Warning you now, this is a really long read. I tried to break into sections as much as possible so you can skip what you don't care about.

An inside look at Colorado vs St. Louis, 11/15/2010.
When I saw these two teams were matching up, I was very excited to do an analysis on them. I have a few Avs and Blues on my team, but I know each of them is loaded with young talent, most of which who I do not know all that well. This would put me out of my comfort zone since I watch primarily Eastern teams, and give me a good chance to get a read on a lot of potential fantasy assets.

St. Louis Blues

Boyes-McDonald-Backes
McDonald and Backes are both natural centers and that can cause chemistry problems. Throughout the game, Andy McDonald looked very good. He reminds me of the Andy Mac in Anaheim, but he doesn’t look as consistent shift to shift as he did back in his 85 and 78 point seasons. I wouldn't be surprised if he hit 70 points though and if he had a Selanne-esque player on his wing, he could probably flirt with 75-80. Brad Boyes looked worse than I had hoped for. He just flat out did not impress me for the majority of the game, though he did put a nice toe drag together and sniped over Peter Budaj's right shoulder, good for a power play goal. David Backes didn't impress me at all. I know he's a solid player, but he seemed really out of sync tonight. This could be said for the entire St. Louis Blues team, but in that situation, you usually need your #1 line to break the funk for the rest of the team, or no one will.

All three players registered a point on Boyes’ PP marker, but each finished with a minus rating.

Berglund-Steen-D'Agostini
It's pretty clear that Berglund and Steen are gifted offensively. I think St. Louis has shifted each one to center or LW at various times, but tonight Patrik Berglund played LW. What surprised me about Berglund is that he is fast, but he's also pretty damn big. I guess I just missed the fact that he was 6'4" and 210 lbs because honestly, he can move pretty quickly and he has good hands to go with it. He still needs a bit of development, but he looks on the verge of breaking out to me. The puck really seemed to follow Alex Steen on the ice. No matter where he went, the puck went with him and it stuck to his stick. Steen is a quick player who has been said to be STL's best player at times. I can see why. If I'm a Blues fan, I'm happy when Steen has the puck. The third part of this line just didn't seem to fit. Matt D'Agostini appeared to slow this line down in my opinion. When the chemistry isn't there, it just isn't there and if every game is played this way, D'Agostini needs to find new linemates. There was one rush in particular where I was excited that Steen headmanned it to Berglund, then it was a 2 on 1 and I knew the other player wasn't D'Agostini because he was a lefty. Berglund fed it over and sure enough, Carlo Colaiacovo buried the puck past Peter Budaj.

Berglund and Steen had 2 points each with D’Agostini going pointless.

Sobotka-McClement-Crombeen
Now to be fair, most of the Blues team didn't show chemistry, but my-oh-my did this line look bad. They played most of their shifts in their own zone. Vladimir Sobotka is a speedy player who seems to be playing afraid. He's scared to make mistakes or he lacks confidence, but whatever it is, he can do better. Jay McClement seemed to be going through the motions and I know he shouldn't be expected to generate a ton of offense, but I also know that he should be a solid 2-way third line center. BJ Crombeen is a 4th line player being used in a third line role. I've seen players like Arron Asham step up and do this well, but Crombeen didn't seem to be able to get it done.

Each member of the line finished -2 and Sobotka ended up fighting Matt Duchene of all people in the third. His jersey came off, giving him 15 PIM on the night. D'Agostini likely belongs on this line and Crombeen should be dropped to the 4th

Porter-Drazenovic-Winchester
Nothing really to say here. 4th line full of guys I wouldn't want on the ice. In fact, one of the key parts of the game was Colorado's willingness to play their 4th line, while St Louis was fearful to put theirs out. Winchester played 8:23 while the other two were stuck in the 7’s.

Brewer-Johnson
This pair logged the most (23 and 25 mins respectively) amount of ice time for St Louis and they're clearly the go-to tandem. Johnson had a strong game and Brewer supported well too. They finished -1 and -2 respectively, and failed to put up any points themselves. This was the first time I really watched EJ as the #1 defenseman in St Louis and I liked what I saw. He's still young and learning the game, but he's already the #1 D on a young (and improving) St. Louis team. The future is bright

Pietrangelo-Colaiacovo
Initially these two were supposed to be split up (if you believe the line combinations on the ticker), but they stuck together all game. It was Colaiacovo's first game back after missing 8, and you could see the rust defensively in the first period. He started to come alive as the game progressed though and even joined the rush with Patrik Berglund on a 2 on 1, burying a wrist shot from the right wing side. If healthy, he should have a solid year. Pietrangelo still needs some work. He didn't have a bad game, but he didn't have a great game. He's a young defenseman still figuring out the NHL game and while the upside is there, he still has a ways to go. He did make a couple rushes up ice that worked out well. Another young d-man with upside, it’s nice to see him as the #4 defenseman already, getting critical minutes.

Colaiacovo finished with a goal and an assist, while Pietrangelo went pointless. Both were -1.

Nikitin-Strachan
Believe it or not, these guys actually got some PK time. If I were in any management role in St Louis though, I'd be shopping for some depth defensemen. I think that's all I need to say.

Halak
Halak is likely my favorite goaltender in the NHL, but the St Louis defense needs to be better. To me, it looked like STL was just not ready to match the intensity of Colorado and they were trying to keep up all game. Halak is good, but he can't do everything on his own...at least not every night. Only 17 saves on 23 shots.

STL notes
Sobotka is a guy who needs some chances. He also has speed, so I would experiment him on the top line with Andy McDonald. Put Sobotoka on the LW, then drop either Boyes or Backes to line 2 with Steen and Berglund. I know Backes is also a center, but if you play him on the RW, I really like Berglund-Steen-Backes as line 2 and Sobotka-McDonald-Boyes as line 1. That leaves you with McClement, Crombeen, and D'Agostini as line 3 pairings. Crombeen doesn't fit there, but that's what I'd do. To be fair, D'Agostini does have 8 pts in 16 games, but I just don't like him where he's at.

On defense, they need a depth #5 or #6 guy, and to be quite honest, those aren't entirely easy to come by. Most D-men nowadays want to be a top 4 player, so finding a steady, stay at home defenseman with good +/- is sometimes easier said than done. They could use one more to support Halak though.

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NHL credentialed writer for Columbus through thehockeyguys.net and dobberprospects.com

@tlucarelli on twitter

Colorado Avalanche

Jones-Stastny-Stewart
Apparently Galiardi had been playing in Jones' spot on this line, but due to the injury, David Jones gets the nod. Like Boyes, I wasn't impressed for the majority of the game, but Jones did manage to snipe a top shelf goal from in close. The goal was a huge detriment to STL and completely shattered any hope they might have had for a comeback. Paul Stastny is one hell of a player. He is extremely talented, but still pretty underrated I find. He is a very smooth skater who can dish the puck with ease. It was his pass that set up Jones for the 5th Avalanche goal and he also shoveled one over Halak as he was falling to the ice. The RW on this line, Chris Stewart, is a beast. He's only 6'2", but 228 lbs and he isn't slow by any means. He gets his feet moving constantly and isn’t afraid to throw his body around. He'll also stick up for his linemates as Backes tried some after the whistle shoving with Stastny, only to find himself face to face with Stewart instead.


Stewart had 2 assists on the night and went +3. That gives him 20 points in 17 games. This was line was dominant, but I'd love to get a speedy left handed LW on this line instead of the big right handed Jones. Stastny finished with a goal and an assist and Jones added his one goal.

Hejduk-Duchene-Yip
Milan Hejduk doesnt see as much ice time as he used to in his earlier days, but that's understandable with his knee injury. Although used sparingly, Hejduk looks good when he is out on the ice. He conserves energy well and doesn't look to have issues moving laterally or pushing off. He actually added 2 assists on the night and to my surprise, he was on the #1 power play unit. Speaking of the #1 PP unit, Matt Duchene is manning the left point. I kept waiting for a big Duchene slapper, but he fires mostly wrist shots from the slot. It's rare that he hangs out at the blue line. His speed is mesmerizing and I get excited every time he touches the puck. He's good. Brandon Yip has earned himself a spot back in the top 6, but he seemed to struggle to get much going. He got pretty lucky on a 2 on 1 when Duchene sent a backhand pass at Yip's stomach, deflecting off his hands before he was able to get a stick on it and get the goal. I expect good things out of Yip, but tonight wasn't his best night. It wasn't his worst, but it wasn't his best. Duchene also got in his first ever fight and didn't do half bad. The crowd went nuts.


Winnik-O'Reilly-Porter
This line had chemistry for sure. David Winnik sure did surprise me with his aggressiveness and speed. He had a good game and was even looking to create scoring chances on the PK. Ryan O'Reilly is a solid player. When he entered the league so young, I had my doubts about his performance the following year, but O'Reilly looks like he's been in the league a while, rather than just the one season. Quality third line center there. He is exactly where he should be for development and he has decent players around him to support. Kevin Porter caught my eye a few times throughout the night. In fact, if this line didn't have so much chemistry, I'd be half tempted to put Porter on the top line in Jones' place. Sometimes a top 6 caliber player needs to sit on the third line for a while and get comfortable scoring, while not in the spotlight, and that's what I think is going on here. Porter is more talented than Jones and the swap would be smart, but it's hard to mess with proven chemistry. It'll be interesting to see how coach Joe Sacco moves forward.


Each line member got involved in Porter’s PPG for one point on the night. Porter finished even while the two set-up men finished -1.

McLeod-Dupuis-Mouldin
Dupuis and Mauldin had energy and speed and it looked to me like every time they were sent out there, they wanted to prove they deserved another shift. They weren't complacent at all. McLeod tried to get in a scrap early in the game (wasn't even really a scrap), and when he finally did get some minutes, I didn't see any sense of urgency. I wonder where the Cody McLeod of old went?


McLeod finished pointless and -1, while Dupuis and Mauldin finished +1, with Mauldin assisting on Liles’ first goal of the game.

Liles-O'Byrne
JM Liles. Holy smokes man. Liles got it done, notching 2 goals and an assist, all in the first period. He didn't score in the later periods, but he played a strong game and he's clearly the go-to defenseman for the Avs. I'm scratching my head here because I just didn't think he had it in him. I wonder if he stays healthy, if he can keep this up for the full season. I’m starting to become a believer. Ryan O'Byrne was a healthy scratch for about a month in Montreal and finally found a new home in Colorado. He's playing well enough, logging just under 20 minutes tonight, picking up an assist, and going +3. O'Byrne isn't particularly special, but Colorado's defense was thin with the injuries they have and the former Hab is welcome company.

Hannan-Shattenkirk
I've never been a huge Hannan fan, but he's a solid mentor for the 21 year old Kevin Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk showed speed and agility, and he wasn't afraid to rush the puck up the ice. He made a couple rookie mistakes and turnovers, but Hannan was right there to knock some bodies around and get the puck right back. The more NHL time this kid sees, the harder it'll be to send him down.


Both D failed to get any SOG or add any points, but they were an even rating. At least there’s no minus here!

Foote-Wilson
Better than their opponent's #5 and 6 D, but nothing special here either. I think I caught Adam Foote check a couple people with his gigantic nose and Wilson was hit or miss with his play. Wilson would look good headmanning the puck one shift, then make sloppy turnovers the next. Foote did manage a “Dennis Wideman� (secondary assist) while Wilson went pointless.

Budaj
I won't get in to too much detail about Peter Budaj, other than the fact that he looked good. Craig Anderson is expected back soon, but I honestly believe Budaj is a capable backup who will get more starts than last year's situation. If you want to read more about Budaj, I encourage you to read Justin Goldman's scouting report at www.thegoalieguild.com. Goldman, in my opinion, provides the best goalie coverage of anyone in the business, but you should already know that. 27 saves on the night.

Avalanche notes
Although the Blues came out with a quick goal, the Avs were the hungrier team, completely dominating the first. As the 2nd period rolled along, the Blues tried to come back, eventually making the score 3-2 with 5 minutes remaining. Then came Yip and his goal was huge, making it 4-2. Clearly a bit stunned, the Blues would give up a goal to Jones only 17 seconds later and take a slashing penalty just after. In a span of 60 seconds, the Blues went from trailing 3-2 to trailing 5-2 and killing a penalty with only 3 minutes remaining in the 2nd. It was the 2nd time Colorado was able to get 2 goals in a 2 minute or less span. Those quick flurries hurt.
In the third the Blues managed to get a PPG from Boyes, but the Avs still had control of the game. Porter fanned on a nice feed from Ryan O'Reilly, which slipped through Halak to make it 6-3.

Despite injuries, Colorado looked like a very strong team. As with just about any team, there a few adjustments that could be made, but with a healthy Anderson-Budaj combo, a slightly stronger defense, and maybe one additional forward, I could see a lot of teams falling to the Avs.

As I mentioned earlier, I don't watch either of these team on a consistent basis, so everything I'm telling you is strictly from what I saw tonight. I didn't like David Jones on that top line, but the guy does have 10 points in 14 games. That's pretty hard to argue with. Hopefully you enjoyed the read, and if you have any questions or comments, I’d be more than happy to answer. My DVR also cut out the last 5 minutes of the game, but I don't think I missed anything...hopefully not.

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NHL credentialed writer for Columbus through thehockeyguys.net and dobberprospects.com

@tlucarelli on twitter

Well...that was just too long. I'll look at doing another pass on a different game and trying to cut that in half or so. Maybe not looking at every single player. Once I finished it, I could tell it was probably just way too much, but I had already written everything. Might as well share it at that point. lol

__________________
NHL credentialed writer for Columbus through thehockeyguys.net and dobberprospects.com

@tlucarelli on twitter

Wow! Me like this feature. I am having trouble with the way too long comment.

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Yahoo weekly starts 12 team league, keep 17 plus farm

GS, W, L, SV, GAA, SV%, SO G, A, P, +/-, PIM, SOG, GWG, PPP, SHP, HITS, FOW

3C: H. Sedin,Stepan, Stastny, R. Johansen, Hanzal, Anisimov,
3LW: Burrows, Vanek, Ott, Lupul, Dubinsky
3RW: Doan, Pavelski, Brown, Okposo,
6D: Franson, Doughty, Voynov, Subban, Markov, Gonchar, Karlsson
1Util:
2G: Price, Emery


Farm: (< 100 games): S. Elliott, J. Bernier, Galchenyuk, Etem, Eakin, Atkinson

To long? Hell no. this is awesome!

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Awesome game report Dub!

We want more! We want more!! LOL!

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24GMs Dynasty (G A +- PIM PPP SOG W SV GAA / 4C, 4LW, 4RW, 6D, 1G)
Cap hit: $1188 out of $1250

C-Malkin $157,Schwartz $5,Granlund $5,Shaw $5,Rinaldo $5,Cervenka $5,Schroeder $5,Galchenyuk $5
LW-Hartnell $136,Nash $115,Leino $29,Kulemin $49,Gagne $32,Paajarvi $5,MFoligno $5,Joensuu $5
RW-Brown $115,Jagr $14,Grabner $40,Gallagher $5,Knight $5,Radulov $5
D-Karlsson $105,Edler $83,McDonagh $18,Bogosian $27,Mitchell $22,REllis $5,Salvador $5,Hamilton $5
G-Halak $127,Montoya $24,Bishop $5,Fasth $5,Allen $5

LOL. Alright, good to hear. I can keep the structure definitely if it is well received. Thanks guys!

__________________
NHL credentialed writer for Columbus through thehockeyguys.net and dobberprospects.com

@tlucarelli on twitter

Best game report I've read in a long time. Easy to read. All the information a poolie wants without any "homerism". Will be on the daily "to read list" whenever it's available.

Thanks!

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12 GM YAHOO! H2H ONE YEAR LEAGUE
Standard Y! H2H Cats

C: Krejci, Zajac, Pavelski (C/RW)
LW: Heatley (LW/RW),A.Kostitsyn, Clowe
RW: Perry, Downie
D: Green, Yandle, Seabrook, Subban, Timonen
G: Rinne, Neuvirth,

Any thoughts on where Perron fits if he gets fit to play again, Dub? I know this doesn't fit in the game report but you made me think about him as he is on the wire in my 1 year league.

__________________
Yahoo weekly starts 12 team league, keep 17 plus farm

GS, W, L, SV, GAA, SV%, SO G, A, P, +/-, PIM, SOG, GWG, PPP, SHP, HITS, FOW

3C: H. Sedin,Stepan, Stastny, R. Johansen, Hanzal, Anisimov,
3LW: Burrows, Vanek, Ott, Lupul, Dubinsky
3RW: Doan, Pavelski, Brown, Okposo,
6D: Franson, Doughty, Voynov, Subban, Markov, Gonchar, Karlsson
1Util:
2G: Price, Emery


Farm: (< 100 games): S. Elliott, J. Bernier, Galchenyuk, Etem, Eakin, Atkinson

Unfortunately for me, as I stated above, I don't get to watch too much of these teams on a usual basis. I also don't own Perron in any leagues, so I haven't followed him much. Based on the numbers I've seen from Perron and the game I watched, I would probably use Perron in a top 6 role, bumping D'Agostini down. I'd likely put Perron as line 1 LW, then drop Boyes or Backes to line 2 RW and try that out. Again though, this is me talking without actually watching Perron play any time recently.

__________________
NHL credentialed writer for Columbus through thehockeyguys.net and dobberprospects.com

@tlucarelli on twitter