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The duel for back-up in Denver seems to be over, though it is not 100% sure what Colorado will do. Just a few weeks ago, Calvin Pickard was re-assigned to Lake Erie even though he had played out of him mind for the Colorado Avalanche. The young goaltender was sent back due to the fact that Semyon Varlamov was healthy and Reto Berra was their number two. Their other reason was for developmental reasons, where Calvin would get to play more in Lake Erie where in Colorado Varlamov was expect to get back to back to back games over and over. Leaving Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic with no choice than to keep the best interest of Calvin above all else. After Semyon Varlamov went down, Calvin Pickard was called back up, to play and he would not sit on the bench as Coach Roy seemed to have no confidence in Reto Berra. Reto Berra has appeared in one game since his back to back 1st period pulling. In that game, Berra played just over 16 minutes and allowed one goal on just seven shots, proving that mentally, he was not ready to be back in net. With Calvin Pickard continuing his NHL head turning as the young goalie has allowed one goal in three straight games, winning two and losing a 1-0 overtime game in Pittsburgh. He has also allowed one goal in four of his last six NHL games. He sits second in the NHL with a .939 save percentage and 6th in the NHL with a 2.06 goals against average. Of the three Colorado goalies, Pickard has the best record at 6-5-2 although that could easily be a much better record had the Avalanche been able to score a few extra goals. So what is next for the 22 year old? After his 34 save performance and 9 round shootout win against the Detroit Redwings, Patrick Roy is certain he is not sending the youngster back to Lake Erie, at least for now. When asked, “Varly is almost back, how tough is it to send Pickard back to Lake Erie?” Patrick would reply, “We’re not sending Pickard down.” “At this time, we’re not gonna send him down, and we’ll make decisions further down in time. But I mean for now, we’re not making any decision.” Roy would continue. When asked about taking Pickard out of the net even when Semyon Varlamov comes back, this is what he had to say. “Obviously it is not easy, but at the same time, let’s not forget what Varly did for us last year. Varly played so well for us, he was the reason why we had 112 points and won our division. Let’s not forget what he did for us, we will talk tomorrow and see if he is ready to play against the Blues, but if he is ready, he will play” (Watch Roy’s post-game interview here) So for now, it looks like Calvin Pickard has won the right to stay at the NHL level. Colorado will likely carry three goalies until they are able to trade Reto Berra or take a shot at losing him for nothing by sending him to Lake Erie. If Reto Berra is lost to waivers, Colorado will have thrown away their second round pick in 2014. Joe Sakic will want to get some kind of return for the 27 year old goalie and will be looking to deal him once the trade freeze lifts after the holiday. You do have to go back to the start when Calvin was sent back to Lake Erie for developmental reasons and wonder why it is no longer the same? Though he has proven he can play in the NHL, he will not be playing the amount of games the Avalanche wanted just a few weeks ago. Is it now that Colorado would have a solid backup they can rely on? Someone who can carry some of the weight so Varlamov does not have to? It is all speculation until the back-up slot is sealed by the 22 year old, but if it is not now, it will be next season and Colorado is faced with making that choice. Joe Sakic signed both Reto Berra and Semyon Varlamov to contract extensions at the end of that season. Berra to a 3 year deal and Varlamov to a 5 year deal, Calvin Pickard will be a Restricted Free Agent at the end of this season. With a new contract in sight, could Calvin Pickard be on the trading block over Reto Berra? If the Avalanche organization has any common sense, the answer would flat out be no, although NHL scouts have been at the last two Colorado games for the young goalie. On a scoring note, Avalanche defensemen Erik Johnson scored his fourth goal in four games against the Redwings. Johnson has eight goals on the season and is two points shy of being the seventh player for Colorado to hit 20 points this season. Erik seems to be playing with the confidence he found last season in his last few games. Nathan MacKinnon has not scored a goal in 15 games, his last goal came on November 13th against the New York Rangers. MacKinnon has 5 goals and 15 assists this season with an outstanding -10. Nathan has shown flashes of dazzle in the last five games but cannot seem to find his stride. The Avalanche power play has found a small spark in their last two games, notching two power play goals, one against Buffalo and the other against the Redwings. This spark and solid goaltending could make this team that much closer to a larger win column. Penalty kill continues to be solid for the Avalanche. The Avalanche still sit in the top 5 for penalty killing and are 8 kills for their last 9. Although the additions of John Mitchell and Marc-Andre Cliché help, when the two went down, the Avs PK took a small hit but still played solid. Colorado has strung together their third two-game winning streak of the season and are 3-0-2 in their last 5 games. The Avalanche will look to get to .500 as a holiday gift against the St. Louis Blues on December 23rd. The Blues and Avs have gone to overtime in both games this season, St. Louis walked away with both 3-2 wins. In game one, Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice for St. Louis, power play goals by Ryan O’Reilly and Nathan MacKinnon would lead the Avs to overtime and a shootout. Semyon Varlamov received the shootout loss and made 27 of 29 saves in the game. In game two, Erik Johnson would score twice for the Avalanche, while Blues defensemen Shattenkirk and Pietrangelo would both scored as the defensive scorers duked it out. It would be an early overtime winner though by TJ Oshie that would seal the win for St. Louis. Calvin Pickard would be the overtime loser for the Avalanche stopping 39 of 42 shots in the game. The Blues are 1-1-1 since playing the Avalanche on December 13th. With two days off the Blues will head to Denver where Paul Stastny will be viciously booed for the entire game. It is likely with the two days off that Colorado will face Martin Brodeur for the first time this season, Brodeur signed with St. Louis on December 2nd and did not play against the Avs on the 13th of December. Although, Jake Allen holds a 11-3-2 record and has played fairly well in his career against the Avalanche. Martin Brodeur allowed 6 goals in his last outing against the Los Angeles Kings and is looking to rebound. In four games this season, Brodeur has the worst stats of his NHL career since his 4 game rookie season in 1991-1992 with New Jersey. If healthy the Avalanche could see Semyon Varlamov take the net at home, looking to improve his 4-6-5 record and a 2-3-1 home record. It is amazing to think in 32 games, Varlamov has only played six total games at the Pepsi Center this season. Reto Berra will more the likely be a healthy scratch in the return of Semyon Varlamov as his future with Colorado is no longer certain. If Semyon is not ready to play, Calvin Pickard will get the nod in net, after a 39 save thriller against the Blues in his first game, the kid will be looking to win at home. At Pepsi Center, Pickard is 3-3-1, one of the three wins came after Reto Berra was pulled in the first period after allowing 3 goals. As a starter, Calvin is 2-3-1 at Pepsi Center and looks to shed the losses by adding some wins with a healthier Avalanche lineup. In those 7 games, he has allowed 16 goals but only 7 of those goals have been since his latest call up and are the only 3 home games since this call up. Reto Berra is 1-1-1 at Pepsi Center this season allowing 10 goals in those games and 3 more in a game his lost record of after being pulled in the Avs comeback win. Reto’s last win was against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Novermber 6th and last start was November 25th. Key to success against the Blues: Colorado will need to shut down Vladimir Tarasenko, TJ Oshie and top two defenders in Shattenkirk and Pietrangelo. Goal scorers need to score, Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon and Ryan O’Reilly for offense, Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie on defense. Solid goaltending by either Semyon Varlamov or Calvin Pickard The Avalanche and Blues will face-off twice in three games just six days apart. St. Louis will head home to play Dallas before hosting the Avalanche and Colorado will play host to the Chicago Blackhawks. A lot of points up for grabs in the next three games for both teams. St. Louis could pull further away with and extra six points, or the Avs could catch up with the much needed points. Adding six more points to their recent 8 points would boost the Avs into playoff contention with a healthy lineup that lacks a major piece in only Jamie McGinn if Varlamov can finally stay healthy (we will know in about six games.) Photo by: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

The first 31 games of the season have been all but spectacular for the Colorado Avalanche. The young club stomped the NHL with their franchise best record since 2000-2001 when they won their 2nd Stanley Cup. A roster that spewed out; Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Ray Bourque, Adam Foote, Alex Tanguay and many more stellar Hall of Fame players, and those that will never be in the Hall certainly helped. A shocking loss in game 7 of the post-season seems to have the young Avalanche club failing to live up to their hype, failing to score, and the worst of the worst, failure to win games. Since the last cup win, Colorado has either missed the playoffs or been knocked out in round 1 eight times. Currently they are on pace to miss the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. The Central Division Champions are now the worst team in the Central Division, thanks to the surprising play of the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators. One dagger in Colorado's hip this season has been the plaque of injuries and the inability to keep a healthy lineup. During the off-season, Colorado signed free agent Jesse Winchester. Jesse was injured in the pre-season where he sustained a concussion and has yet to play a single game. Although he seems to be fairly healthy, his only issue now is at the Pepsi Center, when he practices the lights at the arena seem to bother him even though he is healthy and okay almost anywhere else. When asked about this Coach Patrick Roy laughed it off and said, "I have never seen this, but everyone is different with injuries." Jesse Winchester is a 6 year NHL vet who has played majority of his career with the Ottawa Senators, in 285 career games he has 70 points and 159 penalty minutes. He is known more for being a penalty killer and a 4th line grinder. Along side Winchester, Patrick Bordeleau has yet to play a game this season, though his is not a power house scorer, he is a huge component to the 4th line. Bordeleau, a 6'6" giant drafted in the 4th round by Minnesota in 2004, opens the gates to allow Avalanche grinder Cody McLeod to be more involved in the play. Bordeleau takes the fights and penalties for the team and stands up for his stars. Not that Cody McLeod doesn't, he leads the team and probably the NHL with 9 fights and 98 in his career. I used to rip on Brody for being such a terrible pick up and what not, but once he is out of the lineup you can really see his impact, especially on the bottom two lines. Getting him back would be a benefit for the Avs and it should be happening soon. Since the season started, Colorado has dropped like flies. Ryan Wilson's season ended after just three games, Wilson injured his shoulder which required surgery. Ryan Wilson will be a UFA at the end of the season, if he can find a way to stay healthy, Wilson could be a great defensive pick up for many teams. A position the Avs are short on due to their consistent drafting of Centres is at Wing, and the Avs lost Winger Jamie McGinn probably for the season when he underwent back surgery on December 10th. McGinn ended last season with 19 goals and 19 assists, in 19 games this season Jamie had only 4 goals 2 assists and a -9. Marc-Andre Cliche, a huge penalty killer for the Avs has missed 6 games with his current injury, although Cliche could be in the lineup Saturday, December 20th against the Buffalo Sabers. John Mitchell, another huge piece to the Avalanche penalty was injured on November 29th, not only is Mitchell a key PK guy, he has an amazing shot and his face-off skills are in need in the Avs defensive end. It is speculated Mitchell will return on the Avs current 3 game road trip, but not certain. Ben Street, a call up from the Lake Erie Monsters, was only in the line up due to injuries. Ben played in two games before sustaining a hand injury, with the Avs hopefully getting healthy, Street will more than likely be reassigned to Lake Erie upon his return. Dennis Everberg, a surprise opening night roster guy, injured his shoulder in November against the Washington Capitals, the rookie has 1 goal and 4 assists this season and has been back in the Avalanche lineup for a few games, him staying healthy and playing hard could see him stay in Colorado, although, players coming back could see the rookie assigned to Lake Erie, but only Roy can make that choice. With his decent play in 16 career games, anyone can argue that it is his roster spot to lose. Most notable has been Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov, a runner up for the Vezina, Varlamov proved to the NHL that he is a top elite goaltender but this season has many right back where they started. Semyon Varlamov cannot stay healthy. The Washington Capitals had plenty of young goalies to choose from and they chose to send Varly to Denver for some quality draft picks and many assumed the major reason was his inability to stay healthy. This season Varlamov has suffered three groin injuries, causing him to miss a handful of games. Semyon Varlamov is not expected back on the Avs three game road trip, though his return could be soon. Although injuries are killers and daggers to any club, that is not the Colorado Avalanche's biggest issue. Their biggest issue in the last 31 games has been their lack of scoring. Last season the Avs averaged just a hair under 3 goals a game at 2.99 - they scored the late, big, clutch goals that won those key games. On top of that they found a way to win, 28 games Colorado won of 52 were one goal games, the difference in 56 points! After being top 5 in scoring, Colorado has dropped to the bottom 10 and are averaging 2.42 goals a game. This season Colorado has lost 14 one goal games while winning only 5, if that number is reversed, Colorado has an extra 28 points which boosts them from 26th in the NHL to number 1 in the NHL. Not saying that they would be 14-5 in those one goal games, but that is how close the Avalanche have been from being number one in the entire league, even over Sidney Crosby and the 49 point NHL leading Penguins. Last season Colorado allowed an average of 2.63 goals against per game, which was tied with Vancouver for 16th. This season Colorado is the 5th worst in the NHL to this date allowing 3.13 goals against per game. Although, rookie goalie Calvin Pickard has helped to trim the number with his amazing play of late. Colorado's feel good story this season has certainly been the play of 22 year old rookie goaltender Calvin Pickard. Pickard was recalled early in the season against the Ottawa Senators when starting goalie, Semyon Varlamov sustained his first groin injury. Calvin was put on a four plus ordeal, flying from Chicago to Ottawa, to play backup for Reto Berra. Though his entire career would change less than 3 minutes into the game. John Mitchell would crash his own net with Kyle Turris of Ottawa, causing Reto Berra to injure his neck. Pickard was tossed into the fire where he would allow 4 goals on 27 shots, since then, the kid has been a confidence boost for the team and the organization. In 11 career games, Calvin Pickard has never been pulled, but has played in relief 3 times. His first recall saw two games, one start due to Berra's injury. He would go 0-2-0 allowing 7 goals on 56 shots. His second call-up, Reto Berra would start two games and be pulled before the 1st period ended in both. The rookie would post two shutouts allowing his team to win both comeback games, first time by any goalie in NHL history and Calvin would be awarded the #1 job as long as Varlamov was injured. Pickard played his heart out in a one goal loss to Chicago as he stopped 42 of 45 shots. Calvin would go 3-2-0 before being sent back down to Lake Erie for developmental reasons when Varlamov returned. After Semyon re-injures himself for a third time, Calvin Pickard would be called up once again and without hesitation, Patrick Roy would out the young goalie in over Reto Berra. In his third stint in the NHL, Pickard has played like a number one goalie and NHL scouts have noticed as 9 NHL scouts attended his game in Pittsburgh against the Penguins. In his last 4 games Pickard's record has not been too fair considering his team has not provided him with much goal support offensively. 1-1-2 record where two losses Pickard allowed only 2 goals on 82 shots, one he would lose 3-0 against Nashville (2 open net goals) the other would be an amazing 47 save overtime loss to the Penguins, where Calvin robed both Malkin and Crosby on the breakaway. Calvin and the Avs would also lose on overtime against the St. Louis Blues 3-2 where he would make 39 saves and a 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets where he would make another 30 saves. 157 shots against in the last 4 games and the rookie has gotten 149. It is safe to say that Reto Berra may be on the Colorado trading blocks and Calvin Pickard could put up a training camp brawl with Semyon Varlamov for the number one position which could also see Semyon Varlamov as future trade bait. No one knows how much of a Semyon Varlamov fan I am, I bought this cats jersey, met him twice, once for and autograph, once for a picture, shook his hand and flat out said, "You're my favorite Avalanche goalie all-time!" Yes, even over Patrick Roy, who I love dearly, I just love Semyon that much more...Weird? Probably haha. Seeing Varlamov leave Colorado would kill myself and many Avs fans, but if Calvin Pickard is as good as I feel he is, this kid will be Elite and will win the Avs a Stanley Cup. Unless they can trade him to say Carolina for this years 1st round pick, let the Hurricanes continue to fail and the Avs can land McDavid or Eichel... Yet, I think I rather have a future Elite goalie than ANOTHER centre in Denver... Although the "next great one" along side MacKinnon wouldn't be too shabby, trade Duchene in the future.... no no no! Don't put me on this path! I am not against Duchene, Varly, Pickard, McDavid..... I am just getting in my head.... Good game plans or not!!! Anyways, that is my rant on the Avs this week. The goaltending by Pickard has been beyond amazing, he should be 3-1-0 but the lack of scoring has ruined the Avalanche. With Varlamov getting healthy, the Avs will likely send Calvin back to minors until Varlamov gets hurt again. Praying he does not, with the entire lineup getting healthy, maybe the Avs can bust out some wins and one goal wins more importantly and get on track. To keep pace with the NHL they need to start winning at minimum 2 of every 3 games, to start climbing Colorado needs to put together winning streaks of more than 3, more than once a month. If Colorado could win 3 for every 4, they are in a prime spot to start fighting for the #8 seed that they are only 10 points (5 wins) out of. Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is a healthy Colorado Avalanche team that can win 20 of their next 25 (minimum) and make the playoffs. I want the team to stay healthy for the rest of the season, trade O'Reilly for huge gain and win!!! WIN WIN WIN!!! Thanks, Sam ----- Too much? o_O oh well (Picture by: Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)

What has happened to the Colorado Avalanche in this 2014-15 season? You cannot say that the Avalanche have had it easy by any means, considering both the NHL has studied up on the team since their explosion last season that saw them #1 in the Central, #2 in the West and #3 in the entire NHL. A gutsy rookie that came into the league like he had something to prove, after all, he was taken first in the 2013 entry draft. A captain that seemed to be getting his sensational rookie form back, played like he had nothing to lose and played like a twenty year veteran that had led many clubs into the playoffs before. A young goalie who seemed to have found his game and was playing with the highest of expectations from himself in Semyon Varlamov. Before an injury late in the season, a Steller performance by Matt Duchene had him eyeballing a top 10 finish to his season, if not a top 5. But the Minnesota came to town and shocked the Avalanche with a game 7 overtime win. That led the Avalanche into a rut for the summer offseason, a rut that they just have not dug themselves out of. So what happened between then and now? Nathan MacKinnon, Calder trophy winner 2014; sensational, amazing, pure-raw talent, next Crosby? Are all words that described the 17 year old before his draft, and MacKinnon did not disappoint, although he did not have the 102 points as a rookie MacKinnon put up 63 and a +20. MacKinnon had the organization feeling good about their pick that saw Aleksander Barkov, and Jonathan Drouin fall 2nd and 3rd behind him. Nathan MacKinnon was fearless as a rookie and let the entire NHL know it, powering through defenses, standing up for teammates and himself, he was exactly what the Avalanche needed. Over the offseason, MacKinnon put on twelve pounds of muscle to help himself against the walls, in the corners and one of one against much bigger defense. Everyone coming into the 2014-15 season has had high expectations for the now 19 year old NHL sophomore, but they all have been disappointed to say the least. This season, MacKinnon has not been scoring as it took Nathan 11 games to get his 1st goal of the season, where he also scored his 2nd, since then MacKinnon has had 3 goals in 16 games and zero goals in his last 9. MacKinnon’s defensive play has been just as brutal and the entire team has been no better. MacKinnon has had only four games this season where he was a +1 or better, 9 that resulted in a -/+ 0 and 13 games that have been a -1 or worse. He has also seemed to be absent on the power play even though 3 of his 5 goals are power play goals, that is all MacKinnon has to show for his scoring along with no game winners. The -10 sophomore does have a positive side with 13 assists this season, which is not bad for any 2nd or 3rd line forward, but we are talking about Nathan MacKinnon here, his own teammate on defense has 17 assists. MacKinnon’s runner up to the Calder, Tyler Johnson, is sitting 5th in the NHL with 20 assists and has confidence that is soaring. So we all know when MacKinnon should be, but this season, he is making one too many passes that lead to turn overs and rather than using his goalie killing shot he is making passes that are not there. His confidence is all but gone and he finds himself unable to stay ready for a defensive outbreak that has lead him to a -1,-2, and -3 in his last 3 games. Now we cannot let all the blame land on MacKinnon’s shoulders as he is only in his second NHL season. So we will focus on a much larger much more important leader on the Avalanche in the human form of Gabe Landeskog. Now here is a guy that knows the entire aspect of the game, though he is not projected to be the next Crosby, Gretzky or even Peter Forsberg, Landeskog is known for his leadership. Named the youngest captain in the history of the Kitchener Rangers, Gabe was also named the youngest Captain in the history of the NHL, thanks in part to Milan Hejduk stepped down from his responsibilities. To start the 2014-15 season it felt like Landeskog was being paid $5,571,439.00 to sit in the penalty box. Through the first 18 games of the season, Gabe racked up eleven penalties for 22 minutes, not somewhere you want your captain to be. In those 18 games, Landeskog had only 4 goals and 2 assists. It seems that Patrick Roy helped solve that issue by putting him on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Jarome Iginla though. Since playing with these two guys in the last 9 games, Gabe has only taken one penalty which came in their last game on December 5th against Winnipeg. Landeskog has had 7 assists, 3 goals, though his plus minus was looking great at going +9 in the previous 6 games Gabe has found himself a -4 in the last 3 games with only two points. His confidence and leadership is in full swing form this season, if he and the Avalanche want to get on a roll, it is vital that Gabe finds a rhythm for himself and his young team. I personally am very bias when it comes to goalie Semyon Varlamov, I love the dude, class act and certainly deserved the Vezina for his stellar play last season. Yet I have come to understand in watching him that it’s the same old same for Varly. The guy has the ability to be a Patrick Roy, Brodeur, Rinne, Crawford, Quick or Price (I know I missed a lot of great goalies) but his ability to not shake off frustration or rust has cost him. Varlamov is a goalie that when his confidence is going, he is straight up the best goalie in the NHL, he has proven that. He has also proven that injuries are an every other year thing and he cannot seem to stay healthy. His ability to bounce back from a back bounce is usually fairly good, but Varly has not been able to adapt to that this season. He lets in a few bad goals (A lot of which can be pinned on the Avalanche terrible defense) and it is a lost goalie in net for the Avalanche this year. The same thing can be said about his back in Reto Berra, who has played less than good since his injury in Ottawa. After a 6-0 blowout by the New York Islanders on November 11th, Varlamov slammed the door on the Rangers and Devils stopping 53 of 58 shots, but then Varlamov would sustain his second groin injury of the season in the 3rd period against the Devils. Since his return in two games the Avalanche have played only twice, once against the Calgary Flames, where they gave up a 3-2 lead with just over 1 minute in the third remaining. None the less, Semyon would only face 25 shots and give up the game winner in overtime. His second game back was an entirely different animal, the Jets had a banged up defense and it looked like a game Colorado could win. A terrible lack defense would leave huge rebounds and uncovered players for Winnipeg to slam home a few goals. One of which Varlamov made an amazing save one, a save that could have changed the mindset of the entire team. This save though under review showed Varlamov’s glove crossed the goal line with the puck in sight, no save but a good goal for Winnipeg. This would certainly destroy any confidence the Avs had built up, Berra would replace Varly after he allowed 5 goals on 30 shots, Reto would make no difference and allow a 6th goal on his 6th shot of the game out of only 7 total. The Avalanche do not seem to have much confidence when Berra is in net lately and Varlamov is off to a poor start since returning from injury, though you cannot expect much more from a goalie who missed 20 days’ worth of practice and 6 games. The Avalanche have three days off before facing Nashville in Colorado, Varlamov will be expected to be playing his best hockey of the season in this game. The good news for the Avalanche is that they have had one player show up to every game he has played this season. Despite taking and Alex Ovechkin shot to the face, Alex Tanguay has showed up in all 25 games he has played in. He did miss two games with a jaw fracture he sustained from the blocked Ovi shot. Alex Tanguay may not be leading the NHL in goals, assists, points, -/+ or much of anything else, but he is playing like a true leader for the Avalanche. His 9 goals are tied with Matt Duchene for the team lead and his 17 points are tied with Jarome Iginla for 4th on the team. It is not the points that are making Alex stand out though, it is his constant shift in and out working his tail off. He has 1 game winner but also has several shootout goals that have helped to win the games won in the shootout. Tanguay seems to be playing at a level he has not played at in a few years, he looks healthy and is making smart choices. He is the only forward on the top two lines with a + in the plus/minus category for the Avalanche Rookies are trying to make a name for themselves in the Avalanche AHL affiliate Lake Erie. Colorado has had to call up a lot of players this season because of the injury bug, which I might prefer of the Mumps bug. Call ups, Andrew Agozzino, Tomas Vincour, Michael Sgarbossa, Ben Street, Colin Smith, and Paul Carey have all been called up at the forward position. These six forwards total for 16 games played, 0 goals, 3 assists and a -1. On defense Zach Redmond and Karl Stollery have been the two call ups for the Avalanche having played 19 games total with 3 goals. 5 assists and a plus 8. Combining these call ups gives the Avalanche 8 AHL players with 35 games played, 3 goals, 8 assists and a plus 7, these guys have all played like they want to play in the NHL and have at many times looked far better than the players on the Avalanche season opening roster. Goalies Calvin Pickard and Sami Aittokallio have both been called up for the Avs, Aittokallio was back up to Pickard when both Reto Berra and Semyon Varlamov were injured. Sami has seen no action this year but Pickard was the story of the Avalanche just last week. The 22 year old opened a lot of eyes with 2 comeback wins after Colorado was down 3-1 or 3-0 to end the first period. He would go on to win his first ever game as a starter against the Dallas Stars while also stopping 68 of 75 shots against the Montreal Canadians and Chicago Blackhawks losing 4-3 and 3-2 in both games. The play of the Colorado Avalanche call ups is the only reason the Avs are 9-12-6, they could most certainly be 6-15-6 without those young players. At this point in the season, every game that is lost, even in overtime, is that much closer to the Avalanche down the drain. A team with no confidence to start the season is a team that has the hardest time winning more than back to back games down the stretch. Colorado has only won back to back games twice this season and have yet to get to a three game winning streak. There are only seven teams worse than the Avs at this point these 8 total teams have a few things in common and it starts with inconsistency and lack of leadership stepping up. The most shocking of late is the Buffalo Sabers who seem to have found a little confidence going 6-4-0 in their last 10. In 13 home games, the Avalanche are just 5 losses away this season from their 11 last season. With 28 home games remaining, the Avalanche are on pace to lose at least 15 games at home. Same can be said of their road record this season, the Avalanche were an identical 26-11-4 on the home and road last season. This season their road record so far is 4-6-4, their nearly identical in the opposite direction this season as the Avs are on pace for what looks to also be around 15 losses on the road. Only two teams have allowed more goals against than Colorado, the NHL’s worst Edmonton Oilers with 90 and the Dallas Stars with 94, Dallas and Colorado are mirror images this season as far as line up, potential, struggle and inconsistent goalies. The season is 1/3 in the books and the outcome has been sufferable for fellow Avalanche fans. If the Avalanche were the likes of a Canadian team or high profile Philadelphia team, maybe a Red Wing team, people would be calling for Roy and Sakic on a platter. They would want trades or change now, but they are in a much more lax system and that sort of thing does not happen as much in Colorado. That is no excuse for this club though, everyone needs to be held accountable and it starts with the players that are just not playing. Nathan MacKinnon cannot use his youth as an excuse, he has been in the NHL for 109 games not, he should understand how to simplify the game by now. Shooting the puck more and thinking less will produce more than passing the puck away and creating a turnover. Gabe Landeskog is in his 4th NHL season with 226 games under his belt and 144 of them as an NHL captain. He needs to begin to take responsibility for his team and learn a better defensive aspect, is he was in Claude Giroux’s shoes right now, they would want him benched or moved to the 4th line. Semyon Varlamov wants to be that number one guy, he wants to win a cup and be the one everyone looks up to. That has to start with confidence in himself and consistency, last season Varly was the guy that made the huge save that kept them Avs in it and help the Avs comeback to win. This season, he is swiss, a 3.22 GAA and .909 save percentage has been a bust. 34th and 39th in the NHL out of goalies, which means several backups have been better than this Avalanche starter, if he gets hot and the Avs get going that is their only chance for playoff hopes 27 games into the season. The Colorado defense has been worse than unbelievably horrible this season, the first and second pair has been mediocre, but the third pair no matter who it is has just been awful. Tyson Barrie started the season off pretty gross, his points were low and his -/+ was horrid, but a few good games from Calvin Pickard had the young D on his game. He went from -8 to -/+ 2 and was looking good. Erik Johnson has been hit and miss in many games, though his defensive play has not been a death blow it also has not been a diamond gallery either. Jan Hejda and Nate Guenin have been fairly quiet this season, other than a few bad bounces Hejda has played decent most of the season, yet he has a very quiet -9. Guenin has played 21 games, other than Zach Redmond and Karl Stollery, Guenin has been the best guy on the back end for Colorado, point wise you don’t expect much, but Guenin is a +1 and has only taken 2 penalties all season. Karl Stollery has only played 3 games, but he is making a stand that is hard to scratch him or send him to Lake Erie in his last two games. The night mare has been Nick Holden on offense and defense, in 25 games, Holden played defense he was a -16 and had 4 points. Holden could not stop a beach ball if it was being passed nor could he stopped a turtle on a half break from the blueline. He himself admitted, "I'm kind of embarrassed about how I've been playing defensively," Holden said December 3rd. "'m going to make the best of this opportunity he's giving me at forward." Patrick Roy moved Holden to the wing against the Flames and Jets this week to help the young guy out, hoping to create confidence. Nick Holden got a lucky bounce off his foot when Michael Sgarbossa won a faceoff and Zach Redmond tossed the puck backhanded at the net. That was Holden’s first goal since he scored against Toronto on November 6th, nearly one month. Nick Holden was only played for 8:21 against Calgary, which is the lowest amount of time he has played with Colorado since his first ever, November 1st 2013 against the Dallas Stars where he saw only 4:39. Even with a healthy Brad Stuart and Ryan Wilson, Colorado’s defense if grossly horrible this season, I am not even sure Adam Foote could fix the mess they are in. If Colorado hits the halfway point in the season and nothing has changed, Coach Roy could look into giving his other young guys their first taste in the NHL. Guys like Duncan Siemens, Gabriel Beaupre, or Cody Corbett, we could also see call ups for guys like Bruno Gervais, Markus Lauridsen, or Maxim Noreau (who Matt Duchene has high praise) these guys could try and prove to the Avalanche that they might be NHL ready. Although their inexperience could prove killer next season. Unless the Avalanche make a block buster trade for a top 2-4 defense, the Avalanche will not make the postseason and will continue a free fall toward last place where they can duke it out with Edmonton for Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel. The turnaround in confidence and leadership needed to start a while ago, but more than ever needs to start now. Photo by: Lance Thomson/NHLI via Getty Images (Not intended for Copyright)

1.4 - 1.45 - 1.5 are Berra's NHL Cap hits. He is way over paid far to quickly.

As if the season did not start out poorly enough for the Colorado Avalanche there is yet another issue in Colorado. Despite have 9 starters out of the lineup, 3 rookies on one line and no number one goalie on the bench or ice, the Avs still managed a 4-3 win in regulation over the Carolina Hurricanes. The issue in that game was that the Avs were down 3-1 on 10 shots from the Canes. Reto Berra, Colorado’s backup goaltender, got the nod for that game as the Avalanche and coach Roy seem to have high confidence in the 27 year old goalie. In Berra’s first game of the season he was sensational, stopping 28 of 27 shots, while Danny Briere scored with .04 seconds to win the game. This win coming just two games after appearing in a season opening 5-0 loss where Berra stopped 10 of 10 shots in relief of Semyon Varlamov. It seemed that the off-season work he had done was paying off, until October 16th against the Ottawa Senators. Berra was run down by both his teammate, John Mitchell and Kyle Turris of Ottawa. Reto would sustain a head injury and miss the rest of that game and the next game in Montreal. Since the injury, Berra has allowed 3 or more goals in every appearance, the first being 3 goals in a win against Toronto. All of a sudden Berra cannot keep the puck out, in his last 4 games, Reto Berra has squandered 13 goals. Against the Flyers it was 4-0 before Colorado made a 3rd period comeback that fell shot to a 4-3 loss. When the Washington Capitals came to town last week, Berra gave up two and then a late very weak goal to Caps captain Alex Ovechkin. That late goal sparked a flurry of faults for Berra as he was pulled in the first period against the Carolina Hurricanes where he allowed 3 goals on 10 shots. Tonight against the Arizona Coyotes, Reto Berra started the game but was pulled after allowing 3 goals in just under 11 minutes of play, the Coyotes only had 8 shots on goal at the time. Rookie Calvin Pickard was tossed into the fire in Ottawa, he began the day in Cleveland, Ohio where he was preparing himself to start in net for the AHL Lake Erie Monsters. After a morning skate injury to Avalanche starting goaltender, Semyon Varlamov, the Monsters got a phone call asking them to send Calvin Pickard to Ottawa. After four or more hours of travel and flight, Pickard arrived about an hour prior to the game against the Senators. All seems to be going well, as leader Alex Tanguay takes a pass from Nathan MacKinnon and puts it home just 1:25 time the start of the game. Just moments later Ottawa has the puck in Colorado’s zone looking for their first shot of the game. Ottawa’s young center Kyle Turris was making a break towards the Avs net from the near corner, as he crashes towards the net Avalanche center John Mitchell takes himself and Turris into Reto Berra and the Avs net. Berra would be shaken up on the play and sustain an injury just 2:46 into the game. Calvin Pickard would nervously find the other portions of his gear while training staff would tend to the starting Avs goalie. Finally, Berra would skate off the ice and the 22 year old would find himself in net. A crash course to the NHL for Pickard would see him start his first career game just two days later in Montreal against the NHL leading Canadians. Despite 3 second period goals, Pickard stood solid making 33 of 36 saves and find himself backing up Berra in the next game against the Panthers, where Berra allowed 4 goals, though 2 of the 4 came on a five minute man advantage. Varlamov would come back and that would see Pickard back to Lake Erie. Everything was starting to look up for the Avs, goalie Semyon Varlamov would be cleared to come back to play and would Start 10 of the next 12 games. The Avs would get two huge come from behind wins against the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, the second of which would see goaltender Semyon Varlamov injured for the second time this season. Pickard would be called up for a second time as well to back up Reto Berra. In game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes with Berra in net, he would allow 3 goals in the first period on 10 shots, coach Roy would pull Berra and Calvin Pickard would see 17 shots and stop them all in Colorado’s come back 4-3 win. Tonight, November 25th, Reto Berra would receive his second consecutive start and right away again would allow 3 goals in the first period, this time on just 8 shots. In just over 27 minutes of play Berra has given up 6 goals on 18 shot and again would be pulled. Against the Coyotes in relief, Pickard, would face 25 shots and get them all as the Avalanche would again come back to win 4-3 in overtime. At trade deadline 2014, the Avalanche organization was one hundred percent certain backup goalie J.S. Gigure would not be back due to retirement. The Colorado Avalanche would trade their 2014 second round pick to the Calgary Flames to obtain Reto Berra. The reasoning, Colorado needed off-season improvement, rather than “risk” a rookie in net for the season and take sacrifice at losing games that could matter, Colorado went with a goaltender who had NHL experience. Not just experience, but that starter experience even though the 27 year old had only played 29 career NHL games. In pre-season 2014-15, some Colorado fans found themselves wondering, why Berra? Calvin Pickard was dominate during his pre-season play after a stellar training camp. Now Avalanche fans are again wondering, why Berra? Reto Berra seems to have lost any confidence he had breaking into this season before his injury. Maybe the Avalanche organization jumped the gun signing Berra to a 3 year extension rather than a 1 year deal, even though you don’t just give up a 2nd round pick for a 1 year deal. Calvin Pickard is certainly making a statement that he is more than ready to play NHL back up. The Avalanche will host the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow night (November 26th) at Pepsi Center, Calvin Pickard will get his second career start. Colorado has also recalled dman Karl Stollery from Lake Erie in case Erik Johnson cannot play after taking an elbow to the head early in overtime against the Arizona Coyotes Martin Hanzal. Avs will put Semyon Varlamov on injured reserve to make room for Stollery. If Johnson cannot play, that will make 10 starters for Colorado that are out due to injury, although Alex Tanguay is day to day and questionable for the game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Edmonton Oilers, once the home of the NHL’s greatest player, now a place NHL player’s fear going to. A dynasty of hockey in the 1980’s, Edmonton brought home five Stanley cup Championships. Now, Edmonton is a place to be when it comes to hockey, they have dedicated fans that want their team to do well, but they will sure let you know about when they are not. Just this season, a fan proceeded to throw their Oiler jersey onto the ice, to ensure he let them know he was not too happy with them. It was a really silly thing to do, but that is what hockey fans seem to do some days. The Edmonton Oilers have had it rough since the loss of the 1980’s rosters, since their last cup in 1989-1990 the Oilers have lost twice in the Western Conference Championship game and once in the Finals. Edmonton has missed the playoffs in total 14 of 23 times since 1989-1990 and eight consecutive seasons on pace for nine. Since the departure of Craig MacTavish in 2009, the Oilers have had four head coaches and only one of them lasted a second season. Dallas Eakins, the newest coach of Edmonton, is in his second season, but fans are already calling for him to be fired. With three #1 overall picks, one #3 and one #7 the Edmonton Oilers have not found their game changer. Taylor Hall was selected #1 overall in 2010, although he has produced and emerged as Edmonton’s top offensive player, he has yet to be surrounded with two wing weapons. Jordan Eberle, selected 22nd overall in 2008, has been the only consistent winger on the top line with Hall. Hall is now a 5 year vet for Edmonton, hanging onto 99 career goals and 138 career assists, after last years terrible team defense Hall sports a -22 in his career and -15 from just last season alone. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, selected #1 overall in 2011 has struggled with injuries to start his career. In 2011-12 Nugent-Hopkins was slated to fight for the Calder Trophy with Colorado Avalanche #2 overall pick Gabe Landeskog, however, an injury would see Ryan to 62 games and a 3rd place Calder finish. 2013-14 wasn’t a terrible season for Nugent-Hopkins, he would find 56 points in 80 games (4 more than his rookie season in 62 games.) None the less, Ryan, stayed fairly healthy and showed he can produce. He sports 13 points in 19 games so far this 2014-15 NHL season. If having two back-to-back number one overall picks wasn’t bad enough, Edmonton found themselves with their third consecutive number one overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. In 132 career games, Nail Yukupov, seems to be the one that really got away from Edmonton. Yukupov has had two full NHL seasons, both of which he only played 48 and 63 games. Last season Nail owned a miserable -33 and only 24 points, 11 goals and 13 assists. In 132 career games, Yukupov has, 31 goals, 31 assists for 62 points and a very sad -45. It is safe to say that Nail Yukupov may not be an Edmonton Oiler for his entire career with such a low production. Had Edmonton had a choice to re-pick in the 2012 draft, they may have taken the #3 pick, Alex Galchenyuk, or the #6 pick Hampus Lindholm instead. Edmonton would slip in the draft to obtain the number seven pick in 2013, yet still a top 10. They would take Philadelphia Eagles greatest quarterback of all-time’s nephew, Darnell Nurse. Since being drafted, Edmonton wanted to make sure to develop their young defenseman. Darnell would stay in the OHL to develop and finds himself there against this season, after getting his first taste of NHL action. Nurse played just two games with Edmonton, scoring 0 points and obtaining a -2 with 2 shots on goal. Darnell Nurse’s NHL career should hopefully start next season. The newest addition to high draft picks in Edmonton is the 2014 NHL draft’s number three overall pick, Leon Draisaitl. Leon is a 6’1” 210 pound German born center with a ton of upside as he posted 163 points in 128 games with the Prince Albert Raiders. Draisaitl, like majority of young NHL players, has had a slow start to his NHL career, posting 5 points (2g/3a) a -9 and 28 shots in his first 21 career games. Leon still has the rest of his season to both stay healthy and improve his stats and leadership. The Oilers lack a lot of experience and leadership, they brought in Andrew Ference, a once time cup winner to help their back end, but that’s about it. Ference is Edmonton’s captain and leader, but he is the oldest defender with the most experience, he alone cannot support this Edmonton defense. On the offense, Edmonton signed Matt Hendricks, although a solid penalty killer and fighter in his prime with Colorado, Hendricks has never been that solid go to clutch leader that the Oilers offense lacks. An extremely young lineup with not a lot of winning experience haunts the Oilers, not having that winner that has been through it all on offense is certainly needed to help this team. Until then Benoit Pouliot is as close as they will get, having gone to game 5 last season with the New York Rangers to lose the Stanley Cup to the Los Angeles Kings. Edmonton thought they settled their goaltender issues also, after parting ways with Devan Dubnyk and Ilya Bryzgalov, Edmonton got Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth. Scrivens played back up to James Reimer and Jonathan Quick in his stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings before being acquired by the Oilers. Scrivens went from back up to starter upon his arrival in Alberta and finished the 2013-14 season having played 21 games with 9 wins and 11 losses with the Oilers. The Oiler organization also went out to find Viktor Fasth from the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks found their young goaltender Fredrik Andersen and decided to trade Fasth after a breakout first NHL season at back up, where the then 29 year old goaltender went 15-6-2 with a .921 save percentage and 2.18 goal against. With an up and coming set of young goalies coming up, Anaheim split was with Fasth for a couple of draft picks in 2014 and 2015. Since arriving in Edmonton, Alberta Fasth has played backup to Ben Scrivens, appearing in 15 games going 5-7-2 in those games. This is a young team in Edmonton, with a few trades and alters that add experience and a sense of winning, this Oiler team could end up both very good and very scary. The Oilers fan base does not want to give them any more time, it has been going on 9 seasons since their last playoffs, a season in which Edmonton was only one win away from a sixth Stanley Cup. An empty net goal late in the third period of a 2-1 game would seal a game 7 loss for the Oilers. Had they won, this franchise could be down an entirely different road right now, or maybe not, we will never know. Three needs got Edmonton are; leadership, winner mentality and solid defense. With a young defensive core the Oilers are in the market for an established vet who knows how to both lead and win. Eklund, an established blogger for his own site is close enough to sources to keep rumors flying. Though I would never count on him as a confirmed source, does have seem to think that the Oilers are currently talking with the Philadelphia Flyers regarding a defenseman. Though if you ask most Flyers, right now they want to give up some of their players for a bag of pucks. If the Flyers trade say a Luke Scheen and possibly another defenseman you could imagine that possibly Nail Yukupov could be involved. The Oilers could also invest in obtaining a top 6 winger, especially to skate along-side Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. It is highly doubtful, but could Edmonton go after maybe an Evander Kane? Knowing they should have a fairly high draft pick, the Jets could seek maybe a Darnell Nurse and a first round pick with another prospect or draft pick involved.

Last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche were near identical in almost every aspect. They both had a top three pick at the 2013 NHL draft, Colorado selecting Nathan MacKinnon from the Halifax Mooseheads number one overall and Tampa Bay taking Jonathan Droiun (MacKinnon’s line mate) also from the Halifax Mooseheads. Both teams went out and made a trade to obtain their current starting goaltenders, Colorado traded for Semyon Varlamov from the Washington Capitals. Tampa Bay at the 2012-13 trade deadline tagged Ben Bishop in a trade with the Ottawa Senators. Both teams have a star young center in Steven Stamkos and Matt Duchene, while both teams acquired (Colorado via trade, Tampa Bay the 2009 NHL Draft) a high drafted defenseman who both seemed to start a little slow in their NHL careers. Yet both teams seemed to excel with other players stepping up all season. Tampa Bay had 9 players with 30+ points, while Colorado had 10. Varlamov finished the season with a 41-14-6 record with a .927 save percentage and a 2.41 goals against average. Bishop finished his 2013-14 season with a 37-14-7 record a .924 save percentage and a 2.23 goals against average. Both goaltenders were runners up for the Vezna Trophy won by Boston Bruin goalie Tuukka Rask. How can these nearly identical teams be on such separate pages this 2014-15 season? Tampa is 13-4-2 including their win 11/17/14 over the New York Rangers. Colorado sits 6-8-5 including their last win 11/15/14 over the New Jersey Devils. One key reason could be the loss of Paul Stastny to the St. Louis Blues this off-season and the ability for Tampa Bay to keep a key leader in Ryan Callahan over the off season. The Avalanche organization nor fans believed the loss of Stastny would be as large of an issue as it seems to have been. Paul’s leadership, learned by that of the one and only Joe Sakic, on and off the ice seems to be a void in the Avalanche locker room this season. Stastny was a key faceoff man for Colorado throughout the past few seasons, his defense on the ice during both penalty kills and even strength is being missed. Nathan MacKinnon has been in a sophomore slump and does not seem to do well at center on the Avalanche top two lines. While on the Tampa Bay side Ryan Callahan has found his groove in Florida, scoring 8 goals 7 assists and sits a +8. Tampa Bay’s ability to keep together the same team with some alterations plays a key role in why they have jumped out to the same pace they played last season. Colorado’s inability to keep Paul Stastny has burn a hole in the organization. Losing a top 6 forward has led to new lines nearly every other game, no chemistry, lack of leadership (although they got Iginla, he doesn’t know this team the same way Paul did.) and last of defensive help from their top offensive line at even strength. In order for the Colorado Avalanche to get back into their winning ways, they must build trust in their new guys and build on chemistry that seems to start and then fall apart. Their goaltender Semyon Varlamov has played solid in all but one game this season and their backup Reto Berra seems to be fairly reliable, however, he has only started 5 games, finished 4 (due to injury against Ottawa) and he is 2-1-1 so far. Their defense needs to be the defense they were last year, although they allowed a ton of shots, they didn’t allow a lot of scoring chances, they need to get back to not allowing those chances. Last, they need to build on their first winning streak of the season and gain that confidence they had last season. Take each game one at a time, every game they need to go into it as thought their record is 0-0-0. Tampa Bay, in order to keep winning games, needs to continue their smart offensive play. Tampa is number two in goals per game average with 3.61 per game. http://espn.go.com/nhl/statistics/team/_/stat/scoring/year/2015/seasontype/2 Tampa is 17th in the league in goals against with 2.56 goals against per game and 21st in the league with shots against at 28.7 shots against per game. They aren’t all amazing on defense, but their offensive production is allowing them to win, their winning is keeping them confident, that mixture goes a long way on any hockey team. Will these once mirror images become one again this season? Can the Avalanche get back to square one? Will Tampa continue at the same pace? These are questions that only time will tell, but for one team, time is running out.

I wanted to break down what the Colorado Avalanche so far this season. The Avalanche have had a rough start that many people did not expect, although some expected a slower start, not many expected this slow of a start. Breaking down the subtractions and additions to the roster as of 11/16/2014: Paul Stastny; signed a 4 year deal with the St. Louis Blues. Stastny started the season with a boom scoring 1 goal and 3 assists in his first two career games in St. Louis. In his fourth game of the season, Paul (Stastny) would sustain an injury on his first shift, causing him to miss eight games. Since then Stastny has played five games scoring one point, game winner (1g, 0a) and going -4. PA Parenteau; traded for Daniel Briere to Montreal. PA (Parenteau) found himself struggling in Colorado alongside Coach Patrick Roy and found himself on the trade market. (PA) Parenteau started the first five games of the season very strong scoring 2 goals and 3 assists. After struggling for the next eight games, in the last five he has produced 3 goals and 1 assists. 9 points and a -/+ 0. Andre Benoit; signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Sabers. Although the Sabers have had a rough and expect 4-13-2 start, Benoit has not found the touch he had with Colorado last season. In 14 games player with Buffalo, Benoit, has 0g 0a and is a -12. After being sat out five games, Andre (Benoit) was played again due to an injury to Alternate Captain Josh Gorges. After averaging 20+ minutes a game, Benoit only saw a season low 13:48 against the Wild and did not play last night in Toronto. Matt Hunwick; signed as a free agent with New York Rangers. In 15 games with the Rangers, Hunwick has one highlight real saving a goal trickling towards the goal line. Other than than, Hunwick has 6 points and 0 goals. He is a +2 and really seems to fit will in New York. Matt (Hunwick) averages around 19 minutes a game and his season high was 27:58 against the Winnipeg Jets. Colorado additions: Jarome Iginla; signed a 3 year deal as a free agent with Colorado. The twelve time 30+ goal scorer was the pick up to replace Paul Stastny. Like the entire team Jarome (Iginla) has had a slow start, his only two goals came in the same game against the Vancouver Canucks and has 0 goals in the last 11 contests. Jarome Iginla has 2g 8a and is a -3, after some recent line changes by Coach Patrick Roy, Iginla has 1 assist and hopes chemistry begins with his new line. Daniel Briere; acquired in a trade for PA Parenteau from Montreal. Briere found himself benched twice this season after producing only 2 goals (both game winners) and an assist. We have to remember the Briere was not really brought in to produce during the regular season but the playoffs. Danny Briere is known more for his 116 playoff points than anything else. Like Jarome Iginla, Briere’s last goal was against the Canucks in the slaughter laid on by the Avalanche. Brad Stuart; acquired for two draft picks from San Jose. Stuart has to be the most disappointing pick up so far this season for Colorado. Although no one expected him to be anything great, Avs fans did expect him to at least produce somewhat on the power play. Stuart has missed five straight with an injury but has no points and is a -6. Zach Redmond; signed as a free agent from Winnipeg Jets. Redmond is slowly turning into the Nick Holden from last season. In 8 games Redmond has 4 points, he is a -2, yet when Redmond is in the Avalanche line up there seems to be a higher pace to the game and the Avs seem to have more confidence. Colorado is 4-2-2 with Redmond in the lineup so far this season. To start the season, the Avalanche find themselves on the far outside looking in. With their first winning streak of the season Colorado faces the next four days as a challenge. They will not play until November 20th against the Washington Capitals. The last two times the Avalanche have had more than one day off they have lost, 3-0 to the Minnesota Wild and 6-0 against the New York Islanders. This is a make it or break it time for the Avalanche to overcome adversity and keep up the confidence they have built over the last few games. Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov has faced 462 shots this season which is 3rd highest in the NHL. He is sporting a 2.95 GAA down from a 3.05 GAA earlier this month and a .918 save percentage. Varlamov’s confidence and consistency is key to the Avalanche pulling to .500 and moving up in the standings. Back-up goalie Reto Berra has been surprisingly good to start the season, it seems the work with Varly, Roy and goalie coach Francois Allaire is paying off. Berra is 2-1-1 and holds a 2.70 GAA and a .914 save percentage, which are all career highs in the first four games of the season (2 career seasons.) Many people are beginning to write the Colorado Avalanche off this season, saying they cannot pull themselves from this funk. That the first 20 games of the season tell you how they will play all year. Yet I find that to be false and see the building of confidence in this Colorado team. The new line of O’Reilly, Duchene and Alex Tanguay seems to be working after two games, if the line of Iginla, Landeskog and Mitchell continues their route they will be producing. The only factor missing right now is sophomore Nathan MacKinnon,who seems to have back to back years of starting off slow. MacKinnon is 6 games away from the 25 game mark where he began his rookie breakout last season. Look for MacKinnon to catch on fire before December starts. The second factor is Captain Gabe Landeskog. Landeskog’s discipline this season has been lacking, only Erik Johnson and Cody McLeod have more penalties than Gabe who sports 22 minutes. Along with his discipline, his defensive play has been miserable while playing even strength as he is a -11, only Nick Holden's -15 is worse. As a Captain this conduct for Landeskog needs to be altered, as a leader the team sees what he is doing and follows suit. While our penalty killing has been fair, ranking top 5, it is not the way this team needs to play as they give up enough shots without the penalty kill. If those two players can turn it up, Colorado can find themselves fighting for a top 8 playoff spot and possibly more. If other teams like St. Louis slow down as they did at the end of last season. It will not be an easy process for Colorado, yet after their last two games, they are headed down the right path.