MASSIVE Avalanche Updates... EVERYONE is speaking out against this | Avalanche News

We have some major updates regarding the Colorado Avalanche as their series against the Dallas Stars rages on. It is now tied, and while Mackenzie Blackwood has absolutely played lights out, there are several players that you are just not happy with and need to contribute more in general. Really, you're kind of looking up and down this lineup and saying that you don't really hate how the Avs have played through these two games, but there are definitely players that need to give more and there was another gear that the Colorado Avalanche can reach. We are going to cover all of that here at Avs Digest, so don't forget to subscribe for more of this just great content, and we're going to get right into it. Really, I think it's important to realize that this is probably the right mentality you need to have going in from Jesse Montano and Evan Rawl. There's another 100-point team on the ice trying to score. They're looking at video. They're trying to exploit your weaknesses, so it's always going to be difficult, especially when you have a behemoth like the Dallas Stars, but really, you need to understand that the Avs have played pretty well throughout these last two games. I would say their worst period that they had was the last third period of game two. I thought that was their probably, hopefully, their worst period in the entire playoffs because they just got their head kicked in. Overtime, not a whole lot of complaints other than Miles Wood just proving that he should not be on this roster at all and he should just be shipped off to wherever he can possibly be shipped off to. What was I saying? Oh yeah, sorry, I blacked out there for a sec. Really, other than that, overtime was played well, pretty well. I mean, but you've got some serious concerns with this Avs lineup. I mean, honestly, you're looking at the middle six, lines two and three, and you're saying that it just has not produced well enough. You can see, I mean, Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle had one garbage time goal that overly didn't really matter. It was after an empty net by the Avs. While it's good to see that happen to a guy, it's just not going to contribute all that much for the Colorado Avalanche. I mean, Miles Wood, as we've said before, is just horrible. That should be Jimmy Vesey at best, or sorry, at worst. And Jimmy Vesey, good defensively, safe, isn't going to blow you away. But honestly, this should be Gabe Landis-Cogg, and it will be in game three. I guarantee that. And you're starting to really feel the loss of Ross Colton. I mean, this bottom six, I mean, the fourth line has just been amazing. It is Jack Drury and friends. They are absolutely stellar. No complaints for that fourth line whatsoever. It's been producing extremely well. It is probably the best fourth line that a team has right now in most of the entire week. I mean, you could say Dallas's fourth line has also been really good. I mean, it got the OT winner last game, so that's definitely a good observation there to say. But really, other than the first line and the fourth, you're looking at the middle six and saying, not good enough. Valeriy Nechushkin last game was horrible. Plays were just dying on his stick. He could not track the puck. He was completely disinterested. I really don't know what's going on with him, but hopefully that gets ironed out pretty soon, because he is a stellar playoff performer when he's turned on, and we hope to get him going here soon. Same with Brock Nelson. Really, I think you're really looking at that second line and saying Marty Nechus needs to slot in for Valeriy Nechushkin. Elevate the two, switch the two right-wingers around, and see what happens, because this cannot continue. Same with the third line. Gabe Landiskog next to Charlie Coyle. I'm very excited to see how that works, and that's definitely going to happen. Even Jimmy Vesey would be better, but I mean, come on, they're not going to not play Gabe Landiskog first game back at home in Denver for game three. They're going to do it. That crowd pop is going to be amazing to see, but really, you're looking at how the Avs played, and you're not really having too much disdain for it. I mean, we're going to take a look at the good and the bad this series, and it's easy to focus after a loss on all of the bad, but I'm not too worried about how they played overall. I mean, like I said, you're getting good production, and you're playing well, and you're keeping these games close, despite guys having zeros that you really don't like to see. I mean, Martin Netjes just has one assist. You're looking at him, and you're saying that guy definitely needs to go. You're looking at Yoel Kiviranta, no points yet. I mean, Ross Colton, unfortunately, was injured. We don't really know the status of how that's going to be yet, but you're looking at probably the two guys that you're looking at that are solid playoff performers in Nachushkin and Nelson, and you're saying those guys haven't been producing, and we're still keeping these games tight. I mean, that's great. You pulled away with the first game, and you almost got away with really stealing this second game, so the fact is that there is room to grow for the Colorado Avalanche, and it's a good sign. I mean, if all four lines were playing extremely well, and Ottinger was saving everything, he was just out of his mind, and Blackwood was just leaking goals, I would not have a lot of faith, but that's not the case. Blackwood has been amazing. He is our perfect angel. I never want to hear any criticism about him again. He is a beautiful, innocent 6'4 man missing a lot of teeth, and I don't want to hear any slander against him. He has been great. He has been the goalie that the Avs need in the playoffs, and really, his play is not the problem here. The problem is, again, the middle six just not producing very well, and even with that, you're seeing the Avs actually put up good chances against the Dallas Stars, so that's good to know that there is already good play happening and room to grow, whereas you're seeing several guys just kind of really prove themselves out of a roster, and Jared Bednar said himself on that second line that he just needed to see more, and I agree. I mean, you remember the Avs' 2022 Stanley Cup run and how good Nazem Khadri was, even when the top line would kind of go quiet and the bottom six would kind of go quiet. You saw that someone stepped up, and that's awesome to see. At this fourth line that the Avs have continued to at least just shut down teams, the third line starts scrapping, and either the first or second line activate better than they have been, because the first line hasn't been two lights out. Honestly, you're looking at a recipe for success there, and really, I want to get into why I'm a little bit harder on Myles Wood. Wood, last season, was pretty good for at least like a 30-game stretch, but I mean, you can see the stats here. This season, he was heavily injured, could not play whatsoever. Availability is a huge thing, and he was just not available at all, and really, when I see stuff like that, you want players that are actually there to play hockey. It's not his fault, obviously. You get injured, and I'm not blaming that on him, but it's just the reality of the business side of hockey, and honestly, in the playoffs, you see him literally cost you games. I mean, obviously, you see a mate like, great clip, honestly. I'm going to use this for the rest of the entire playoffs, but you see the rest of the team is fired up and energized and trying to grind and trying to put Dallas in a 2-0 series hole, and Myles Wood just completely messes it up in the playoffs. I mean, his defensive play, his just lack of, he makes so many mistakes in the last bit in the overtime, and you honestly got to look at him and say, and I don't think we're ever going to see him again unless we get three injuries deep in the forward side, which at that point, my biggest concern is not Myles Wood. It's whoever's injured that badly, but really, you're kind of just looking at everything else, and you're saying, these are positions that the Avs can tighten the screws, and honestly, the Avs were never going to sweep the Dallas Stars. That was never going to happen, and a game like this where they played well and yet still fell short is important to the development of this team. I think there were several guys that were passengers. I think there were several things that weren't working that needed to be fixed, and now that that happened, now that there's been a bit of a punch in the mouth by the Dallas Stars to the Avs, the Avs can adjust. They can see what went well, and they can see what went wrong, and we're going to keep monitoring it all the way through here in playoffs. I mean, playoffs is a chess match. What line goes up against the other line? It is so fun to see, and we are going to follow it all the way here for you, Avs Nation, here at Avalanche Digest, so stay tuned.