A quick look at the league table tells you that everything is fine in Denver. The Colorado Avalanche are at the top of their division and are also in the top four in the Western Conference. However, there are bubbles under the surface.
The previous nine matches have produced only four victories. The jacket has come from Anaheim, Arizona, Los Angeles, Winnipeg and most recently from Philadelphia. And looking behind the results won’t save Colorado this time. The game has not had any better results – rather the opposite.
For example, the expected goal distribution Colorado has lost seven times in eleven previous games.
Colorado is considered to be an offensively skilled team whose active and fast way of playing drives the opponent to the path of destruction. The image doesn’t match reality right now. Colorado is a skilled team, but not fast and, especially in recent weeks, not very hardworking or careful.
– It lacks an identity at the moment, ‘s ice hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen open the game.
It is easy to agree with Lehkonen’s view. Colorado strives to play like in the championship season (2021-2022) at its best, but the execution is not on the same wall either.
Why has gaming become sloppy and even painful?
– The team certainly thinks that they are a group that attacks with five and hairs in all three areas of the game like pigs. When there is a turn, we go hard and the defenders are always on the other foot. The problem is that that team really lacks a lot of speed, Lehkonen sees.
– The team is now struggling with this. It seems that the whole team is completely confused when things don’t work, that we are not allowed to play this kind of hockey.
Forcing the old game has shown ugly on the scoreboard.
– How can it be that there are huge amounts of 2-1, 3-1 and some 4-2 attacks. From there, one player is missing from each chain, who mathematically plays away the opponent’s offensive game. Where are the inspiring players, Lehkonen asks.
Colorado’s problems are also easily seen as structural. Captain Gabriel Landeskog already had his third knee operation in the summer. The club announced at the time that he will not play this season. Artturi Lehkonen the injury was also a heavy setback for Colorado.
In addition to this, new acquisitions have been weak so far. Acquired as a second center Ryan Johansen has never profiled as a winning or leading player and doesn’t seem to have changed in Denver. On Sunday, coaching dropped the Canadian into the quadruple chain.
Colorado profiles right now as a team with one chain and a couple of top defenders when it comes to the result.
– Johansen is a good choice for the second center, I trust him. However, he needs two trail machines next to him to be able to rhythm in the middle lane. Previously he played Arthur and Valery Nitshushkinin with. It worked just fine, says father-Lehkonen.
– Yes, coaching still struggles with how to balance the chains. There is a lack of employees at the moment. When there are still new players involved, playing is not the same. There are some good episodes, but also some pretty damn bad ones.
What’s wrong with Ranta?
It has its own story within the Colorado story Mikko Rantanen situation right now. Rantanen, who started the season well, has drifted into a streak of nine matches without a goal, and his playing does not give cause for cheers anyway. The reading of Rantanen’s power statistics in the previous four matches is -7.
Both the distribution of expected goals and the distribution of goal positions in the first sector with five against five is less than 38 percent in Rantane’s nine matches. The ride has been tricky.
– Could it be that Miko has hit a wall for a while. He didn’t have a very good summer. There was a lot of cross-dressing, we had to be in Helsinki and other things. He must have consciously driven the plane down after difficult years, but maybe sports were not done in quite the same way as before, says Lehkonen.
Frustration and pain have started to show in Rantanen’s game.
– It’s a bit of coercion.
What medicine?
Returning the ship to its course requires changes from Colorado. Lehkonen wants to return to the basics.
– The starting point for that team is not to close the hatches. However, they had to do that at some point last season as well. That’s when we say, let’s close the hatches and start beating these 2-1 and 3-1. That should be the next tick here.
Also the general manager of the club Joe Sakic the management is sure to have a map of the problem areas. Colorado won’t be a championship-caliber team without changes.
– Definitely there, the club management will consider what kind of changes should be made. As far as I understand, there is a very clear plan to strengthen the team.
It is a different matter whether the market can find a solution to the structural problems. If and when captain Gabriel Landeskog is unable to play, it will leave a huge gap in the team both on the ice and on the leadership side.
– The absence of the captain is visible, that’s quite clear. We are talking about the player and the manager who determines the world of values within games and even exchanges. There is a huge gap in daily quality control. He is the type that everyone follows when he announces that we are going now, Lehkonen concludes.