DENVER — Preseason results aren’t the end-all-be-all, but for head coach Jared Bednar, Sunday’s 6-3 loss to Utah Hockey Club at Ball Arena wasn’t great for the final 40 minutes.
The Avs had a strong first period, according to the coach, but struggled the rest of the way. The team’s usual third line of Ross Colton, Logan O’Connor, and Miles Wood all made their debut. But outside of them, the forward group was again largely made up of rookies or fringe players fighting for depth roles and top minutes in the American Hockey League.
My takeaways from Monday’s performance:
Justus Annunen: The Avs’ backup goalie played the full 60 minutes and had a couple of decent saves but altogether it was a forgettable performance for the 24-year-old.
Annunen let in a brutally soft wrist shot to AHLer Cameron Hebig on Utah’s third goal. Hebig fired it from beyond the circle with nobody between him and the goalie.
But neither of the first two goals was all that great either, despite them both coming from one of Utah’s best players, Dylan Guenther.
On the first tally, Guenther was set up for a one-timer and got the puck through Annunen from an angle. Annunen seemed to be in position to make the save but the puck slipped under his arm. On Guenther’s second tally, another one-timer from the circle, Annunen couldn’t get across in time, leaving an open net for Guenther.
“A couple of early ones I’d like to see him have them back,” Bednar said.
Annunen also surrendered a late-second-period tally to Josh Down and another in the third period to Clayton Keller.
Sam Malinski: Colorado’s second-year defenseman told me Wednesday that he wouldn’t focus too much on the competition for a roster spot among the defense. Rather, his only goal for training camp and preseason was to earn a roster spot by playing his game.
It’s safe to say the 26-year-old is doing exactly that. The highlight of his performance on Sunday was his exceptional power-play goal. Malinski picked up the puck in his zone and went end-to-end — beating the Utah defenseman before slipping the puck past goalie Karel Vejmelka five-hole.
He had the confidence to make a play like that and executed it well. Aside from the goal, Malinski looked comfortable in the defensive zone and like a player who already has a year in Colorado’s system under his belt.
Bednar isn’t ready yet to share how the battle for ice time among the defense would shake out, but Malinski has so far done his part to be in the opening night lineup.
“We’re not picking our team based on experience. We’re picking it based on performance,” Bednar said.
Oliver Kylington: One of the other blueliners battling Malinski for a roster spot is Oliver Kylington. And it hasn’t been the best camp or preseason for him thus far. In Sunday’s loss, Kylington’s struggles were highlighted by a bad turnover in the defensive zone in the second period. He had the puck to the left of Annunen and sent a pass right up the middle, which was intercepted and eventually led to a scoring chance for Utah.
Kylington arrived in Denver late because of visa issues and needed an extra day to break in new equipment before he joined the group on the ice. And that ultimately was the start of what’s been a tough week. Through two preseason games, Kylington has been inconsistent and hasn’t yet looked like the player he was in Calgary.
Luckily for him, there are still preseason games remaining and we’re still more than a week from opening night. Plenty of time to turn things around.
Logan O’Connor O’Connor dressed for the first time since March 4, making his preseason debut with the alternate captain ‘A’ on his sweater. The 28-year-old, who signed a six-year contract extension on Monday, had hip surgery in the spring. He has since recovered and has his speed back to where it was last season. It was great seeing him back in a game and paired with Ross Colton and Miles Wood.
Calum Ritchie: Jared Bednar was excited to talk about the goal Ritchie scored in the third period. But he also admitted that the rookie didn’t have a great game defensively.
“He shows flashes of what he can, it’s really flashes of brilliance in some ways, with the puck,” Bednar said. “The goal was insane.”
On Ritchie’s tally, he took a breakout pass from Malinski and went in on the breakaway. Ritchie faked a shot, which got Vejmelka out of position, before going to his backhand to finish the play.
The 19-year-old is still competing for a roster spot and an opportunity to open the season alongside Casey Mittelstadt on the second line. Bednar said postgame that Ritchie and Mittelstadt will play at least one preseason game together.
Perhaps on Tuesday at Ball Arena against the Vegas Golden Knights.