This is the first of 4 reviews of the Avs’ season that I’ll be doing.
Coaching
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Sacco has looked like a desperate coach in the past few weeks. Especially in recent games, he hasn’t kept consistent line combinations, which makes me wonder if it’s having a negative effect on the team. Chemistry in a line combo takes longer than one game to develop, so changing them over & over doesn’t allow for any growth to occur. Sacco has continued to prove my opinion that he’s inflexible when it comes to strategy. When the opposing team figures-out & stifles his Plan A, he has no Plan B; he just persists with Plan A, even though it’s no longer working. He’s made some questionable decisions on who to put on the ice in key situations like the last few minutes in a period of a close game. One would think he’d have the point leaders on the ice, but no. On numerous occasions, he decided on a combo that included Kobasew, Porter, Winnik and Galiardi, who are 3rd line grinders, they’re not known for their scoring ability. It isn’t like the Avs don’t have players with more talent, either. I’d say he’s definitely on the hot seat, but the bigger question is who to replace him with? I don’t think promoting either Deadmarsh or Lefebvre would be an improvement over Sacco.
Forwards
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Inconsistent play across the board, with possibly Hejduk being the exception. Duchene started-out slow but looked like he was finding his game in recent weeks. O’Reilly has been pretty steady, although his play has dropped-off a bit recently. Landeskog has looked really good at times, but he hasn’t really been a liability. He’s made some rookie mistakes, but generally makes good decisions when he’s on the ice. Lindstrom isn’t making the impact I was hoping for, although that could be due to improper use of talent by the coaches. Nobody else has really jumped-out at me as being really bad or really good, just a lot of “meh” across the board.
Defense
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The defense has been more solid in my opinion. Johnson tries to do too much some nights and goes for the highlight reel play instead of the simple one. If he made the simple plays every night, he’d be the best defenseman. I really like the Shane O’Brien signing, he’s kept his stupid penalties to a minimum and being effective on the ice. For me, the jury’s still out on Hejda. He’s shown flashes of brilliance some nights and a major gaffe that leads to a goal against on others. Wilson’s improved from last year, although he was asked to fill a role he’s not capable of fulfilling last year. He’s more of a bottom-pairing guy, and he’s done a pretty good job in that spot. Both Quincey & O’Byrne have been solid most nights, although they’ve had their share of gaffes like anyone.
Goaltenders
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Varlamov has looked shaky some nights, but he’s also been left-out to dry for stretches. There’s no question in my mind that he’s really talented, just a matter if he can sustain over an entire season. Giguere’s been good when he’s played, and very capable of taking the starting job if/when Varly falters. It baffles me that the Avs don’t have a full-time goalie coach for Varlamov. Considering his age and the price the Avs paid to get him, why wouldn’t they have a fully accessible goalie coach to work with him??
Overall
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From the start of the season, I knew that at best, the Avs are a bubble playoff team, they don’t have the talent to challenge the top-8 in the conference. However, it’s one thing to lose, but I don’t see 100% effort every night from a lot of the team. If they can’t turn it around and start playing better, I see a major change of some kind (trade or coaching change).
Pucking Around 