Breaking Down: Avs/Cats, Game 28

The Avs broke out with a victory that smashed a few issues they’ve had lately. They scored more goals in a game than they have in several years. They got an empty netter (2 actually) which they hadn’t had in several weeks. They came back from a deficit, which has been problematic all season. Hopefully this gives the players (and fans) some hope that the process is on track.

Team Stats

The Avs were totally dominant in the 1st once the opening minutes sorted out. A goal from Mikko Rantanen started off a strong 6-0 shot run but the Panthers pushed back at the end starting with Tyson Barrie’s dumb delay penalty and the bad shift change goal at the end. This continued into the 2nd and got another Florida goal on the board before Mack’s goal really got the Avs mojo back. Another dumb penalty by Barrie closed out the 2nd and the Avs were on their heels for the entire 3rd period despite scoring 4 goals on 7 shots.

End result was a +37/-40 although score effects made it a positive night at 52%. It’s hard to argue with a 4 goal period and the 20 SOGs the Cats put up in the 3rd had little danger.

TOI

Even with missing time from a blocked shot to the knee EJ led the Ds at just over 20 minutes with Nemeth and Barrie slightly behind. Barbs and Z were clustered right behind them. Sam Girard was sparsely used for the 2nd game in a row and it seems like the staff are trying to find a new role for him.

Mack led forwards and the whole team with 21:28 followed by Landy, Compher, Comeau, Carl and Mikko. At 5v5 it went Mack, Wilson, JTC, Comeau, Landy and Sven in the top 6. Kerf was low man and barely played in the 3rd. Tyson Jost debuted on the top PP unit and got 3:45 there and 13:33 overall. Oh boy, we found a way to finally use our top draft pick from 2016!

Individual

– Carl’s line played heavy minutes in the 3rd and they all ended up with at least 2 points. Their two goals were of the empty net variety but Nieto’s zone entry and pass to EJ on the Avs 4th goal was a beauty.

– Two guys that have been struggling to make an impact, Colin Wilson & Tyson Jost, found some chemistry in the 3rd period on a line with JT Compher (and sometimes Sven Andrighetto). Wilson’s goal off a royal road pass from Comphs sealed any doubt and is exactly what he needs to be doing. Good night for both Wilson/Jost in general.

– Tyson Barrie got an assist off another body goal by Kerfoot but other than that he was awful out there. The delay of game penalty in P1 totally sucked the momentum out of the Avs and his bizarre urge to go for a change after being released was part of the Panther’s easy goal with 2.7 seconds left (side note – Lindy also went for a change there too and that might have been a bigger factor). You can call the 4 minute hi-stick at the end of P2 unlucky, I’ll call it careless and it once again gave the Panthers momentum for several minutes. Frankly, I would have benched him after the 1st period for at least 10 minutes.

– Mack’s got 11 goals and 22 assists now. That’s hot.

Burgundy Narrative Metric

– “Best guys being your best guys” gets a (+) other than Barrie
– Corsi gets a (+) thanks to score effects
– Power Play gets an (even) and was a non-factor
– Turtle gets a (-) and this was a Loggerhead at 20-7 in P3
– Varly% gets a (+) Didn’t have to work hard early but made up for that big
– Referee Oppression Index gets an (even) for a well-called game

Total: +2

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The Avs are already in Pittsburgh resting up for Monday/Tuesday’s b2b