I've been witness to many a bad NHL hockey game in my lifetime.
However, I would have to honestly say that Saturday night's Montreal-Colorado "game" is now in my top five worst NHL games viewed ever. What a garbage game for the visiting Avalanche.
Before the queso on your nachos turned cold, the offensively "challenged" Canadiens scored the game’s first six goals and led 6-1 after the first period. Starting dart board Calvin Pickard allowed three goals and was pulled and replaced by Semyon Varlamov who also was burned for three goals. In the first twenty minutes, the Habs scored six goals on sixteen shots fired.
Pickard was thrown back to the wolves because Varlamov could not give his team a save when they needed it.
The Habs led 9-1 after forty minutes. In the end, the scoreboard read 10-1 Montreal.
This was the type of loss that gets players traded and benched, and, head coaches fired.
Rookie head coach Jared Bednar's job is not in jeopardy because he recently replaced Patrick Roy who resigned from the Avs in August. Perhaps Roy predicted his team spiraling into the basement of the NHL standings and bailed out while the getting was good.
Roy pulled the chute because he didn’t have enough say so or influence in player personnel and roster matters. Roy wanted to make sweeping changes to the roster last summer, however, Avs GM Joe Sakic sought opinions from other front office staff and opted to keep the Colorado veteran core ( Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Gabe Landeskog, Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie and Semyon Varlamov) together for one more run at the playoffs. Roy lost his battle and checked out of Denver in a huff.
I hate to break the news to you, Avs fan.
Your team will not be making the playoffs this season.
Sakic and his lieutenants really should consider blowing up their core and starting anew. Trading away veterans will created needed salary cap space and will give Sakic more assets and building blocks assist in the overdue rebuild.
In hindsight, was Roy wrong to take his hockey net and skate home to Quebec from Denver?
The Avs are proud owners of a 10-15-1 record. Today, they are the 30th place team in the NHL standings with just 21 points after 26 games played.
Each and every Avalanche player and coach should be embarrassed and ashamed for not being ready for work at 7:00pm Eastern time on "Hockey Night In Canada".
Oh, by the way, the 10-1 curb stomping just so happened to be Jarome Iginla's 1,500th NHL game. The Avs laid down and played dead for one of NHL's best ever, most intensely proud power forwards on his night of nights.
Talk about abominations.
“One of the rougher games in the 1,500 (club),… Iginla said after the 10-1 laugher.
“But those happen and that’s sport. It felt good to go out and play it. Guys, and family, were supportive and it was cool to do it here but not the result (I wanted). I’m still thankful for hitting 1,500.…
I give Iginla full credit for not demanding a trade from the Avs in his postgame scrum after his auspicious career milestone game.
When he's in his 50s, Iginla ill tell his grand kids about his 1,500th NHL game and how his teammates took the night off.
Iggy deserves better than to continue to try to play a leadership role for a bunch of soft, light-working teammates.
Iginla was ready for battle in Montreal, so why weren't his teammates?
Avs captain Gabe Landeskog, who had just been activated to return to play Saturday after missing 10 games in a row, has a theory:
"We got our ass whooped" by the Canadiens.
Landeskog was bang on in his assessment of the carnage that befell hi steam in Montreal.
His team was a combined -40 against the Canadiens, who earlier this week lost their top two centers to injury. Alex Galchenyuk, the Habs' leading scorer at the time of his injury is now lost for teh next 7-8 weeks with a knee injury. Ditto David Desharnais.
Rather then attack the injury depleted Habs and exploit their forwards with physicality and finesse, the Avs took a twenty minute power nap and it cost them dearly.
Gabe Landeskog after 10-1 trouncing at Montreal #Avs pic.twitter.com/AhBwIUHGGw
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) December 11, 2016
Landeskog isn't wrong in his assessment.
He played badly. His teammates were not ready for battle. That's on the captain and the head coach. To lose in such a gut-kicking way on "Hockey Night In Canada" is unforgiveable.
Joe Sakic has to take a good long look in the mirror and ask himself if he is the right man to re-tool the often times atrocious Avs who are 29th in NHL goal scoring with 57 goals in 26 games played. I scratch my head when I look at Colorado's offensive stats. How can a team that features offensive dynamos like Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon, Carl Soderberg, Gabe Landeskog, Jarome Iginla and Tyson Barrie in the lineup be scoring only 2.04 goals per game?
Perhaps he or fellow veteran core member Matt Duchene will be traded away from Denver in the coming weeks in exchange for building blocks.
Sakic and his inner circle should have listened to Roy, who wanted to trade Matt Duchene, 25, this past summer for a package of premium picks and a 30 goal scorer. Duchene is a $6 million cap hit for the next three season. It's a very attractive value contract for a 30-goal scoring power forward. Duchene already has 10 goals and 7 assists in 22 games played this season. Duchene potted 30 goals and 29 assits last season. If he remains healthy, Duchene will score 30 goals again this season. Now would be an opportune time to trade Duchene away.
Roy was frustrated with Duchene after a disappointing 2015-16 season. There was a lot of public friction between Duchene and Roy in the late stages of last season. Duchene and his former Avs teammate Ryan O'Reilly, now a star in Buffalo, both played leadership roles on Team Canada's gold medal winning team at the IIHF World Cup of Hockey. There was buzz heard round the World Cup practice rinks that Duchene was excited when his trade rumors ended immediately after Roy packed his bags and flew home to Quebec in August. Perhaps there is some truth to it. Without the fear of being traded hanging over his head, Duchene threw off the mental chains and played inspired hockey for Team Canada.
Nathan MacKinnon, 21, is the player that the Avs should be re-built around. He has scored just 7 goals and 12 assists this season. He potted 21 goals and added 31 assists last season. MacKinnon will be a $6.3 million cap hit for the next seven seasons.
Gabe Landeskog is a curious player in that he will give you 20 goals and 60 points per season, plus rock solid leadership. The 24 year old forward is a $5,571,429 cap hit for the next five seasons.
Erik Johnson, 28, is Colorado's best/most consistent defensive D-man. He broke his leg earlier this month and is not expected back until March. Johnson earns $6 million per next seven seasons.
Tyson Barrie, 25, was mentioned in trade rumors for months leading up to him signing a new four year pact with a $5.5M AAV in August. Barrie scored 13 goals and 36 assists last season is untouchable at this point.
Semyon Varlamov, 28, is a likely expansion draft opportunity for Las Vegas. At $5.9M AAV fo rthe next three seasons, and struggling mightily with his confidence this season, Varlamov is not a trade option.
However, Duchene and Landeskog my find themselves on the trade market when the calendar flips to January 1, 2017. Duchene and Landeskog are left wingers who would add immediate scoring punch to another team's lineup.
Hey, Sakic. I'd like Duchene now pic.twitter.com/3Yk6Ezu841
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) December 11, 2016
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THe Buffalo Sabres enter Sunday's action ranked 30th in the NHL in terms of goals scored.
Dan Bylsma's club has scored just 55 goals in 27 games played this season. Their 2.04 goals per game is the worst GPG in the NHL today. What's most concerning about Buffalo's 55 goals scored for is that they have only mustered 33, 5v5 goals in 27 games. Their anemic even strength goal scoring becomes more of an issue when you factor out their 19, 5v4 goals, one 5v3 goal, one 4v3 goal, and one 6v5 goal.
This just in:
Dan Bylsma needs goal scoring badly.
In an effort to create better scoring opportunties, Bylsma swapped right wingers on his top two lines at Sunday's practice.
Kyle Okposo skayed with Jack Eichel and Evander Kane. Sam Reinhart joined Ryan O’Reilly and lWilliam Carrier.
Coach Bylsma says he's trying some new lines at forward - Eichel with Kane & Okposo, and O'Reilly with Carrier & Reinhart. pic.twitter.com/1fAafCo35v
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 11, 2016
Okposo scored his team's only goal in Friday’s 4-1 loss to Ovechkin and thd Capitals.
Okposo now has four goals and eight points in nine games.
With his goal against Washington, Okposo now has six points (3G, 3A) in his last five games against the Capitals.
Okposo and Rasmus Ristolainen, who assisted on the goal, are now tied for fourth in the NHL with 12 power-play points this season.
Ristolainen now has nine points (1+8) in his last nine games.
Ryan O’Reilly, who also assisted on Okposo’s goal, now has seven points (2G, 5A) in his last six games.
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Injured Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian skated on Sunday. He did not share the ice with his teammates.
Bogosian has missed teh past 18 games with an MCL sprain.
If he continues to progress to the point of no setabcks after practices, Bogosian then will begin practicing with his teammates.
Once he can withstand body contact he will be cleared for return to the starting lineup.
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