Written by Jibblescribbits | 19 November 2008

Listen, last night was abysmal. Believe it or not, I'm going to give the players a break. Ok not really they were all awful, save Budaj. The thing that bothers me more than anything... Tony Granato played for the point last night. The Calgary announcers noticed it, commenting on how the Avs were playing "5-back". The only other time I've seen that strategy invoked that early in the game is when Judge Walter Burns told his team to do it at intermission. And he only did it to motivate his team. Maybe the Avs should have hired him, or at least maybe interviewed him:


I'm pretty incredulous right now. What happened to the up-tempo transition hockey we were supposed to see this year? Wasn't that the reason we didn't need to even interview any other coaches, because Tony G's offensive strategy was going to provide an entertaining and winning brand of hockey? He's clearly abandoned that ideal, as the Avs aren't even trying to play that style of hockey. Granted you can't transition if you can't get the puck out of your own end, but Granato's troops aren't even attempting to play offense. It was clear last night they just wanted to settle for a point last night.

Since October 23rd the Avs have scored more than 2 goals in a game once (a 3-5 loss to SJ) and over that time have scored 1.4 goals per game. Not only is that truly pathetic, but it's indicative of the obvious change in coaching philosophy behind the bench. I have no idea why Granato shifted philosophies, but it's clear that he did and that the Avs are not going to try and score a lot of goals this season.

Frankly, this reeks of a coach who is unsure of himself. The Avs were having success but weren't winning some games. As a coach that can be frustrating, but the sign of a good coach is the ability not to panic when things go downhill. Changing philosophies after a few unlucky games reeks of panic.

I'm not ready to pass judgment on Granato yet, mainly because I don't think that judgment can be passed until after a full season, except if the coaching is so bad that it's obvious. I'm losing a lot of confidence in him though.

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