Colorado Avalanche: Avs’ Strength on Display in Toronto

Colorado Avalanche centers Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene were the highlights of the preliminary rounds of the World Cup of Hockey.

The first few games of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey should have Colorado Avalanche fans very excited for the upcoming season. Center Matt Duchene looked unstoppable against the USA.

Even though he only logged 11 minutes of ice time, Duchene scored two goals for Canada, including a great physical play against Central Division rival Dustin Byfuglien. Nathan MacKinnon’s all-star talent was on display against Sweden when he scored the game winning goal in overtime to keep Team NA’s hopes alive.

As an avid Avs fan, seeing Duchene and MacKinnon shine on the world stage is no surprise. But after the preliminary round, the rest of the NHL is definitely taking notice.

ESPN writer Pierre LeBrun’s Twitter reaction:

The Globe and Mail writer and TSN NHL analyst James Mirtle’s reaction:

Adrian Dater, NHL National Columnist with Bleacher Report (we all know he’s familiar with MacKinnon’s talents but his tweet is worth including…)

Craig Button, TSN Analyst and Scout

Frank Seravalli, TSN Senior Hockey Reporter

Michael Russo, Minnesota Wild Beat Writer for the Star Tribune

If Jared Bednar can find a way to unleash both MacKinnon and Duchene next season, the Avs should be in pretty good shape offensively.

King Swedes

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Based off of the Preliminary Round, the only team that looks suitable to beat Canada is Sweden. Both Gabriel Landeskog and Carl Soderberg have played a vital role in Sweden’s success so far.

Soderberg’s role with Sweden is very similar to his role with the Avs, and so far it looks like he has picked up right where he left off last season. His role on the penalty kill was instrumental in beating Russia during the first game of the Round Robin games.

Landeskog also looks to be in mid-season form for the Swedes, as he opened the scoring for Sweden against Russia. Another positive from Landeskog’s play so far for Sweden has been his lack of penalty minutes. His lone penalty in the tournament so far came against Finland’s Sami Lepisto  during the second game of Round Robin play. In Landeskog’s five years with the Avs, he has accumulated 292 penalty minutes and multiple suspensions.

If the Avs are going to go anywhere this season, I think it is pretty obvious that Landy needs to stay on the ice and out of the penalty box.

Colorado’s Weakness on Display in Toronto as Well

I understand that it was against Canada and I understand that Dustin Byfuglien gave him no support, but Erik Johnson has looked mediocre at best for the USA. EJ was a -2 against Canada and looked very lost at times against the Canadians.

With Byfuglien jumping up on line rushes, EJ was forced to play an unfamiliar role as the defensive defenseman. After signing an extension last year, let’s hope that EJ’s time in Toronto does not represent his play for the Avs these next few years.

The Goalie Question

Sergei Bobrovsky has got the start in both games so far for Russia so Semyon Varlamov has been on the bench. Bob has been very solid in both games so far, posting a .933% save percentage so I do not think Varly will see any action in Toronto.

When Varly returns to training camp after the World Cup, he will be rested and ready to go, but Calvin Pickard will definitely compete for the starting job. I don’t see Bednar starting Pickard ahead of Varly to start the season, but I would not be surprised if the season ends with Pickard in net. Also, Pickard tweeted his reaction to MacKinnon’s slick moves against Sweden…

https://twitter.com/cpickard1/status/778720671975092224

No Injuries = Great Tournament

Jared Bednar and company have to be very pleased with their player’s performance in Toronto but they should be more pleased with the absence of injuries. With the USA out of the tournament, Erik Johnson was able to avoid any injury in Toronto but the other five still may have some more ice time in Toronto. So far so good for the Avs, but let’s just pray that the rest can avoid injury and comeback to Denver ready to go!