Top 5 Matt Duchene Goals from 2014-15

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Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene scores some pretty goals. He gets enough practice at it — in his six-year career he’s scored 126 goals. Most of his goals are just pretty, though.

Of course, a few years back Duchene became known for perfecting The Dutchy, a between the legs to-drag he inflicted on the Pittsburgh Penguins:

My personal favorite aspect of that goal is Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang‘s outraged reaction, like he’s angry Duchene pulled that off.

I like to think Duchene’s behind the net spin-o-rama is his real signature move. He’s effected it enough times. Here’s an example of his spin-o-rama burning the Carolina Hurricanes:

Ok, this could easily turn into a very long post with just highlights of Matt Duchene. Like I said, he scores pretty goals.

That said, Matt Duchene is known for his speed. That means that he so often goes on the breakaway. And with his stick handling skills, he scores a lot. You could easily make a highlight reel with nothing but Matt Duchene breakaway goals.

Last season we talked a lot about how the Avalanche were trying to get too cute in scoring goals, that they needed to just throw the puck at the net. Recently, I even wrote a post celebrating the team’s ugly goals. Believe it or not, Duchene actually made the list, though his “ugly goal” was actually poetic in that he banked it off former teammate Paul Stastny.

Matt Duchene tried hard last season, but he just didn’t score much in the way of ugly goals. So, let’s celebrate some of Duchene’s pretty goals from last season.

Next: Duchene vs Buffalo

#5: Matt Duchene vs Matt Hackett

The Colorado Avalanche hosted the Buffalo Sabres at the Pepsi Center in late March. By then, the Sabres were firmly entrenched in the Connor McDavid sweepstakes. They lost to the Edmonton Oilers, of course, but that’s another story.

The Avs could see the writing on the wall, and that the writing said no playoffs for them. Nonetheless, they put on a good show in front of the home crowd. This Matt Duchene goal put the team up 4-0:

The goal shows some of Duchene’s best aspects. He puts on the speed to drive through the neutral zone. He bears down on the defense but doesn’t split the D — he doesn’t have to. With his sniper’s skill, he shoots between them and scores on Buffalo goalie Matt Hackett.

The goal ended up being the game winner.

Next: Duchene vs Columbus

#4: Matt Duchene vs Curtis McElhinney

Early on in March, the Colorado Avalanche visited the Columbus Blue Jackets. They were not courteous guests — they ended up beating the Jackets 4-0 in front of the Columbus crowd.

A Columbus skater tried to thread the puck over Duchene’s stick. That’s a mistake when you’ve got a stick handler like Duchene. Matt just took possession, and he was off.

Have I mentioned that Matt Duchene can fly? But you already knew that. Watch as he draws away from the whole crowd on the ice:

Another one of Duchene’s signature moves is the little kick back he effects before shooting. The purpose is to fool the goalie with the sudden movement. It works a lot for Dutchy, and it works here against McElhinney.

The Columbus player who passed the puck right to Duchene vents his frustration by knocking the net off its mooring. Too late — Duchene has scored.

Next: Duchene vs Dallas

#3: Matt Duchene vs Kari Lehtonen

The Colorado Avalanche swept the Dallas Stars last season in their five-game series. That felt good.

This goal from Matt Duchene is another game-winner. This one’s rare in that it’s not a breakaway. Instead, it’s a hard-working goal by Duchene:

Duchene drives to the net and coasts around the back. Notice how he fends the Stars defender off with one arm while keeping possession of the puck with the other. A small spin, and he whips the puck at the net.

This is as close as Matt Duchene gets to dumping the puck — and it’s no dump. That puck coming off of his stick has eyes for the back of the net.

Next: Duchene vs Montreal

#2: Matt Duchene vs Carey Price

This goal is probably the ugliest of the lot. There’s no breakaway. There’s no spin-o-rama. There’s not even much in the way of puck handling. In fact, Duchene just tips it in:

This goal makes the list, and high up the list, because of the sheer effort that went into scoring this goal. The Colorado Avalanche recorded 34 shots on goal against the Montreal Canadiens. Duchene got 10 of those. That’s right, Matt Duchene was responsible for almost a third of the Avalanche’s shots on goal in that game.

The game made the score 3-2 for Montreal, which was also the final score. The game came mid-October, though, in that dark time when Avs Nation saw that Avs New Age was too similar to Avs Old Age, or the age of losing.

That’s why this hard-fought Matt Duchene goal is all the prettier — it was a beacon in those dark times.

Next: Duchene vs Anaheim

#1: Matt Duchene vs John Gibson

We have to end the post on a proper Matt Duchene goal. I won’t say it’s a breakaway spin-o-rama toe drag. However, it’s a beauty from Matty Dutch.

The goal came on the eve of the Colorado Avalanche’s mathematical elimination from playoff contention. It was also Matt Duchene’s last goal of the season. Those two facts make the goal somewhat bittersweet.

However, the Colorado Avalanche ended up beating the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. And Duchene’s goal is the game-winner:

Even with the burst of speed that leads to the breakaway, this goal isn’t the most spectacular from Matt Duchene. However, I favor it not only for the bittersweetness of the memory, but also because of the actual effort it took for Duchene to score. That Duck’s defender has draped himself across Duchene like a cheap suit. Matt Duchene scores anyway.

So, Avs Nation, what were your favorite Matt Duchene goals from the 2014-15 season?

Next: Duchene's First NHL Fight