Jarome Iginla (Adrian Dater, The Denver Post)
The Burgundy-White game was a good, entertaining one. There were some pretty goals – especially those scored by Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon – a real fast pace and even some chippiness and hard hitting. To me, the Ryan O’Reilly-Duchene-Jarome Iginla line was a major storyline from the day, and I’ll have more on them in the paper tomorrow.
Here is some video from the day:
Other thoughts on the day:
– MacKinnon definitely is stronger on the puck, thanks to his summer of strength. He added about 12 pounds of muscle and it has made him just bigger and stronger on the puck, period. And, no loss of speed at all. He’s even faster probably.
– Gabe Landeskog, his linemate, looked terrific. He and MacKinnon worked a great give-and-go goal that tied the game for Burgundy 2-2. Those two are definitely going to work well together. Alex Tanguay, their linemate, looked strong on his skates, though you can tell his timing still needs to come back after missing so much time the past year.
– Marc-Andre Cliche was a right wing on a line with Jesse Winchester at center and Cody McLeod on the left. It’ll be interesting to see if Cliche – provided he makes the club – stays as a winger. It would seem that Winchester has the edge as far as being the fourth-line center though. He seems to offer a bit more speed and skill than Cliche in the pivot.
– I thought Paul Carey, who played some with the Avs last year, had a strong game. He assisted on a Dennis Everberg goal and was fast and physical out there. The hit on Ryan Wilson, in the video above, is Exhibit A.
– I liked what I saw of Everberg. He’s got good size, at 6-4, 205, and seems to have some skill and patience with the puck. He was late last year, so he’s someone to keep an eye on. Everberg and linemates Cary and Joey Hishon had a real good day.
– I thought Erik Johnson looked big, fast and strong out there.
– Reto Berra pitched a shutout in his one period of work. Hey, it’s a start.
– Roy praised Maxim Noreau after the game. He’s a bubble guy on defense, so that was a nice compliment for him to get at this stage.
– Two-thirds of the Avalanche’s probable third line (John Mitchell and Jamie McGinn) remain out with ailments, but from what I’ve been told, there is optimism both will be back soon.
– Max Talbot underwent a very serious shoulder surgery over the summer, but he is back and feeling real good. He played in the playoffs with his shoulder partially in a sling.
See you tomorrow at the Pepsi Center, for a preseason game against the Ducks. The Avs will play two games tomorrow, one in Denver and one in Anaheim. It’s a split-squad thing. I don’t know who’s going to Anaheim, other than what is expected to be mostly prospect types who likely won’t make the club out of camp.
