Salvas: Avalanche Gameday Ramblings And Musings

Just a few things bouncing around in my head before tonight's game in Toronto

There is no point to the following other than some ramblings and musings on the Avalanche. 

Most is going to be about the current team, while some will be about players from the past. It’s really what’s bouncing around in my head.

Plus, I want to go to bed at a reasonable hour and with the games on the east coast, I figured it was a perfect time to have Dater write a postgame, something he should be well accustomed to over the last three decades with this team.

So let’s go:

• I want Gabriel Landeskog back. I know this isn’t an uncommon sentiment amongst the fanbase, but I just miss what he brings to the team, not only in terms of net-front presence and scoring, but as a vocal on-ice leader. The guys wearing ‘A’s’ on their jerseys all seemed to be a “lead by example” in terms of letting their skill and play. Landeskog seems to be a great motivator of his teammates, a guy who when he talks, everyone listens. I believe his absence is a bigger void than many think, considering people will point to Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar as being talented enough to carry the weight of the team with Landy out of the lineup. It’s his intangibles that are valuable when things get rough.

• Dater and I talked last week on the podcast about how easy the schedule is down the stretch for Colorado and how they have to take care of winnable games. Well, that really does seem to be the case based on the model put out by the number cruncher Dom Luszczyszyn (took me three times to spell that and I’m still not sure I got it correct!).

dom 🕰️ @domluszczyszyn

Added a chart for remaining strength of schedule

• We also talked about making sure that you win those winnable games. There were a few times on Monday night where the game was a bit ugly, but the Avs ended up with two points and a season-high eight goals. You can’t complain about how you got the result when the ‘W’ is all that matters.