GDT: GDT #5 Colorado Avalanche vs New York Islanders | October 24th | 8 PM | F/7-4 L

[beach]

When you play a team which is far better than you -- you look bad.

Yall are ready to go jump off a bridge because we got out gunned by the Avs. Comon people. reality check.

Too early in the season to be this off the rails. At least give it till Thanksgiving....

Teams not in a playoff position at Thanksgiving have virtually zero statistical chance of making the playoffs. I'd give Lambert 6 more games to get things straightened out.

 

[lazycop]

Not to be Captain obvious, but these last 2 games scream out that this team needs to get younger and faster. It just ain't working with this group.
Honestly, I'd tear it down at this point. Anyone other than Sorokin and Dobson can go(for the right price, of course), including Barzal. And before anyone points out that Barzal IS young and fast, I'm increasingly becoming convinced that he's just not as good as people think he is.

 

[MJF]

It amazes me how sloppy they are and Lambert has had one full season, one full offseason, and two full training camps.

I’m adamant this this team needs a fresh voice from the outside that can actually implement ANY system. Lambert is living off the coat-tails of Trotz.

This is a poorly coached team. The lack of discipline and poor decisions with the puck are standing out. As NC 1972 said, part of this comes from the quality of the opponents. The game comes at our guys too fast.

 

[IslesNorway]

This team lacks discipline, which is somewhat incredible considering how much experience there is on board. They show grit and are good at coming back, but penalties lose you games and letting goals at crucial times does so too.

There is talent there, but it needs to be coached better.

 

[MJF]

Dumbest Fan of the Game Award goes to the guy sitting behind me. Overheard him say to his friend "Bo Horvat is holding back Mat Barzal's game."

 

[periferal]

Played shitty D and made a bunch of mistakes, yet still took one of the best teams in the league the distance. Everything’s not all that bad.

That's certainly a take. When do we get to be a team like the Avalanche, who also made a ton of mistakes, but still come out with a win against the "best teams in the league?"

We don't have the horses the Avs do (and certainly not the coaching) so every win against more talented teams is going to be effort-based.

But forget getting near a Cup. That window closed the moment Trotz left. You're holding on to the past or just don't want to face the facts if you think this team can win it all as currently constructed.

 

[JKP]

This is a poorly coached team. The lack of discipline and poor decisions with the puck are standing out. As NC 1972 said, part of this comes from the quality of the opponents. The game comes at our guys too fast.

Colorado's game comes at everyone too fast...

 

[Doshell Propivo]

That's certainly a take. When do we get to be a team like the Avalanche, who also made a ton of mistakes, but still come out with a win against the "best teams in the league?"

We don't have the horses the Avs do (and certainly not the coaching) so every win against more talented teams is going to be effort-based.

But forget getting near a Cup. That window closed the moment Trotz left. You're holding on to the past or just don't want to face the facts if you think this team can win it all as currently constructed.

Well shit! Glad you cleared that up for us! Man, here we all were, heading into the season thinking, "this is IT! This team is so well constructed that we are most likely going to cup!"

You should remind us of this more often.

 

[PK Cronin]

So true

The 6-0 Avs just set the ALL TIME NHL record for winning 15 straight regular season ROAD games last night and we took them down to the empty net goals PLAYING THEIR GAME, in a high scoring game. They were certainly motivated to beat us for that record. And enough with the "oh, it could be 8 or 9", we spent our money on goaltending specifically to have some games play like this and Sorokin earned that money to keep us in the game against a powerhouse.

Lee's tip-in attempt with the empty net missed by inches or we would be talking about how resilient we were. Barzal and Horvat created a lot of chances and those are going to be converted eventually. Finding the proper wing for them is still a work in progress. More and more I think someone who plays like Boeser is what they need. A fast shot who can keep up with them and doesn't need to create for themselves. Lee isn't fast enough and Wally hasn't figured out off-puck movement.

Holmstrom looked great last night; playing with Pageau and Clutterbuck freed him up to play deeper in the offensive zone and you can see the skill is coming out.

Martin got only 5:31 of ice time as the 4th line did not play much (Wally with 8:12 and Casey with 9:43) and we've been clamoring for that. Lambert sent a message to Casey last night (3 minors in 5 games is 98 PIMs for the year and that's unacceptable). More and more, Aho's offensive skills are showing up.

I've been saying to this board for a year now that the league has figured out that Pelech makes slow decisions when he is retrieving pucks and that has been exploited. Chip it deep to his side and get on him quickly; that's what is causing his issues (the last few games his aggressiveness also hurt, but the lack of moving the puck quickly is the root of his issues). He's got to stop trying to make a big play and move it around the boards quicker. If you haven't noticed by now, just watch the next game.

Pittsburgh and Washington look cooked and no way Phily and Columbus are going the whole year. Clean up Pelech and Dobson's game and we are going to be fine. We're 2-2-1; not 1-4.

Where is Aho's offensive skills showing up? He barely does anything out there. He's not skating the puck into the zone or through the neutral zone, he doesn't beat anyone 1 on 1 to create space or odd man opportunities. What skills are we talking about?

 

[WangMustGo]

Colorado's game comes at everyone too fast...

Colorado is unbelievable. The difference between us and a Colorado, New Jersey, or a Tampa Bay is that we dont have any true gamebreakers. We saw it with Hughes, we saw it with Makar and Mackinnon last night, and we saw it several times in the playoffs against Tampa. We have plenty of good players, but noone that ks a true game breaker. Its a problem that has no solution in sight. Horvat, Barzal, and Nelson are all good players, but none of them are elite players.

 

[MJF]

Colorado's game comes at everyone too fast...

Everyone’s game comes at us fast.

 

[Bones45]

This team lacks discipline, which is somewhat incredible considering how much experience there is on board. They show grit and are good at coming back, but penalties lose you games and letting goals at crucial times does so too.

There is talent there, but it needs to be coached better.

Barzals xchking penalty in the O zone during a 4 min PP, left my mouth agape.

So dumb.

 

[MJF]

Where is Aho's offensive skills showing up? He barely does anything out there. He's not skating the puck into the zone or through the neutral zone, he doesn't beat anyone 1 on 1 to create space or odd man opportunities. What skills are we talking about?

Once the puck is on Aho’s stick in the offensive zone, his shot is about as accurate as Pulock’s.


Which is to say it sucks.

 

[Osakahaus]

They need Mayfield back. Barzal needs to not take that penalty when they have a 4min PP. It's only 5 games. I have faith they'll get things sorted out and the PK will be much better when Mayfield returns. On the Thursday!

And if they keep losing then i'm going to hammer the importance of getting a cornerstone defenseman. Pelech has regressed hard.

 

[PK Cronin]

Colorado is unbelievable. The difference between us and a Colorado, New Jersey, or a Tampa Bay is that we dont have any true gamebreakers. We saw it with Hughes, we saw it with Makar and Mackinnon last night, and we saw it several times in the playoffs against Tampa. We have plenty of good players, but noone that ks a true game breaker. Its a problem that has no solution in sight. Horvat, Barzal, and Nelson are all good players, but none of them are elite players.

Yep. It's part of what makes me curious to see what Horvat does honestly. He's shown a willingness to try and beat guys 1 on 1 and that's one way to create more opportunities to score. Most of our players just curl back if it's a 2 on 2 and don't even attempt to make a play. The guys you mentioned are always looking for ways to turn those situations into better situations and we need more willingness to do that from the team.

 

[PK Cronin]

And if they keep losing then i'm going to hammer the importance of getting a cornerstone defenseman. Pelech has regressed hard.

They needed a winger forever. Dal Colle was supposed to be that guy. Then Bellows. Then Wahlstrom.

They needed a defenseman forever. Dobson was supposed to be that guy. Then Aho. Then Salo. Then Bolduc.

We've been on a never ending search for these pieces. The truth is that guys like these should've been moved a long time ago while they still had value. They weren't, and I do wonder if part of it is because our prospect pool was so bad we couldn't possibly part with our best prospects. Then these prospects turn into what we're seeing and it requires a shake of the head. Remember Koivula having a good year and nobody wanting to move him because he was definitely going to keep progressing?

I'd like to see more chances taken by management to go after underperforming talent from elsewhere that at the very least show flashes of what this team is missing. Get a defenseman who can't play defense but can actually score and see if you can insulate him or get him into the system where it works. Always going with the safe guys leads to where the team is right now.

 

[Osakahaus]

They needed a winger forever. Dal Colle was supposed to be that guy. Then Bellows. Then Wahlstrom.

They needed a defenseman forever. Dobson was supposed to be that guy. Then Aho. Then Salo. Then Bolduc.

We've been on a never ending search for these pieces. The truth is that guys like these should've been moved a long time ago while they still had value. They weren't, and I do wonder if part of it is because our prospect pool was so bad we couldn't possibly part with our best prospects. Then these prospects turn into what we're seeing and it requires a shake of the head. Remember Koivula having a good year and nobody wanting to move him because he was definitely going to keep progressing?

I'd like to see more chances taken by management to go after underperforming talent from elsewhere that at the very least show flashes of what this team is missing. Get a defenseman who can't play defense but can actually score and see if you can insulate him or get him into the system where it works. Always going with the safe guys leads to where the team is right now.

two second round picks for Toews

f*** you Gary Bettman and your stupid salary cap. This team needs new scouting. They need new people in charge. I hate being behind everyone. I hate that this is 5 games into the season and they've been getting their asses kicked without Scotty. I hate that this team has no defensive awareness. I hate that the veterans will not be held accountable. I hate that the 4th line is STILL getting important minutes.

 

[PK Cronin]

two second round picks for Toews

f*** you Gary Bettman and your stupid salary cap.

You'll never get me on board with this one. Toews is good but he's not nearly as good as the hype is around him. He's benefitting so much from playing with Makar. Did he do anything of note last night? Makar was all over the place and Toews was playing second fiddle and making safe plays (which is good, definitely, just not worthy of the drooling people do).

 

[Osakahaus]

You'll never get me on board with this one. Toews is good but he's not nearly as good as the hype is around him. He's benefitting so much from playing with Makar. Did he do anything of note last night? Makar was all over the place and Toews was playing second fiddle and making safe plays (which is good, definitely, just not worthy of the drooling people do).

And when he was here, everything was stable. I genuinely miss him. That trade and contract is why Lamoriello was a fool to not let go of Leddy or Komarov quicker. Now we have to deal with the consequences of a regressed Pulock/Pelech duo.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

They needed a winger forever. Dal Colle was supposed to be that guy. Then Bellows. Then Wahlstrom.

They needed a defenseman forever. Dobson was supposed to be that guy. Then Aho. Then Salo. Then Bolduc.

We've been on a never ending search for these pieces. The truth is that guys like these should've been moved a long time ago while they still had value. They weren't, and I do wonder if part of it is because our prospect pool was so bad we couldn't possibly part with our best prospects. Then these prospects turn into what we're seeing and it requires a shake of the head. Remember Koivula having a good year and nobody wanting to move him because he was definitely going to keep progressing?

I'd like to see more chances taken by management to go after underperforming talent from elsewhere that at the very least show flashes of what this team is missing. Get a defenseman who can't play defense but can actually score and see if you can insulate him or get him into the system where it works. Always going with the safe guys leads to where the team is right now.

Hard thing to do though, especially with defensemen. Always difficult to have patience yet also to know when to cut bait. In retrospect you're right, of course...

 

[Throttle]

Dumbest Fan of the Game Award goes to the guy sitting behind me. Overheard him say to his friend "Bo Horvat is holding back Mat Barzal's game."

Add that to the list!

 

[Osakahaus]

No Mayfield again...

JFC he really is injured badly from that blocked shot. If this becomes a tank season then it should instantly fire both Lamoriello and Lambert.

 

[Throttle]

Most fans didn’t want Mayfield resigned as he was deemed expendable, yet, here we are again…clamoring for him (and Toews, and Leddy and Eberle)

 

[Osakahaus]

Most fans didn’t want Mayfield resigned as he was deemed expendable, yet, here we are again…clamoring for him (and Toews, and Leddy and Eberle)

Because the team actually WORKED with Mayfield and Toews. Now you have a team thats slow and getting their asses kicked by anyone good. They lose to Ottawa and Columbus, its over. It genuinely is over. This team isn't good enough to make the playoffs if you play that lackidasical not only in your own end, but on the power play. Look at what Joe Sakic has done. He saw ACTUAL ISSUES with the Avalanche and fixed them. Lamoriello slept and had a few cigars with MacLean and gave him a handshake after having the 31st best powerplay last season. The incompetence from grandpa is outstanding. yes he resigned Mayfield and Engvall and others. But you know what the actual moves would've been to do? Firing MacLean after going 1/16 on the powerplay to Carolina.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

Once the puck is on Aho’s stick in the offensive zone, his shot is about as accurate as Pulock’s.


Which is to say it sucks.

I believe I mentioned this before but the stats tell a different story. Pulock's shots hit their target at a slightly better than average rate (among NHL defenseman). It is called "Thru %."

Because the team actually WORKED with Mayfield and Toews. Now you have a team thats slow and getting their asses kicked by anyone good. They lose to Ottawa and Columbus, its over. It genuinely is over. This team isn't good enough to make the playoffs if you play that lackidasical not only in your own end, but on the power play. Look at what Joe Sakic has done. He saw ACTUAL ISSUES with the Avalanche and fixed them. Lamoriello slept and had a few cigars with MacLean and gave him a handshake after having the 31st best powerplay last season. The incompetence from grandpa is outstanding. yes he resigned Mayfield and Engvall and others. But you know what the actual moves would've been to do? Firing MacLean after going 1/16 on the powerplay to Carolina.

What will genuinely happen if they beat Ottawa and Columbus? Or what if they go 1-1?