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Time to give Gormley a chance |
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Rick Sadowski
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The absence of defenseman Tyson Barrie on Sunday was certainly felt in the Avalanche's 2-1 loss in Los Angeles.
The Avalanche could have used him on the power play, where they had a total of seven shots while going 1-for-6 with the man advantage. They had two shots during a 48-second two-man advantage in the third period where a goal would have tied the game.
Yes, Erik Johnson's attempted cross-ice pass for defense partner Francois Beauchemin in the second period was ill advised; Tyler Toffoli intercepted and scored on a breakaway 23 seconds after Matt Duchene's power-play goal tied the game.
But maybe the Avalanche wouldn't have had such a difficult time getting the puck out of their end if Barrie wasn't serving the first game of a three-game suspension for his unpenalized hit against Anaheim's Simon Despres on Friday.
Maybe suiting up Brandon Gormley instead of Brad Stuart might have allowed the Avalanche to do a better job of getting the puck out of the defensive zone and to the forwards.
The Kings, who haven't exactly been an offensive force, outshot the Avalanche 40-23. Counting blocked shots and shots that missed the net, the Kings' advantage was 79-40.
And Stuart, who replaced Barrie in the lineup after being scratched for three of the first four games, and defense partner Nick Holden were on the ice when Marian Gaborik was left open to score in the first period.
No idea what it will take for Gormley to make his Avalanche debut. Stefan Elliott, who was traded to Arizona for Gormley on Sept. 9, has played one game for the Coyotes.
Coach Patrick Roy could do worse than to give him an opportunity Wednesday when the Avalanche play Carolina to open a two-game homestand they need to sweep. Gormley, a former first-round draft pick, is a mobile defenseman who can move the puck. After playing Columbus on Saturday, the Avalanche play 11 of 14 games on the road.
The Avalanche didn't practice Monday, so we should know Tuesday whether Roy will stick with Reto Berra in goal or go back to Semyon Varlamov, who struggled in the first three games.
Berra made 35 saves Friday in the 3-0 win against the Ducks and 38 more against the Kings.
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To follow up on Barrie's suspension, I still can't figure out how he deserved three games. He wasn't a repeat offender and certainly isn't a dirty player.
In case you missed it, here's the NHL Department of Player Safety's video explanation:
Give him a game -- two, tops -- because Despres sustained what the Ducks said is an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve.
"I'm disappointed with the decision, but I respect it," Barrie told the Denver Post's Terry Frei. "I didn't even really think about it the rest of the game. Then when I found out (it was a problem), I was a little surprised. Going through this process and dealing with all of this has been new to me and interesting.
"Once you slow any hit down, it looks worse than it is. I think in real time it was a split-second decision and I was under the impression the puck was in his feet or whatever. I don't consider myself a dirty player or an overly physical player. I don't think I need to change the way I play or anything like that. It was just an unfortunate situation, and it was unfortunate that Simon got hurt.
"I get it. There's a job that the league has to do to protect the players from the players. If I were on the other end, I'm sure we'd be upset by it. I'm not thrilled. Three games is a lot and it's going to be tough to sit out and watch. But at the end of the day, you respect the decision."
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