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Patrick Roy Bringing Intensity and Structure to the Avalanche

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Patrick Roy has brought intensity and structure with him behind the bench. Getty Images

Patrick Roy has brought intensity and structure with him behind the bench. Getty Images

by Aaron Musick (@Avalangelist)

When Patrick Roy was named coach of the Avalanche, how he would do was uncertain. Would the greatest goaltender of all time (sorry Marty) be a good coach? Shouldn’t the Avs look for someone more seasoned after the fiasco with Joe Sacco?

The more Roy spoke, the more convincing he became. At his opening press conference, Roy spoke with great knowledge and even greater passion. Even then, it was hard to say how good he would actually be as a coach. Even the best talk is cheap and Avs fans wanted to see results.

While it’s only been four games, Roy has already made his mark impressing the hockey world . Not for the way he knocked down the stanchion between him and Bruce Boudreau, but rather the improvement on a fundamental level of the Avalanche roster. This is relatively the same roster that finished 29th in the league and drafted first overall by way of the draft lottery. This is the same goaltender who gave up three goals a game last year in front of a defense that was giving up 31.4 shots per game. Those patrolling the blue line were giving up great opportunities, especially on rebounds.

The marginal additions to the roster should not equate to a team that is giving up less shots, fewer chances and a goaltender that is giving up a goal per game. Going to camp and watching the drills, it is easy to see where the success from Avs’ head coach stems from. Since he arrived, Roy has hired Francois Allaire and tasked him with reforming Semyon Varlamov. Roy also brought in Andre Tourigny, one of the best defensive coaches in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Roy then thrust his hands into the muck of the Avalanche and started cleaning things up. Executive Vice President (read: Super Uber General Manager) Joe Sakic added Cory Sarich, Alex Tanguay and Andre Benoit. Oh and Nate Guenin. The announcement of these acquisitions, with the exception of Tanguay, were met with yawns. Sarich was a has-been, Benoit a seventh defenseman and Guenin a career minor leaguer.

After three games, Sarich is the first Av to score a goal and yet to be on the ice for a goal against. Benoit is leading the Avs in time on ice and Guenin is making it impossible for Ryan Wilson to come back in the lineup, even though he appears healthy after an ankle injury which kept him out in the preseason.

Patrick Roy has the team playing simple hockey, focusing on low risk plays coming out of the defensive zone and executing clean passes breaking into the zone- though the powerplay could still use some work in this area. Under the previous regime, the Avs would try the high risk plays, reveling in the successes when it paid off and forgetting the goals against when it did not.

Players will still make mistakes, as evidenced by Nathan MacKinnon’s pass through the middle of the ice that ended up resulting in Toronto’s only goal Tuesday night. When mistakes are made, Roy or one of his coaching staff will go over to the player, teach them what they did wrong, get them to realize it and then send him out for the next shift. Gone are the days where a player is benched for bad play. That is the difference between coaching and being passive-aggressive behind the bench.

With Roy and Allaire in town, Semyon Varlamov maximizes movement to square up to the shooter and dare them to beat him. Varlamov used to lunge at opponents, opening up the top corner above his glove for easy goals. It is still a small sample size but Varlamov looks like a new goaltender. Allaire was thought to be a “dinosaur” in Toronto but he has a lot to do with the resurgence of Varlamov. Anyone who wanted Ryan Miller looks pretty stupid right now.

It doesn’t matter how many games the Avs have played, the way they play is just as important as the result. It will be fun to watch as the team is subjected to the stress of losing, trailing early and the inevitable losing streak. It will be fun to see if the team can handle them better or if they will collapse like the previous year.

It is only four games but in those games, the Avs look more intense and more structured than anytime in the previous seven years, back in the days when Joel Quenneville was the coach.

The post Patrick Roy Bringing Intensity and Structure to the Avalanche appeared first on The Hockey Guys.


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