2021 Round 2 Quarter Finals : Las Vegas Golden Knights vs Colorado Avalanche (VGK Win 4-2)

[Alexandron]

Over 17,000.00 fans tonight at arena.

[Alexandron]

3:5. I think that's it . Not much Grubauer could do with that goal. Still 5 goals on 19 shots are a lot for him.

[Alexandron]

Again , Nichushkin is a very helpful player for Avs.

[Jimtown guy]

Congrats to Vegas. To come back down 2 games to none and then win 4 straight against a team like the Avs who I picked to win it all is nothing short of impressive. I give Montreal a 10% chance because of Price who will have to steal any game they win in my opinion

[Alexandron]

Game over 3:6.  Now we will see how Habs will play against VGK. 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

And thus, the Avs are done.....
As the curtain falls....she now sings...

Edited June 11, 2021 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[lynxrattle]

Fantastic game. To me the high points and the decisive moments were not goals but hits. McNabb on Nichuskin and Tuch on MacKinnon were something that the Avs couldn't do.

[Alexandron]

I just looked at the last year Stanley Cup playoffs. Dallas Stars team was able to beat a Colorado team in quarter finals; then was able to beat the Vegas team in semifinals, then lost it in finals against Tampa Bay Lightning . Khudobin was an outstanding Stars goalie for the last year playoffs. And Tampa team will meet second year in a row NY Islanders in semifinals. An interesting fact from that - the former Colorado Avs goalie Varlamov was able to bring NY Islanders team  2 years in a row to semifinals. Why the Avs did not keep him in their team? This year we will have an intriguing outcome for these both semifinals series as well as for the  finals too. Who will be the winner? Definitely among 2 Vezina finalists for this year Fleury was better than Grubauer  in these quarter finals. Colorado team should look for a better goalie for a such a nice beautiful team loaded with speed; smartness and talents. I will put their level of play to a similar level of Tampa. Dubnyk was a backup goalie for this team, but he was not a choice too to play against Fleury.

[Alexandron]

16 minutes ago, lynxrattle said:

Fantastic game. To me the high points and the decisive moments were not goals but hits. McNabb on Nichuskin and Tuch on MacKinnon were something that the Avs couldn't do.

Our Wild team was able to place against Vegas 72 hits(best record in NHL I think for these playoffs) during the 1st game and Talbot was able to win that game in OT with a score 1:0 by stopping 42 shots. Probably, that is a solution to win over Vegas  - place lots of hits to slow down the energy of opposite team and a consistent solid goaltending. What was impressing for me from Vegas the most - that team is the best in blocking shots so far as well as a consistent solid goaltending from Fleury.

[Alexandron]

1 hour ago, Jimtown guy said:

Congrats to Vegas. To come back down 2 games to none and then win 4 straight against a team like the Avs who I picked to win it all is nothing short of impressive. I give Montreal a 10% chance because of Price who will have to steal any game they win in my opinion

Actually, during the 1st game in these series Fleury did not play. It was  Lehner for Vegas, when they lost  with embarrassing score 1:7. VGK was not able to do anything against Avs in that game. Then Fleury played 5 games in a row. 2 of them moved to OT, which he lost one(2:3) and won one (3:2). And the other 3 were Vegas wins in regulations. With Lehner in the net, I do not think Vegas will win these series.

[lynxrattle]

How on Earth did the Avs lose Varlamov?!? I had forgotten they had him in goal. Did he want out, or did they not recognize what they had? That is odd.

[lynxrattle]

I only now realised that Girard was a plus/minus -4. The games would have been a lot different if they had had Ian Cole, who the Wild got from them earlier this season.

[Brewin Flames]

 

[OccamsRazor]

6 hours ago, lynxrattle said:

How on Earth did the Avs lose Varlamov?!? I had forgotten they had him in goal. Did he want out, or did they not recognize what they had? That is odd.

 

Because Varly had trouble staying healthy and back in 2018 after they acquired Grubauer when Varly was barely .500 with the same team in front of him Grubauer had better results (917%  2.64 gaa compared to 909% 2.87 gaa).

 

And this was not long after the reported beating of former girlfriend, kidnaping  and well the Avs thought it was time to move on i think.

 

Murica the land of second chances...

[OccamsRazor]

10 hours ago, Jimtown guy said:

Congrats to Vegas. To come back down 2 games to none and then win 4 straight against a team like the Avs who I picked to win it all is nothing short of impressive. I give Montreal a 10% chance because of Price who will have to steal any game they win in my opinion

 

 

The good news is the Avs can learn from these hardships and get better.

 

It took Ovenchicken till 32 to win one. Stamkos till 29. So Nate is 25 so it may take a few more times falling short.

 

Overall they have a good team but they can learn from this and retool like Montreal did.

 

Vegas was a more experienced team and few years away from a finals loss.

 

And led by the Flower between the pipes.

 

Add in the fresh off a finals win himself Pietrangelo at 29 and well there are ready to go.

[mojo1917]

Just a fantastic hockey series to watch.

Either one of these teams could compete for a championship, too bad they met in the quarterfinals.

I don't know if I can say these moves or this or that player "lost" the series.

The games I watched were won, not frittered or choked away.

There is a great core in Colorado, that if can be kept together could be a Blackhawks/Pens/Bruins/Kings type cap era dynasty.

To think everyone was thinking sweep after the Avs blew the Knights out of the rink in game 1 and then took that counter punch in game two.

Just wow. 

 

 

[Alexandron]

2 hours ago, mojo1917 said:

Just a fantastic hockey series to watch.

Either one of these teams could compete for a championship, too bad they met in the quarterfinals.

I don't know if I can say these moves or this or that player "lost" the series.

The games I watched were won, not frittered or choked away.

There is a great core in Colorado, that if can be kept together could be a Blackhawks/Pens/Bruins/Kings type cap era dynasty.

To think everyone was thinking sweep after the Avs blew the Knights out of the rink in game 1 and then took that counter punch in game two.

Just wow. 

 

 

I expected that series will change after game #1, because they gave a rest for Fleury who played 7 intense games against Wild in round 1. With Lehner in the net for entire round 2 Avs will win these series probably in 4 or 5 games. Fleury was able to stop shots which overweighted Lehner is not able to perform.

[Alexandron]

3 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

 

The good news is the Avs can learn from these hardships and get better.

 

It took Ovenchicken till 32 to win one. Stamkos till 29. So Nate is 25 so it may take a few more times falling short.

 

Overall they have a good team but they can learn from this and retool like Montreal did.

 

Vegas was a more experienced team and few years away from a finals loss.

 

And led by the Flower between the pipes.

 

Add in the fresh off a finals win himself Pietrangelo at 29 and well there are ready to go.

Montreal has Price. Avs has Grubauer. Probably, that is the difference so far after 2 rounds of this playoffs season. Interesting fact, Montreal and Vegas teams played 7 games in round 1 this season. Both teams were able to beat also in 2 rounds pretty good opposite teams as well.

[Alexandron]

4 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Because Varly had trouble staying healthy and back in 2018 after they acquired Grubauer when Varly was barely .500 with the same team in front of him Grubauer had better results (917%  2.64 gaa compared to 909% 2.87 gaa).

 

And this was not long after the reported beating of former girlfriend, kidnaping  and well the Avs thought it was time to move on i think.

 

Murica the land of second chances...

I think Varlamov also wanted to change environment after playing 8 seasons in Colorado. Before that he played for Capitals for 3 seasons. Experienced goalie anyway. I still think Vasilevskyi is better in up coming battle between Islanders and Lightning. But I could be wrong.

[JR Ewing]

This is (what?) 3 playoffs now, where Kadri's lack of discipline has cost his team a chance of winning a playoff series? In the regular season, when the refs kind of call penalties when they're committed, he can be extremely effective at shutting down a top centre. In the playoffs, where the refs allow axe murder, he's devastating to lose.

 

Just like it always has been, the playoffs really show the value of a high-end, two-way 3C.

 

 

Edited June 11, 2021 by JR Ewing

[OccamsRazor]

19 minutes ago, JR Ewing said:

This is (what?) 3 playoffs now, where Kadri's lack of discipline has cost his team a chance of winning a playoff series?

 

Kadri cost them the series? Really?

 

Then they were f**ked before the puck dropped in this last round if that guy cost you a damn game he didn't even lace up for.

[JR Ewing]

Just now, OccamsRazor said:

 

Kadri cost them the series? Really?

 

Then they were f**ked before the puck dropped in this last round if that guy cost you a damn game he didn't even lace up for.

 

I mean, you're arguing a point that I didn't make, so what the hell can I say? But yes, I happen to be of the belief that Kadri not being available, and the Avs having to give young Tyson Jost more defensive zone starts than he'd seen in his entire career before, might have hurt their chances.

 

It's not exactly what I would call a hot take, either.

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Personally, I think the Avs STILL not having enough team depth compared to the Knights is what cost them this series.

Sure, having a guy like Kadri in the lineup didn't help their cause either, but honestly, every game where it looked like MacKinnon's line was "contained", the Vegas Knights simply looked like the vastly superior team.
Why?
Because they may not have a single player with the star power of MacKinnon, Rantanen, or Landeskog, but what they DO have are very good, capable players up and down their lineup who have been here before and are hungry as hell to win it all.

I really can't say with any confidence that Kadri being in the lineup would make much of a difference.
If you think about it though, with Kadri's history of cement headedness, if he wasn't suspended already, may have done something to quicken the Knights hold on this series by providing Vegas with one or two many power plays they otherwise don't get.

I never was a fan of Kadri in Toronto, still not a fan of his in Colorado.
He is a capable enough player, but too often, his bouts of "The Stupids" overrides whatever good he does on the ice.

Avs are gonna need some more skilled depth than just Kadri if they ever seriously hope to contend anytime soon.
And Philip Grubauer.....I didn't believe in him before as a starter, he started to make me a believer, now I am back to "I don't know".
Guess I will see where he goes from here when the Avs resume play next season.

[OccamsRazor]

2 hours ago, JR Ewing said:

I mean, you're arguing a point that I didn't make, so what the hell can I say?

 

What i'm not even drunk and that doesn't make sense.

 

3 hours ago, JR Ewing said:

This is (what?) 3 playoffs now, where Kadri's lack of discipline has cost his team a chance of winning a playoff series? In the regular season, when the refs kind of call penalties when they're committed, he can be extremely effective at shutting down a top centre. In the playoffs, where the refs allow axe murder, he's devastating to lose.

 

Just like it always has been, the playoffs really show the value of a high-end, two-way 3C.

 

 

 

I mean you said 3 playoffs now....even. THE BOLDED!

 

If you didn't say this...you're right i don't even know that to say...maybe someone hijacked your account.

 

But just by chance you did say this i do not agree.

 

Vegas shut their stars down and well there was no counter punch. Combine that with Grubauer not playing as well as he had and well it happens.

 

They are getting ready for the links now...

[JR Ewing]

 

25 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

I mean you said 3 playoffs now....even. THE BOLDED!

 

If you didn't say this...you're right i don't even know that to say...maybe someone hijacked your account.

 

But just by chance you did say this i do not agree.

 

I said that Kadri has had 3 different playoffs where's he been suspended, depriving his team of his services, and you responded by saying "Kadri cost them the series? Really?", thus arguing a point that I didn't make, since I never said that Kadri cost them the series.

 

25 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

Vegas shut their stars down and well there was no counter punch. Combine that with Grubauer not playing as well as he had and well it happens.

 

They are getting ready for the links now...

 

I wonder why the Avs counter-punch might have been lacking? I have a crazy theory that part of the reason is because Kadri wasn't playing, and they were forced to play a 4C in a 3C role which he isn't suited for, robbing the team of part of its depth. Depth, as we see every year, is king in the playoffs because, just as with happened with the Avs, teams can often shut down star players.