have bulked up the defense and the blue line is now a force to be reckoned with. Not only do they know how to throw their body around, but they play good, positionally sound defense.

Semyon Varlamov and Jean-Sebastien Giguere are two great additions to the team. No matter which guy is in net the Avalanche still have a chance to win. Both come up with big saves when they have to and will be a key asset to the Avs as the season grows on and they attempt to make the playoffs again.

The Avs were plagued with injuries last season and in my “professional” opinion if the team stays healthy they have a very good chance of making the playoffs, and are already proving they belong there. I’d also like to add that I’m well aware there are guys currently out with injury, but the current lineup is outstanding and knows how to put the puck in the opposing net, defend against opponents trying to put it in ours, and successfully keeping it out of ours.

Reminder

The Avs are back at home tonight to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the first game of a home and home series. There will be a Live Game Chat for tonight’s game beginning at 8:45pm EST.

Mike Chambers from the Denver Post was at practice and reported the following line combinations:

Jones-Stastny-Kobesew
Mueller-Duchene-Hejduk
Landeskog-O’Reilly-Winnik
McLeod-McClement-Galiardi

O’Brien-Quincey
Johnson-Hejda
Wilson-O’Byrne

Varlamov
Giguere

Extras forwards: Lindstrom, Porter
Extra defensemen: Hunwick

What do you think about these combinations?

The roster was previously cut to 27 players on October 2nd. I tweeted about it, but haven’t been able to find the time to write anything up.

The four players reassigned on Sunday were defenseman Tyson Barrie, left winger Patrick Bordeleau, center Brad Malone, and goalie Trevor Cann. They were all sent to Lake Erie of the AHL.

The final player sent to Lake Erie was defenseman Stefan Elliott. Kyle Cumiskey (groin), Mark Olver (head), and Brandon Yip (arm) were all placed on the injured reserve.

Elliott and Malone were both fan favorites throughout training camp. It was questionable as to whether or not Malone would be on the team, but many fans expected to see Elliott on the starting lineup Saturday. It appears that Cumiskey’s injury plays a large role in the reassigning of Elliott. Since Cumiskey is injured he cannot be sent down to the minors (he has a two-way contract) and Elliott was the only other option without sending a guy through waivers.

Cumiskey, who is nursing a groin injury, is skating, but has not been cleared for contact. I don’t mind this move as it gives Elliott some time to develop before making the jump to the NHL. He made his professional début with the Monsters last season and recorded two assists through five playoff games. I think he is ready for the NHL, but spending some time in Lake Erie will benefit him more than it will hurt him. We will see what happens when Cumiskey is healthy again, but I doubt the Avs send down a healthy player to bring up an unproven rookie. It could happen, but it’s not the Avs style, in my opinion.

All three players were reassigned to the Avs AHL affiliate the Lake Erie Monsters. Again, there’s no real surprise here:

D Cameron Gaunce (AHL)
D Jonas Holos (AHL)
C Ryan Stoa (AHL)

The next preseason game is this Wednesday at home against the Los Angeles Kings. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:00pm EST (7:00pm MT).

Mauldin joins five other players who were reassigned after last nights contest, a 3-2 loss to the Blues. The majority of the reassigned players were sent to Lake Erie of the AHL. These players are defensemen Joel Chouinard and David Liffiton, center Greg Mauldin, left winger David Van Der Gulik, and right winger Luke Walker. Defenseman Duncan Siemens was also reassigned to Saskatoon of the WHL.

The Avalanche roster has been reduced to 34 players with four preseason games remaining.

The Blues held on to a one goal lead through two periods after Evgeny Grabchev scored in the first period, and then they went up by two on an Adam Cracknell goal 5:02 into the third. Tyson Barrie recorded his third point in two games with his goal at 12:48, but the Blues would regain the two goal lead when David Backes found the back of the empty net after Peter Mueller turned the puck over in the neutral zone trying to make one too many moves with the puck. The Avs managed to pull within one when Paul Stastny found a rebound in front of Stars net-minder Jake Allen, but the game would end 3-2.

Now some notes I gathered from listening to the game. The Avs were back to their old selves and seemed to continuously miss the net with their shots. Everything seemed a bit sloppy tonight, but I guess that is to be expected in the preseason. Again similar to last year the Avs came to life in the third period and recorded 10 shots, the most of any period. It’s also when they scored both goals in the game. Unfortunately for the Avs and fans there was another similarity between tonight and last season. Injuries.

Brandon Yip | Zimbio.com

It was announced that Jan Hejda will miss two to four weeks with a knee injury. Hejda was signed in the off-season and did not play in either one of the preseason games thus far. He was apparently injured Tuesday night during the Burgundy and White game. The bad news doesn’t stop there. Brandon Yip left the ice in the second period after taking a shot off his forearm. He went straight to the locker room and when he didn’t return for the third period it was obvious something had happened. It turns out Yip actually broke his forearm and as of now is listed as out indefinitely, but the timetable for his return is somewhere around six weeks.

Hejda was expected to be on the opening roster, but the future wasn’t clear for Yip. With guys like Brad Malone and Joakim Lindstrom making a name for themselves in camp many have speculated that Yip would be sent to Lake Erie to start the season. With both players being injured it opens up two spots for prospects looking to make a name for themselves.

Who do you think will fill in for these injures Avs? Leave a comment below.

The four players sent down were:

G Calvin Pickard (OHL)

C Justin Mercier (AHL)
C Evan Brophey (AHL)
C Garrett Meurs (WHL)

The Avs played their first preseason game last night against the Dallas Stars. The Stars won 5-2, but the Avs left a lot of their veterans at home, which is the standard for preseason games.

Calvin Pickard and Trevor Cann split duties in net. Tyson Barrie and Brad Malone led the way with a power play goal and assist each.

The Avs face-off at home against the St. Louis Blues tonight and Semyon Varlamov will get the start and is expected to go the distance. Many of the Avs veterans will be in the lineup tonight. The only two players participating tonight who played last night are David Liffiton and Barrie. Cann is the backup tonight who played half of last night’s game.

The game isn’t being televised, but the radio broadcast can be streamed on Cruisin Oldies 950AM.

The Avalanche only cut six players reducing their preseason roster from 44, which includes four players who are currently injured. There are no surprises here as none were expected to stick around too long following the conclusion of the Burgundy and White game.

Those who were reassigned were:

G Sami Aittokallio (Finland)

D Stephen Silas (OHL)
D Gabriel Beaupre (QMJHL)
D Dillon Donnelly (QMJHL)
D Mike Brennan (AHL)
D Troy Rutkowski (WHL)

LW Zach Cohen (AHL)

Colorado also released its roster of players for tonight’s preseason game in Dallas:

Goalies
31 Trevor Cann
64 Calvin Pickard

Defense
3 Ryan O’Byrne
5 David Liffiton
22 Matt Hunwick
25 Duncan Siemens
27 Kyle Quincey
36 Jonas Holos
41 Tyson Barrie

Forwards
12 Kevin Porter
17 Chuck Kobasew
34 Daniel Winnik
37 Ryan O’Reilly
39 T.J. Galiardi
42 Brad Malone
43 Justin Mercier
45 Luke Walker
47 Evan Brophey
58 Patrick Bordeleau
67 Garrett Meurs
92 Gabriel Landeskog

As far as I know tonight’s game is not being televised, but it is being carried by Cruisin’ Oldies 950AM, a Colorado radio station. If you want to listen to the game you can do so through their website. I will most likely be listening to that feed and tweeting updates throughout the game @PutItOnIce.

Black vs Blue

After wining both of their games yesterday, Black was back on the ice to take on Blue. Black picked up right where they left off yesterday and Brad Malone scored on the opening shift. Black got another puck past Calvin Pickard after a scramble in front of the net to go ahead 2-0. Paul Stastny put Black ahead 3-0 after Joakim Lindstrom showed some great puck possession along the blue line. With about 7:30 remaining, Blue finally got on the board thanks to Ryan O’Reilly, but it wasn’t enough to get his team going and they fell short, losing 3-1.

Semyon Varlamov was in net for Black and looked great in this game against Blue. The only goal he allowed was the top shelf shot by O’Reilly. Here is a video from Adrian Dater featuring his best save on a penalty shot against off-season acquisition Chuck Kobasew.

Courtesy of Adrian Dater.

Here are some notes on this scrimmage from Twitter.

Blue vs Gray

O’Reilly got things rolling a bit earlier than last game and quickly put his team up 1-0 beating Varlamov blocker side. Gray wouldn’t allow Blue to run away with this game and Luke Walker, Kyle Quincey, and Greg Mauldin scored to put Gray up 3-1 over Blue. Mauldin added one more to put the nail in the coffin and lead Gray to the 4-1 victory.

As you know my go to “tweep” for training camp videos thus far has been @DarioinDenver. He chose to watch more of the scrimmages today and didn’t spend a lot of time recording, but one that he posted featured this penalty shot goal by Walker tying the game up at one. The penalty shot begins around the 1:45 mark.

Courtesy of @DarioinDenver.

Gray vs Black

This game shaped up to be a battle between the two goaltenders – Trevor Cann (Gray) and Sami Aittokallio (Black). Black, looking to stay undefeated, got on the board first when Daniel Winnik scored his third goal in four games after Cann was unable to find the loose puck. Gray managed to tie the score on a Troy Rutkowski point shot that was deflected past Aittokallio. That was all the scoring this game would see and as time expired the scoreboard read 1-1.

I want to thank all the great bloggers who were at camp for live tweeting the scrimmages giving people like myself some insight into camp since we can’t be there. Please be sure to check out their blogs and follow them on Twitter for more in-depth analysis from today’s training camp:

Kevin and Ryan from The Avs Guild
Angelique from Colorado Avalanche Prospects
Sean from Anyone but Detroit

It looks like the coaches will have some tough decisions to make for third and fourth line players. I can’t wait to see what happens when cuts start being made. The Burgundy and White game is Tuesday night which usually marks the end of training camp and the beginning of cuts. I expect a good majority of players to be cut some time Wednesday.