Comments on Avs Talk - A Colorado Avalanche Blog: Granato Needs to Take Charge

Yep, the defense has been pretty passive to start ...

2008-10-16T10:55:20.076-06:00

Yep, the defense has been pretty passive to start the season.

The Avs are getting beat to the puck on dumps because the only time they dump is once they've been stood up at the line and nobody is moving their feet anymore.

They need to recognize when the won't be able to carry the puck in and toss it in while they've got some momentum.

One thing I've noticed that man-to-man defense for...

2008-10-16T08:35:26.435-06:00

One thing I've noticed that man-to-man defense for the Avs consists of standing NEAR the opposing player, but not engaging him or his stick in a manner that can be construed as defensive. Is that really what the players think is acceptable? They need to get on sticks and not just occupy lanes or opposing teams, especially PP units, will continue to victimize them as they merely occupy space.

The fact that Sakic doesn't do much penalty killin...

2008-10-15T16:33:45.295-06:00

The fact that Sakic doesn't do much penalty killing is extremely odd. He's always been one of the hardest working defensive forwards on the Avs.

And for some reason, doesn't it seem like the Avs are always beaten to the puck when it is shot around the boards? For instance, if Hannan wraps it around the net in the defensive zone, the intended Av will just wait for it and usually ends up a) getting checked and b) losing the puck.

Oh, and the whole "going down to block the shot" thing, is being done way too much.