Colorado Avalanche
Avalanche Game 1 Plus/Minus: Handling The Physicality, Erratic Manson
It’s time for playoff plus/minus! As with every game, you take the good with the bad, so time to take a look at the pluses and the minuses in Game One against the Winnipeg Jets for the Colorado Avalanche.
– Alexandar Georgiev
There’s only so much more that can be said about it that hasn’t already been said in the last 12 hours. I wrote about it last night, and nothing has really changed today. Were the Avalanche perfect defensively? Nope, and no team is, but to only give up 23 shots against on the road in a playoff game is pretty good. Losing a game like that stings badly. The pressure is on in Game Two in more ways than one. Colorado has to win to go home tied up in the series, and there’s pressure on whoever is in net to just make a few saves to give the team a chance to survive.
For weeks, it was clear the Avalanche were standing behind Georgiev as their #1 goaltender. Unfortunately, I don’t think they can do that anymore. It depends on the health of Justus Annunen, but the staff may have to make a tough decision here.
+ First 10 Minutes For Josh Manson
Josh Manson might have come out and been the best player on the ice early in the game. He was creating chances offensively, breaking the puck really well, and not allowing anything to enter the Avalanche zone. At one point, he dangled somebody at the offensive blueline for a nice look on net that Hellebuyck snagged out of the air. It looked like it was going to be a great night for him, but that quickly changed.
– Second 10 Minutes For Josh Manson
What the heck happened? A muffin up the middle is about the last thing you want to do in the playoffs, especially when your team is controlling the majority of the play. That was the perfect time to just send it up the boards and out. A few minutes later, he lost his Schiefele in front and saw the game get tied up again. Kind of crazy how he went from being the best player on the ice to playing a major role in two goals against.
+ Casey Mittelstadt
He had the mistake on the third goal, but other than that, I thought Mittelstadt was fantastic for his first career playoff game. Our angle up in the press box was tremendous, and some of the seams he was finding to hit his teammates with passes were incredible. He was at least rewarded with that garbage time goal late, but he played really well and was even willing to throw his body around a bit. If that’s the Mittelstadt you’re going to get in the playoffs, you’re probably pretty happy.
+ The Third Line
It can’t just be the top six getting it done, and it wasn’t in Game One. The third line came through with a massive goal in the first period to swing the momentum (briefly) back in favor of the Avalanche. Great forecheck work by Colton and Kiviranta to create the Miles Wood goal. Wood didn’t score for 25 games to end the season, so he chose a good time to break out of that slump. They also threw their bodies around a fair bit last night. This line is going to have to continue to make an impact for this team in the playoffs.
+ Physicality
The Jets are the bigger, more physical team. There’s no denying that. However, I thought the Avalanche held their own in Game One and didn’t back down from anyone. The bigger forwards they brought in at the deadline, Yakov Trenin and Brandon Duhaime, threw their bodies around and tried to start some funny stuff. Wood played physical, Colton played physical. Heck, even Rantanen was credited with four hits of his own. You aren’t going to see that often.
Can they do this all series? I guess we’ll find out. It’s not really their game, but they played the part for one night.
– Top Line Parise
This is nitpicking at best, but the Avalanche are in a tough spot here. Replacing a top line winger right as the playoffs start is pretty much impossible, so they’re trying to find the right solution. Parise worked his butt off and threw his body around, but his lack of speed was apparent at times. I actually thought the coaching staff might throw Duhaime up on the top line, because they liked what he did on the second line in the absence of players about a month ago. He doesn’t have the skill to keep up, but could potentially create space for the other two.
It’s a tough spot to be put in at this time of the year, but I’m interested to see if they experiment at all in this series. It seems like the goal was to keep the second line together, and that paid off, because they played really well.
+ Caleb Jones
The biggest compliment I can give Jones after that game is that I didn’t even notice him. He didn’t make any major screw-ups, and his underlying numbers are really strong. That was only his third career playoff game and he did pretty well. If Sam Girard is healthy, the coaching staff won’t hesitate to put him back in there, but Jones is a capable depth defenseman.
+ The Atmosphere
This is my first time in Winnipeg. The city? Yeah, I don’t really have much to say about that.
The atmosphere inside the arena? Insane. That was the loudest building I’ve ever been inside of. It’s really not that close. My ears were hurting after the game from the decibel levels they were hitting. And those fans get really creative with the whiteout. I saw someone dressed as the Pope. There were a couple of ladies wearing their wedding dresses. This is the type of stuff you love to see in the playoffs.
That’s also why, from an Avalanche perspective, it stinks that you couldn’t come away with a win. They handled a tough environment really well and weren’t rewarded for it. It won’t get any easier in Game Two.
– Trailing The Series
The reality the Avalanche are facing is that they’re trailing the series. Is Game Two a must-win? I don’t know if you can go that far, but beating this team (and Hellebuyck) four times in five games sounds like a difficult task, so I lean towards yes.
Avalanche Practice: Kiviranta Skates, Taking Advantage Of Break
Evan’s NHL Daily: Leafs Force Game Seven, Potential Dubois Buyout
Series Debrief: Avalanche Take Down The Jets In Five Games
CHN Road Blog: Winnipeg, We Hardly Knew Ye
Cale Makar Named Finalist For Norris Trophy
Avalanche Room: Bench ‘Calm’ During Hectic Second, Praise For Their Goaltender
MacKinnon On Playoff Mittelstadt: ‘He Looks Right At Home’
Avalanche Room: Girard’s Impact, Coach Notes Depth Difference From Last Year
Avalanche Room: Bednar Raves About ‘Warrior’ Lehkonen, Kovalenko ‘Not Scared Of The Moment’
Game 2 is must win. Schiefele’s push off on Manson was perfectly timed on WIN third goal. Nothing Manson could have done. Juice starts if he is healthy.
Go AVS!
Great read, Evan. Really solid analysis here.
I have a question: does the goalie coach follow the team on the road and could he have a say in the choice of goalie for the next game
It seems like they didn’t struggle on the forward side, but Kovalenko has the speed and maybe the skill to fill in on the first line. It’s not like Bednar to take a chance like that this early, but could it happen? Would Parise sit of so? Or put Parise on the third line and sit Kiviranta?
When Seattle lost a top line forward they went to the Ahl and brought up Tye Kartye. Most teams “next best” offensive players are in the minors. The Avs need to bring up either Foudy or Kovalenko and leave the other lines alone. That being Said, this us Bednar we are talking about. No changes made, Georgiev will be given at least 4 games to play his way out of his “slump”. You may see a shifting of forwards, but no way they go to Ahl unless injuries pile up. Kovalenko may have buyers remorse at this point, everyone made… Read more »
Kovalenko isn’t “stuck” in Loveland. He has been quoted saying that after his injury it’s been tough getting back into game shape at altitude. He scored in last night’s Eagles game and it was the first time he’s shown a semblance of being even a possibility. He’ll now need to show consistency over a few games to indicate he might be ready to step into NHL playoff hockey
I’d disagree with that. I watched the first two games and he looked good. Didn’t watch last night’s game because of the Avs game, but his IQ is on a different level than other guys there, who just want to muck it up.
The Georgiev issue is what it is. At this stage, the only option is play Georgiev again or play Annunen, if healthy tomorrow. Holm was only brought up for emergencies. Same with Hunt and Wagner. When the team gets home, the Avs will be able to easier get an Eagle called up to replace a specific player. Georgiev aside, the Jets are going about the same discussions, albeit with a win so far. They will be asking how the Avs scored 6 goals and had 46 shots. They will be trying to fix their mistakes and shoring up their defense.… Read more »
I would have zero reservations if Annunen is sick still & can’t dress in playing Holm. Georgiev’s game & psyche is shot. You look at his inability to be positionally sound ever. His horrible tracking of where the puck is, watch the way he moves in the crease or how late he is to react to pucks. His game is shot. His confidence & fundamentals are gone & his whole game needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.
Even an ECHL goaltender with zero NHL experience can’t play worse that what you got in game 1
I agree, Georgie was TERRIBLE overall, but Manson’s play, as you point out, lead directly to two critical goals by the Jets. Where is his head, especially on that blind, behind the back “pass” that could have, should have, just gone up the boards. I watched the replay on the third goal, and Manson was looking at the puck, coming his way, and did nothing to tie up his man or his mans stick. I like it when Manson is agressive on the offense, but his terrible mistakes balance out his overall game.
This has been bugging me & Eric LaCroix is the only Avs media member that I saw point this out. That 2nd goal against was not anywhere near on Manson as it was Georgiev. He put Manson in an awful spot by playing that puck to him. If his dumbass is going to come out to play the puck (which he shouldn’t), because he’s even worse at handling the puck than he is at stopping it. That puck needs to be shot up the wall. Not played on his backhand to Manson who has a forward bearing down on him… Read more »
I’m glad somebody else has noticed this. I have been saying this for the last two years. Georgiev makes terrible decisions when he tries to play the puck and he is a bad passer. He would be better off never touching the puck. I have been shocked that Bednar has never addressed this issue.
Evan agree on Parise. Few times Nate set him up for great shots and he just doesn’t have the finish or passing skill anymore. Still a damn solid bottom 6 fwd though. You think JB would entertain putting Nuke or Lecky on the 1st and move Colton to wing on the second. You could slide Trenin into 3C with Wagner at 4C. Not sure if this helps, but JDru is probably out for quite awhile, not sure Parise is a long term option on the 1st line.
Manson needs to be reminded that his job is defense first, focus second…Stop trying to be a forward w/ puck moving skills which you are not! Do your damn job!
Avs came out offensively and did everything we could hope for for the majority of the game. They were physical, relentless, and hungry on the offensive end. Unfortunately, though our warts continue to be warts defensively and with a goalie who has lost all confidence it was a terrible result. That was the game to steal in Winnipeg. They are not going to play that bad of defense again this series nor will their goalie give up 6 goals. WNP has now averaged 6 goals against us per game this year. Ridiculous, particularly for a team that was in the… Read more »
Eva, your analysis is spot on as usual. Where is IP in the organization these days and why was he not the backup goaltender since Juice was out sick? I’ve never even heard of the guy they had as the backup. For the betterment of the team they probably should play someone other than Georgie.
The Eagles were playing for home ice advantage on Sunday. IP was coming off an injury, and Bednar was never pulling Georgiev even if Roy (in prime) was the backup. Georgiev is our guy until he is no longer in the organization or the coach gets replaced. Just 3 more games and most if you can focus on the Nuggets (I hate the NBA) and I can turn my attention to the Firebirds!