Both goalies looked great yesterday but the team did not play well at all . We did not play great against Utah either but they are not great caliber . We are having problems with our sticks on the puck , fumbling passes , throwing passes into feet and trying to force passes that are not there .
I found your breakouts to be really interesting in the first period.
Almost no forwards in the defensive zone, encouraging both defensemen to skate up with the puck. Two forwards in the neutral zone, usually one on the boards for an easy chip-in play or one rushing through the middle. The third forward high almost cheating offside is what caught my eye. It's very dependent on having D who can make that 20-30 foot pass and being comfortable doing so. If you don't have that, it's going to result in lots of neutral zone turnovers and failed breakouts. You were in behind us a good 4-5 times in the first period alone.
The Avs made an adjustment in the second period, dropping the two defensemen deeper and keeping a third forward low as well. It was a good coaching adjustment and made your breakouts harder. Only one forechecker on the two D breaking out and since you had all 3 forwards out of the zone, there was only the side-to-side D option or forcing it into the neutral zone. The two high Avs forwards were able to get body on body and sticks on pucks after the first pass. This was a key adjustment to stop the huge threat you were introducing in the first period with the third forward high/cheating behind the D.
I also really liked your cycle game for the most part. Tons of close support from the 3 forwards. The wide forward was well inside the hashmarks when the puck wasn't on his side, allowing for this tight, close triangle and one-time passes on the cycle. Most teams keep that third forward in the slot at the most, you had all 3 close together many times. That takes forwards with high IQ who can make the quick passes and read off each other.
Ehlers, in particular, was really doing it well. Since the Avs had to then shift bodies over to cover the 3 forwards close, Ehlers was able to cycle high by the D and use his speed to get over to the open side of the ice. I noticed on almost every high cycle(faceoff dot or higher), he was coming up the blueline with speed to immediately straddle the line and shift focus to the weak side of the zone.
Again, I really enjoyed this game despite my team losing. Solid, and in your case great, goaltending from both sides. Tight checking and coaching adjustments throughout. Had a playoff feel.