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That makes it four in a row.
So that Downie trade is starting to look pretty good right now. Of course, we can argue that the guy that's traded is acting like the player called up from the minors, trying to prove something. Possibly. Than again, Downie could be the new Mueller. Not that he was bad for the Bolts, but his production so far is nothing short of amazing. Again, like in Tampa Bay, he has great line partners, but so did Kobasew at the beginning of the season.
Robert Ciubotaru, Romania, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
01/03/2012 - 13:00
Postgame thoughts: Ducks
That makes it four in a row.So that Downie trade is starting to look pretty good right now. Of course, we can argue that the guy that's traded is acting like the player called up from the minors, trying to prove something. Possibly. Than again, Downie could be the new Mueller. Not that he was bad for the Bolts, but his production so far is nothing short of amazing. Again, like in Tampa Bay, he has great line partners, but so did Kobasew at the beginning of the season.
The Avs were sort of active at the trade deadline. There weren't any big names changing teams, but two popular players, the gritty Galiardi and Winnik left to the Sharks and the Avs got back McGinn. I don't know enough about the guy to form an intelligent opinion, so I'll wait and see. That being said, I'll miss both TJ and Daniel. Galiardi wasn't really loved by Sacco, so his absence won't be missed much, since he wasn't playing too often. Winnik, on the other hand, was great on the PK and a very decent O-man for a third liner.
To be honest, I'd rather have this smaller trades than the fantasy ones you see on message boards, like "Stastny, Giguere and Jones and a 2nd pick for Chara and Bryzgalov" (it's just an example, I didn't actually read this one). That "high risk, high reward" thing makes me uncomfortable, especially knowing that Sherman is pulling the trigger. Speaking of Sherman, I think he relies heavily on his advisers on this trades. I fear the day when he'll be confident enough to them by himself. I hope that day never comes.
So... The Avs went duck hunting and came up big. Again, four goals for, again, Varlamov padding his stats. And at least two scoring lines. I still expect good things from Olver, he has the speed and the skills and he plays bigger than his size, but he wasn't that efficient against Anaheim. That's okay when you got Lando-Downie-O'Reilly at their best. And that goal from Duchene was a beauty, considering the way he hit the puck and the pass from Stastny.
The playoffs are close now and it's up to them. There's plenty of games left, they're in the thick of things so no need to panic. The team is looking great and the goalies are stepping up again, this time with the full support of the defense, led finally by EJ. He's doing the right thing but I still have one thing that I don't like about his play. He may be still trying to prove something and doing too much, which at times makes him turn over the puck. I didn't notice it against the Ducks, but in the previous games it was at least one turnover per game. I'm sure that won't be a problem in the future so I'm happy to say I like what I see from him now.
Robert Ciubotaru writes his personal opinions and commentaries on the latest Colorado Avalanche news exclusively for the Eurolanche Fanclub website.
Robert Ciubotaru, Romania, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
01/03/2012 - 13:00
