Sped through the game this morning... first thought, how does anybody watch these over ~3 hours?
Annunen - he was really, really bad. Soft goals and his weaknesses were very evident. Hopefully just a bad game. I'd argue he shouldn't have given up 3 of the 5, but at minimum 2 of the 5 should have been saved. It becomes very hard, near impossible, to win when a goalie gives up 2 soft goals.
Malinski - I think people are a little too hyped on the offensive flash. That's always been there and it wasn't different last night. His PP time will pretty much be nonexistent in the NHL... so I don't think that means much. His 5v5 play is still weak and soft in the defensive zone. The Brannstrom and Malinski pairing were abused in their own zone last night, and I think against a full NHL roster and with the effort ratcheted up that could be a disaster. In this game, their offensive and transition abilities outweighed their shortcomings.
Roaring 20s line - They looked horrific... and it was purely an effort thing. You could tell they were going through the motions. No big deal, but just goes to show how much effort really matters.
G/Kylington - Also a terrible pairing. Kylington needs to find his game quickly if he's going to play every night.
Ivan/Poulin/Kelly - I thought these three were the best line for the Avs last night. Ivan is showing what he did last camp and the first part of last season in the AHL. He faded down the stretch, so him keeping it up will be the bar for this year. Kelly looked pretty comfortable at center. Still think PEB wins that job, but some encouragement there. I thought Kelly was the best Av last night.
Ritchie - Outside of the goal, which is a move that I loved, I thought he was very bad. He looked completely lost out there and behind the play. Also didn't look engaged physically or wanting to play in the dirty areas. It is just one random preseason game, but he can't play like that and even get a 9 game tryout.
Behrens - he's not winning a NHL job out of camp. Partially due to numbers, but partially due to not flashing. I don't think it will be long though. He's as rock solid as they come. Him and Rosen were very good. I think no matter who Behrens plays with in Windsor, he's going to do well and quickly be a top pairing guy there.
Innala - He's not a NHLer, but I think he could have a very good season in the AHL. I like his pace and brain.... he's just small and not skilled enough to overcome it.
Overall... it is a meaningless preseason game. Grain of salt all of this.
