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A horrible night for the Avs.
I barely got time from work to watch the Red Wings and the Canucks game. I must say, I didn't expect such a good game against Detroit as well as such a poor game against Vancouver. And I sure didn't like seeing the Swedes I don't like at all, Franzen and The Twins scoring against Varlamov. Or that idiotic Canucks arena guy following every goal announcement with an annoying "woooo". Plus, to hear it six times... It takes a better man than me to not get furious.
Robert Ciubotaru, Romania, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
08/12/2011 - 10:00
Postgame thoughts: Canucks
A horrible night for the Avs.I barely got time from work to watch the Red Wings and the Canucks game. I must say, I didn't expect such a good game against Detroit as well as such a poor game against Vancouver. And I sure didn't like seeing the Swedes I don't like at all, Franzen and The Twins scoring against Varlamov. Or that idiotic Canucks arena guy following every goal announcement with an annoying "woooo". Plus, to hear it six times... It takes a better man than me to not get furious.
The good side, if there is one, is that the Avs didn't play half bad for most of the game. Of course, after a while they were obviously beaten, and the injury to Wilson and the game misconduct to Porter didn't help, but they were the better team for a good while. And I'm not talking about shots on net here, because I always thought this to be a misleading statistic. You can take shots like the Avs did this year from very far, without traffic in front of the goalie - remember the good old days of having Ryan Smyth or even Chris Stewart? - and they count as shots, even they pose no threat. I'd rather look at the giveaways and takeaways statistics. I find it better shows the flow of the game. But that's just me.
Regardless of the statistics, the Avs lost and they lost bad. And it's unfortunate they did it when they played decent. But bad luck and personal mistakes lead to the first two goals, when Varlamov was way out of the net, then scrambled to get back and the puck that otherwise wouldn't have gone in bounced off him into the net, and then Duchene lost the stick, two guys collided close to the blue line and basically the Canucks were facing just two Avs so of course they scored. Not the great achievement the Vancouver announcers were raving about though. It's like punching a kid with no arms and claiming you're a great boxer.
Another good thing I noticed in the last two games is T.J. Galiardi. He's getting the type of play we saw against the Sharks in that playoff series back. That, plus the injuries to Stastny and co. granted him a place in the first line, together with... surprise, Brandon Yip. Personally, I didn't notice Brandon too much on the ice, but maybe Sacco saw something I didn't see. Then again, he always sees something fans don't. I would've said Winnik or Jones are better fitted to play next to Duchene, but what do I know? Of course Jones is better in the 4th line.
Oh, well... We'll see tonight what happens, but with the injuries and the fragile morale of the Avs I dread the Flames.
Robert Ciubotaru, Romania, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
08/12/2011 - 10:00
