GDT: Avalanche vs Bles Saturday 03/29/25 @2:30 PM MNT (Emergency GDT) They're hot, we're hot, everybody's hot. But we're also snow.

[chet1926]

Lol the BS around here is kind of insane.

The Avs have what 3 losses in March, all were 2-1 scores and all were aided by insane hot goalie performances and questionable reffing.

2-1 shootout loss to Minny where Gustavsson played out of his mind.

2-1 loss to Toronto where the ref literally dove in front of a puck to create a 2 on 1 GWG goal in a tie game in the 3rd period. Not to mention Woll had his best game in months.

2-1 loss to St Louis today, where Binnington got plain lucky with 3 posts and 3 saves that were dumb luck. And the refs gave St Louis every beneficial call.

What I'm saying is of it takes insane goaltending and favorable reffing to eek out 2-1 wins against the Avs I'm not really concerned.

 

[the_fan]

Lol the BS around here is kind of insane.

The Avs have what 3 losses in March, all were 2-1 scores and all were aided by insane hot goalie performances and questionable reffing.

2-1 shootout loss to Minny where Gustavsson played out of his mind.

2-1 loss to Toronto where the ref literally dove in front of a puck to create a 2 on 1 GWG goal in a tie game in the 3rd period. Not to mention Woll had his best game in months.

2-1 loss to St Louis today, where Binnington got plain lucky with 3 posts and 3 saves that were dumb luck. And the refs gave St Louis every beneficial call.

What I'm saying is of it takes insane goaltending and favorable reffing to eke out 2-1 wins against the Avs I'm not really concerned.

How dare you to make sense

 

[the_fan]

I have a feeling we gonna lose to Flames on Monday too, and I don’t wanna be here for the reactions. We just had to play all this teams desperately trying to make the playoffs or stay in the playoffs late in the season

 

[EdAVSfan]

The AVS playoff spot is essentially locked in as the 3rd seed in the central.
Who cares whether we win every single game or not.

What’s important is that they continue to play well (because results will follow), that they stay healthy, continue to build chemistry, etc.

The AVS have a team that can win, and they’ve been playing really really good hockey for a while now. Can’t ask for more imo.

 

[chet1926]

I have a feeling we gonna lose to Flames on Monday too, and I don’t wanna be here for the reactions. We just had to play all this teams desperately trying to make the playoffs or stay in the playoffs late in the season

We will win that game. Probably won't be close. I'm thinking 5-2. We won't goalied and reffed every game.

Simply put without those two factors we aren't losing games. We are running teams into the ground otherwise. Doubt we will get goalied and reffed 2 games in a row.

 

[the_fan]

I don’t agree with the notion that both teams played playoff hockey today and Blues won. The game might look like a playoff style game, but the players know deep down that it is not the playoffs, and there will always be kind of lapses that you won’t see in the playoffs.

It’s human nature. It’s just like if you were having sex with your wife of 20 years, compared to if you were having a one night stand with your fantasy dream girl. You could pretend that the effort was the same, but having sex with your fantasy dream girl would be like the game 7 of the finals, while the sex with your wife of 20 years would be like the 1st game of the preseason

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

Tied at the end of the 2nd 1 - 1 it was obvious that the team that made the most egregious mistake would pay for it.. That unfortunately ended up being the Avs via Necas's jr hockey level brain fart.

Totally unacceptable. And he knows it.

Let's move on.

 

[The Kingslayer]

it’s not too crazy. If we had this current roster we have now from the start of the season, we’d probably be on par with the 22 team as far as the regular season standing and points. We would be battling with the Jets for the 1st place

And if we had the 2001 roster they be 78-4. All 4 losses to the Blues and Dallas

 

[chet1926]

Tied at the end of the 2nd 1 - 1 it was obvious that the team that made the most egregious mistake would pay for it.. That unfortunately ended up being the Avs via Necas's jr hockey level brain fart.

Totally unacceptable. And he knows it.

Let's move on.

Yeah it was a mistake, but let's be honest the refs played a significant role in the game tonight.

No team can play perfect hockey. And it's virtually impossible to win a game when every single call goes against you.

I wouldn't say boo hoo if we went 0-3 on the PP. But we got 1 call, they got 4. The refs also missed 2 very obvious calls on St Louis. We might not win if the correct calls were made, but at least we wouldn't have this ambiguous crap where the refs got involved with a closely contested game.

One mistake shouldn't cost you a game, since every team make multiple mistakes every game, but tonight it did, because the zebras made sure that was the case by not calling even a remotely semi passable game.

 

[Foppa2118]

Sorry for the long post, but have to rant here after another game proving that NHL referees are just dumb human beings.

Three penalties in the third totally threw off the Avs rhythm. Including Faksa tripping himself and a total dive by Sundqvist on a weak shove that never should have been called, during a tight, hard fought, playoff style 1-1 game. Inexcusable.

Then MacKinnon comes out of the box and Faksa does a baseball swing at his arm while he had the puck which caused him to almost lose it at the blueline. Then the NHL ref that’s supposed to help eliminate head contact lets Lindgren get elbowed in the head without doing anything about it.

Only a dumb human being would watch that weak shove and think that’s a penalty. Only a dumb human being would just guess that Faksa fell because he was tripped when he didn't see a trip. Only a dumb human being would watch MacKinnon get Babe Ruth’d and not take that opportunity for a make up call. And only a dumb human being would watch Lindgren get elbowed in the head and have his helmet knocked off and not use that as an opportunity to even up the call either.

If they’re worried about calling penalties late in the third and impacting the game, this also proves they’re dumb. They already had a huge impact on the game giving the Blues three penalties. Dummies are so inconsistent in the way they call the game, they can’t even be consistent on their game management to even up the calls when they should.

We don’t need to debate why officiating is bad anymore. The answer is very clear. They’re dumb. They’re the security guards of the NHL.

Blues played a very good defensive game outside of that though. Blocked a ton of shots. Not sure that’s sustainable for more than a game here or there though. Avs were the better team most of the night IMO.

DIdn't like Necas, Nelson, or Malinski in this game. Necas way too lackadaisical. Nelson was just ok when they needed a bit more. Malsinki with too many turnovers and some soft defense after getting hit a few times again. This is concerning for the playoffs. Thought Coyle, Val, and Lehky were a bit too quiet as well. Avs reverted back to a one line team again. Mostly just Nate and Cale providing the offense.

Also another game showing the Avs shooting accuracy is just not where it should be sometimes. They generate so many chances, but hit so many posts, and miss the too many nets. Cale is the best defenseman in the NHL and he creates so many scoring chances, but he misses the net on too many of them. If he can just improve that a little bit it would make him and the team so much more dominant.

Please, please, please work on your shots during the break before the playoffs. It's become their Achilles heel in a lot of losses.

 

[chet1926]

Sorry for the long post, but have to rant here after another game proving that NHL referees are just dumb human beings.

Three penalties in the third totally threw off the Avs rhythm. Including Faksa tripping himself and a total dive by Sundqvist on a weak shove that never should have been called, during a tight, hard fought, playoff style 1-1 game. Inexcusable.

Then MacKinnon comes out of the box and Faksa does a baseball swing at his arm while he had the puck which caused him to almost lose it at the blueline. Then the NHL ref that’s supposed to help eliminate head contact lets Lindgren get elbowed in the head without doing anything about it.

Only a dumb human being would watch that weak shove and think that’s a penalty. Only a dumb human being would just guess that Faksa fell because he was tripped when they didn’t see it. Only a dumb human being would watch MacKinnon get Babe Ruth’d and not take that opportunity for a make up call. And only a dumb human being would watch Lindgren get elbowed in the head and have his helmet knocked off and not use that as an opportunity to even up the call either.

If they’re worried about calling penalties late in the third and impacting the game, this also proves they’re dumb. They already had a huge impact on the game giving the Blues three penalties. Dummies are so inconsistent in the way they call the game, they can’t even be consistent on their game management to even up the calls when they should.

We don’t need to debate why officiating is bad anymore. The answer is very clear. They’re dumb. They’re the security guards of the NHL.

Blues played a very good defensive game outside of that though. Blocked a ton of shots. Not sure that’s sustainable for more than a game here or there though. Avs were the better team most of the night IMO.

DIdn't like Necas, Nelson, or Malinski in this game. Necas way too lackadaisical. Nelson was just ok when they needed a bit more. Malsinki with too many turnovers and some soft defense after getting hit a few times again. This is concerning for the playoffs. Thought Coyle, Val, and Lehky were a bit too quiet as well. Avs reverted back to a one line team again. Mostly just Nate and Cale providing the offense.

Also another game showing the Avs shooting accuracy is just not where it should be sometimes. They generate so many chances, but hit so many posts, and miss the too many nets. Cale is the best defenseman in the NHL and he creates so many scoring chances, but he misses the net on too many of them. If he can just improve that a little bit it would make him and the team so much more dominant.

Please, please, please work on your shots during the break before the playoffs. It's become their Achilles heel in a lot of losses.

Nice post. Fully agree.

Often on these boards I see posters try to take the "high ground" and say refs weren't the reason we lost etc. Like it will earn us brownie points or something.

It's crap. The refs had a shitty game today. There really isn't any nice way around it. The refs absolutely played a part by calling the game the way they did. They sucked. Unfortunately that happens, but it still sucks.

It's ok to say the refs were awful, they are human and have bad games, which is very much what happened today.

We weren't amazing, some guys had bad nights like you mentioned. Also agree shooting is a problem and will probably be our downfall. Sucks, but you'd think eventually our bad luck and post hitting will even out. One can hope.

 

[Foppa2118]

Nice post. Fully agree.

Often on these boards I see posters try to take the "high ground" and say refs weren't the reason we lost etc. Like it will earn us brownie points or something.

It's crap. The refs had a shitty game today. There really isn't any nice way around it. The refs absolutely played a part by calling the game the way they did. They sucked. Unfortunately that happens, but it still sucks.

It's ok to say the refs were awful, they are human and have bad games, which is very much what happened today.

We weren't amazing, some guys had bad nights like you mentioned. Also agree shooting is a problem and will probably be our downfall. Sucks, but you'd think eventually our bad luck and post hitting will even out. One can hope.

I don't see any way to defend the Sundqvist flop or Faksa tripping himself.

Maybe you don't call the baseball swing at MacKInnon's arm in a normal tight game, but every game except for this one they're looking to make the calls close to even, so there's no reason not to call that. Especially when you just gave the Blues two power plays, and Nate was a good boy, and didn't yell at the ref when he knew for a fact he didn't trip Faksa. Reward him for that. This is why he yells at you.

And there's no excuse not to call the elbow to the head of Lindgren after all that.

So that's 4 f*** ups by the refs in the third period of a tight 1-1 playoffs style game, that resulted in giving the Blues three power plays, and throwing off the Avs rythm.

There were things the Blues did well, and things the Avs did poorly at times, but that was an even game that the refs might have decided outcome on.

 

[chet1926]

I don't see any way to defend the Sundqvist flop or Faksa tripping himself.

Maybe you don't call the baseball swing at MacKInnon's arm in a normal tight game, but every game except for this one they're looking to make the calls close to even, so there's no reason not to call that. Especially when you just gave the Blues two power plays, and Nate was a good boy, and didn't yell at the ref when he knew for a fact he didn't trip Faksa. Reward him for that. This is why he yells at you.

And there's no excuse not to call the elbow to the head of Lindgren after all that.

So that's 4 f*** ups by the refs in the third period of a tight 1-1 playoffs style game, that resulted in giving the Blues three power plays, and throwing off the Avs rythm.

There were things the Blues did well, and things the Avs did poorly at times, but that was an even game that the refs might have decided outcome on.

100% this. Refs can't have 4+ f*** ups in one period in favor of one team in one game. It was poor effort on their part today.

Anyone who says this didn't alter the game is just lying.

 

[RECKLESS]

Burn the tape.

 

[Richard88]

Not mad about that loss. St. Louis—as Moser accurately pointed out—had sticks EVERYWHERE. Really maddening when they just kept knocking pucks out of midair.

If I had a criticism of the Avs it was the fact that they could not hit the f***ing net today. Colton is especially guilty of this and he actually played okay…outside of that really stupid penalty.

Didn’t quite bring the intensity they had against the Kings but again, I didn’t think they were bad. The winger shuffle was odd, I guess Bednar wanted one “big” line, but I’m a little surprised he didn’t break out the Blendar if he was being experimental.

Wood’s best game in a looooooong while.

The winger shuffle is planned and shouldn't surprise anyone. Bednar said at the TDL that he wants to get a look at a few different line combinations down the stretch to know who has chemistry with the playoffs in mind. He already knows now that the Lehkonen-Nelson-Necas line works well so he wanted to check something else. In a best of 7 being able to mix things up to throw another coach off is really useful, but only of the lined actually work.

 

[Richard88]

Or don't make these changes in an important game like this. Or if you do, and it doesn't work, revert to what works.

Why was this game more important than any other? The Avs have virtually secured 3rd spot so there's not much left to play for.

 

[Richard88]

I don't think anyone is super worked up about a loss. What pisses me off is how the game unfolded. The refs put it on a platter for St Louis in the 3rd, it was not the Avs playing good or bad. The refs dictated the 3rd period and that's just garbage.

Two of the calls were fair. The Colton interference and the Malinski high stick. Self inflicted penalties.

The MacKinnon trip was a bad call I agree. Also the non call on the elbow on Lindgren. The Blues didnt score on the PP though so its not like that was the only factor.

More important to me is that the PK got some practice, and Bednar gets an opportunity to get in the players ears about discipline. Rather they take dumb penalties and make bad turnovers now than in the playoffs.

 

[ChaosT83]

Sorry for the long post, but have to rant here after another game proving that NHL referees are just dumb human beings.

Three penalties in the third totally threw off the Avs rhythm. Including Faksa tripping himself and a total dive by Sundqvist on a weak shove that never should have been called, during a tight, hard fought, playoff style 1-1 game. Inexcusable.

Then MacKinnon comes out of the box and Faksa does a baseball swing at his arm while he had the puck which caused him to almost lose it at the blueline. Then the NHL ref that’s supposed to help eliminate head contact lets Lindgren get elbowed in the head without doing anything about it.

Only a dumb human being would watch that weak shove and think that’s a penalty. Only a dumb human being would just guess that Faksa fell because he was tripped when he didn't see a trip. Only a dumb human being would watch MacKinnon get Babe Ruth’d and not take that opportunity for a make up call. And only a dumb human being would watch Lindgren get elbowed in the head and have his helmet knocked off and not use that as an opportunity to even up the call either.

If they’re worried about calling penalties late in the third and impacting the game, this also proves they’re dumb. They already had a huge impact on the game giving the Blues three penalties. Dummies are so inconsistent in the way they call the game, they can’t even be consistent on their game management to even up the calls when they should.

We don’t need to debate why officiating is bad anymore. The answer is very clear. They’re dumb. They’re the security guards of the NHL.

Blues played a very good defensive game outside of that though. Blocked a ton of shots. Not sure that’s sustainable for more than a game here or there though. Avs were the better team most of the night IMO.

DIdn't like Necas, Nelson, or Malinski in this game. Necas way too lackadaisical. Nelson was just ok when they needed a bit more. Malsinki with too many turnovers and some soft defense after getting hit a few times again. This is concerning for the playoffs. Thought Coyle, Val, and Lehky were a bit too quiet as well. Avs reverted back to a one line team again. Mostly just Nate and Cale providing the offense.

Also another game showing the Avs shooting accuracy is just not where it should be sometimes. They generate so many chances, but hit so many posts, and miss the too many nets. Cale is the best defenseman in the NHL and he creates so many scoring chances, but he misses the net on too many of them. If he can just improve that a little bit it would make him and the team so much more dominant.

Please, please, please work on your shots during the break before the playoffs. It's become their Achilles heel in a lot of losses.

"Blues played a very good defensive game outside of that though. Blocked a ton of shots. Not sure that’s sustainable for more than a game here or there though. Avs were the better team most of the night IMO."

Blues fan here in peace. The Blues defense is for real. Under the radar, Doug Armstrong has assembled a deep and experienced D-Core. One thing to keep in mind about this game is the Blues were without probably their best D-man. Colton Parayko's injured but is expected to return before the playoffs start. Parayko, Justin Faulk, Philip Broberg, Cam Fowler, Ryan Suter, and Nick Leddy is a D-Core many teams would go to war with in the playoffs. Cam Fowler, who's having one of the best seasons of his career, and Ryan Suter are no longer top D-men but if they're a 2nd or 3rd line defensive option, that's pretty good depth.

Long story short, I don't think the Blues defense is a fluke. Since Jim Montgomery took over, the Blues have one of the best defenses if not the best defense in the league.

Also.... Jordan Binnington is a psychopath but there are few goaltenders I would take in the playoffs right now over him. He turns into Jonathan Quick in high pressure, playoff situations. He'll weirdly give up really sloppy goals and play like ass at times in the regular season but something mentally snaps in him to where he's like a Terminator when it matters. I don't understand him but then again goaltenders tend to not be right in the head.

 

[Grigowski]

I dont give a f*** about this loss, sorry.....

I want this team healthy as possible in 3 weeks.....

Playoffs are all but set for us. Now its preparing for the big dance and avoid injuries. dont take any risks at this point. We wont catch Dallas anyway.....

 

[John Mandalorian]

I dont give a f*** about this loss, sorry.....

I want this team healthy as possible in 3 weeks.....

Playoffs are all but set for us. Now its preparing for the big dance and avoid injuries. dont take any risks at this point. We wont catch Dallas anyway.....

It’s important in that it’s St Louis. And it’s the Avs duty to curb stomp St Louis and it’s trashy fan base back to irrelevance every chance it gets.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Lol the BS around here is kind of insane.

The Avs have what 3 losses in March, all were 2-1 scores and all were aided by insane hot goalie performances and questionable reffing.

2-1 shootout loss to Minny where Gustavsson played out of his mind.

2-1 loss to Toronto where the ref literally dove in front of a puck to create a 2 on 1 GWG goal in a tie game in the 3rd period. Not to mention Woll had his best game in months.

2-1 loss to St Louis today, where Binnington got plain lucky with 3 posts and 3 saves that were dumb luck. And the refs gave St Louis every beneficial call.

What I'm saying is of it takes insane goaltending and favorable reffing to eek out 2-1 wins against the Avs I'm not really concerned.

This. Just shows how good we are at the moment. Very tough team to beat.n

 

[flyfysher]

The thing about the NHL is that inevitably you’re going to have some lost games to terrible reffing. That’s what we had here. Refs have been brutal when it comes to the Avs of late. Really unfortunate but let’s focus on getting ready for the POs.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Still a few almost meaningless games left. Then the Avs will get a nice about week long rest before game 1.

I really dislike the idea of going against Dallas in the first round, rather pick any team in the west other than the Stars. One top team will be out immediately because of the dumb division rules.

 

[SB]

I don't see any way to defend the Sundqvist flop or Faksa tripping himself.

Maybe you don't call the baseball swing at MacKInnon's arm in a normal tight game, but every game except for this one they're looking to make the calls close to even, so there's no reason not to call that. Especially when you just gave the Blues two power plays, and Nate was a good boy, and didn't yell at the ref when he knew for a fact he didn't trip Faksa. Reward him for that. This is why he yells at you.

And there's no excuse not to call the elbow to the head of Lindgren after all that.

So that's 4 f*** ups by the refs in the third period of a tight 1-1 playoffs style game, that resulted in giving the Blues three power plays, and throwing off the Avs rythm.

There were things the Blues did well, and things the Avs did poorly at times, but that was an even game that the refs might have decided outcome on.

I was there, and it was a really good, entertaining game. At one point in the second period, I said, "I totally wouldn't mind losing today because it has just been well-played and this isn't a bad team to lose to right now." But the third left a bad taste in my mouth, unfortunately. I expected makeup calls. That said, I still don't reallllly mind.

 

[chet1926]

Two of the calls were fair. The Colton interference and the Malinski high stick. Self inflicted penalties.

The MacKinnon trip was a bad call I agree. Also the non call on the elbow on Lindgren. The Blues didnt score on the PP though so its not like that was the only factor.

More important to me is that the PK got some practice, and Bednar gets an opportunity to get in the players ears about discipline. Rather they take dumb penalties and make bad turnovers now than in the playoffs.

The Colton call was about as weak of a call you'll ever see in tie game in the 3rd. It was 100% a dive the refs bought. Considering they let Sundqvist hit Colton high, hard and late 5 seconds earlier, it was a joke.

The only call that should have gone against the Avs in the 3rd was Malinski's high stick. Everything else was a shit show by the refs.