Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild: 7 Takeaways

Oct 8, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche mascot Bernie carries a 20th anniversary flag before the game against the Minnesota Wild at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Avalanche lost their season opener 5-4 in a Wild game — pun intended (let’s not be too sad about this just yet). It was a tough loss, but to be honest, it could have been worse after that atrocious preseason. Four goals after only a single one in the final five preseason games is a huge step forward. Even aside from that, there were more than just a few bright spots throughout the game.

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Patrick Roy’s “insane” line combinations did work in part, but not everything went perfectly. It was only the first game with completely shuffled lines, so that doesn’t come as a surprise.

We were all hoping for a perfect start into the 20th anniversary season, and for the longest time, it looked like the Avalanche wanted to achieve that just as much. Unfortunately, everyone’s favorite (not) Zach Parise had something against it. Oh well. Let’s take a look at what we learned in that first game of 2015-16.

Next: The Guenin-Barrie Pairing

Oct 8, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Chris Porter (7) and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie (4) battle for control of the puck in the first period at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

1. The Guenin-Barrie Pairing Doesn’t Work

When Roy announced that Nate Guenin made the second D-pairing again, the majority of fans wasn’t happy. A minority was sure, though, that it can work again, just like it did last season. After the first game of 2015-16, let’s just say… it could be better.

It’s true that this pair can work, just like it did last season. Barrie is still young, he overcommits on offense sometimes and has his issues defensively. That’s not a secret, and pairing him with a 32-year-old veteran like Guenin seems like a decent idea. As I said, it can work.

Guenin isn’t an NHL defenseman, though, and he sure as hell isn’t a top-four defenseman on a team that wants to make the playoffs. But yet, that alone isn’t the issue. The issue is that Barrie and Guenin can work together, but only when Barrie is at the top of his game. As soon as Barrie has an off-night — like he did against the Wild — it can get quite ugly.

Against Minnesota, Guenin and Barrie had the Colorado Avalanche’s worst Corsi Differential at -21 and -22, respectively, according to war-on-ice.com. Unfortunately, those numbers are a perfect representation of what could be observed throughout the game: Guenin and Barrie spent what felt like the entire game in their own zone. Something will have to change here, and exchanging Guenin and Brandon Gormley should be a first step in the right direction. Then again, Roy is in love with Guenin… Oh well.

Next: The Third Line

Sep 29, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman (6) defenses Colorado Avalanche right wing Borna Rendulic (71) at Scotiabank Saddledome. Flames won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

2. The “Eurolanche” Line Leaves Question Marks

Mikko Rantanen — Carl Soderberg — Borna Rendulic

A Finnish rookie who surprised many by making the opening night roster, a Swede who’s blind on one eye and the first Croatian NHL player. Or, as a tribute to the European Colorado Avalanche fan club Eurolanche, the “Eurolanche line”. Personally, I really liked the idea, but wasn’t sure if it could work. After the first game, I tend to say it doesn’t.

In the first two periods, the line didn’t look good at all. They spent the majority of their ice time in their defensive zone, allowing shot after shot, and Soderberg lost eight of his 10 faceoffs. It just wasn’t a good night for our Euro line. Luckily, coach Roy had the same opinion and let John Mitchell start with Soderberg and Rendulic. Mitchell even took an occasional faceoff for Soderberg.

Now, how do we fix that problem? Roy decided to leave Rantanen and Rendulic out of the game for the entire third period — or so it seemed — and they were limited to 7:24 and 7:09 of ice time, respectively. I would just say that’s not the best solution.

One player who could really help this line, in my opinion, is Blake Comeau. He was last night’s best possession player with a Corsi Differential of 7 (not outstanding, but we know the Avalanche isn’t a great possession team) and could really get that line out of their defensive zone. Comeau did just that for the first line last night, but with all due respect, Comeau is not a first-line forward.

Next: Blake Comeau Was a Great Addition

March 6, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Blake Comeau (17) celebrates the goal scored by center Evgeni Malkin (not pictured) against the Anaheim Ducks during the third period at Honda Center. Comeau recorded an assist on the goal. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

3. Blake Comeau Was a Great Addition

Speaking of Comeau, he really was a great addition. A gritty forward with good offensive skill, who really helped the Avalanche against the Wild. Well, Matt Duchene still ended up being a minus-3, but we’ll get to that later.

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The deal with Comeau is that, in my opinion, he really shouldn’t be on the top line, despite being one of the best player’s in the season opener. He should much rather play on the Soderberg line and help those guys with their defensive game. Soderberg, who surprisingly played on the first PK-unit, is generally really good offensively, but has his struggles on defense. Putting him between two rookies simply doesn’t seem to be the right choice.

Before the game, I already said Comeau shouldn’t be on the top line, and after seeing the third line’s struggles, that wish only got stronger. Try Rantanen on the top line, try Mikhail Grigorenko or try something else, but please don’t “misuse” Comeau. In today’s NHL, secondary scoring is extremely important, and Comeau and Soderberg with X could be a terrific third line.

Please do something about that, Mr. Roy.

Next: Matt Duchene Is Struggling

Oct 8, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene (9) reacts to the loss against the Minnesota Wild at Pepsi Center. The Wild won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

4. Matt Duchene Is Struggling

Duchene is my favorite player on the Colorado Avalanche, so anything that follows is in no way there to bash him. However, starting with last season, Duchene has been struggling, and Roy doesn’t seem to find a way to fix that.

Back in 2013, it finally looked like Duchene could become the elite center we were all hoping he would become. John Tavares, who was selected two spots ahead of Duchene in the 2009 NHL Draft, is already there, falling one point short of being the NHL’s 2014-15 top scorer. Duchene recorded 71 points in the 2013-14 season, but failed to build on that. His 55 points were okay last season, but really nothing more than that.

In this year’s season opener, Duchene looked decent once again, but occasionally fell to “wow, that was a bad game for him.” Duchene ended up being a minus-3, failed to record a point, had only two shots and caused the tying goal with a terrible turnover in the neutral zone. Unfortunately, he was even on the ice for a powerplay goal, but would also be on the ice for four goals against. Not a good game for him.

This will be a difficult issue to fix. Duchene still has elite talent, but something just seems to be off, and it’s hard to tell what it is. For some reason, the speedy forward can’t find chemistry with anyone, except for maybe Jarome Iginla. So, what will line shuffling change? Perhaps not a lot. If the Avs want to get even close to the playoffs again, they must be able to rely on their No. 1 center, though.

Next: The New Fourth Line Is Awesome

Oct 8, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche center John Mitchell (7) reacts to his goal in the second period against the Minnesota Wild at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

5. The New Fourth Line Is Awesome

Cody McLeod — John Mitchell — Jack Skille

When was the last time we could call the Colorado Avalanche’s fourth line awesome? I can’t remember. Marc-Andre Cliche is a name of the past, Jack Skille is the future.

Skille signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Avalanche — he knows his role and he accepts it, which is a great start. Instead of a career AHL player, Colorado now has someone who was once a first-round draft pick and is without a doubt a talented NHL player, who accepts to fill a different role than he was once meant to.

In addition to that, Mitchell is a great fourth-line center. He is decent at faceoffs (6 for 13 vs. Wild) and combines defensive play with good offensive skill. He’s played on literally every one of Colorado’s lines at some point during his career, both as a center and a winger. A super versatile forward who can bring scoring depth to the team.

The line is completed by Cody McLeod and I have to say: even McLeod looked surprisingly good in both zones against the Wild. Throughout the game, the fourth line spent a great amount of time in the offensive zone, playing nice passes and keeping the puck away from the Wild. Mitchell topped that off with a nice goal, though Soderberg was on the ice for Skille in that situation, and the assists went to Erik Johnson and Francois Beauchemin.

Next: The Powerplay May Work Again

Oct 8, 20Oct 8, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche right wing Jarome Iginla (12) is congratulated for his power play goal by left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) and left wing Alex Tanguay (40) and center Nathan MacKinnon (29) in the first period against the Minnesota Wild at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

6. The Colorado Avalanche Powerplay May Work Again

One of the Avalanche’s biggest weaknesses last season was without a doubt the power play. Only 15 percent of the team’s powerplay chances could be turned into goals in 2014-15 — the leagues second-worst PP-team. Finally, against the Minnesota Wild, the Avs took a 2-0 lead after scoring on their first two man advantages. Before we get too excited, though, it was just one game, and it could all change back soon. Still, both PP-goals were nice, and they are reason for hope.

The powerplay units were the following:

Landeskog — MacKinnon — Tanguay
Iginla — Barrie

Mitchell — Duchene — Soderberg
Beauchemin — Johnson

The second unit played for only 20 seconds, but Johnson led the group off the ice after an outstanding slapshot goal. We’ll see what happens with these units in the next games, but for now, they can definitely be left the way they are. Effectiveness on the powerplay can easily take you to the playoffs, as long as the rest works decently as well.

Next: Coach Roy Makes Questionable Decisions