Blog: Three surprises from the Avalanche season
The first week of the season has not gone according to plan for the Colorado Avalanche. Not to Patrick Roy’s plan, not to the plans of the players and not to fans. But the wisdom of Mike Tyson says, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
The Avs appear to have finally gotten over the punch in the mouth that Minnesota was so kind to give. After pulling out a last second victory against the Bruins, the Avs were in penalty trouble against the Maple Leafs, and lost that game in overtime. But the team responded every time it was pushed in Toronto, and will turn the corner in a matter of time.
In a season littered, so far, with surprises (the Islanders are undefeated!) here are three things that have stood out about the Avalanche.
3. Reto Berra (one start .75 GAA, .974 Sv%), Berra’s 2013-14 season for the Avs, albeit a brief one, was disastrous for the Swiss netminder, and there were those who wouldn’t be swayed by this ridiculous save while playing for Calgary. An offseason with Francois Allaire, the coach who helped redefine Semyon Varlamov, has done a world of good for Berra. It’s only been one start, but if Berra can stay consistent the Avalanche will have a formidable goaltending duo.
2. Tyson Barrie (1A, 11SOG), any lingering questions about the health of Barrie’s knee have been answered. He looks like the same rocket-footed defenseman of last year. Barrie is second on the team in shots, while both his wrist and slap shots seem to be moving just a little bit harder than they were last season.
1. Dennis Everberg (8 SOG, 6 hits), Everberg was cheated out of his first NHL goal by a bad call in Boston, but that has not stopped the rookie from Sweden. Everberg has been everywhere, hitting just about everything and crashing the net constantly. He reminds me of Dan Hinote, a pest, an agitator with some scoring ability. Everberg has been the biggest surprise this season, first by making the roster, and then by showing all the fans, why he, and not players like Joey Hishon, Michael Sgarbossa, or Andrew Agozzino has suited up in the burgundy and blue.
Right wing Dennis Everberg is a pleasant surprise for the Avalanche. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)