Colorado Avalanche Forward Matt Duchene Starting to Heat Up
Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene is leading the Avs in points, and he’s starting to heat up for the team.
After starting the season pointless through the first three games, Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene has really started to heat up recently.
He now has seven points in his last four games, and he’s scored two goals in two of those games. He’s also a respectable 59.6 percent in the face-off dot, and recently moved back to his natural center position.
It’s safe to say that Duchene is avoiding the early season slump he experienced last year, and he could be on pace for a huge season in Burgundy and Blue.
Let’s take a look at where that success is coming from for Duchene, and see how likely it is that it will continue.
Duchene With an Insane Shooting Percentage
There’s no way he maintains the 29.4 percent shooting percentage that he has right now, no way. That shooting percentage is good for 17th overall in the league right now.
However, out of the sixteen players ahead of Duchene, only Alex Killorn has taken the same amount of shots as Duchy — 17.
Which subsequently means that no player above Duchy on that list is averaging more shots a game than Duchene, who is averaging 2.4 shots a game.
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That’s good news because it means that his shooting percentage doesn’t have as much to do with luck as it has to do with taking a ton of shots.
So, although Duchene’s goal production is likely to diminish with a more realistic shooting percentage, it shouldn’t take that much of a hit if he continues shooting at the rate he is.
And, if he continues holding onto the puck like he has, then his numbers and production should only go up.
Duchene’s Possession Numbers
While Duchene hasn’t been as good as Gabe Landeskog or Nathan MacKinnon with possessing the puck, he’s still been a good asset.
He currently has a Corsi-for percentage of 51.2 percent. And, now that he’s playing on a line with Gabe Landeskog — who’s Corsi-for percentage is a gaudy 59.2 percent — that number should increase.
I like this new line combination of Jarome Iginla and Gabe Landeskog with Duchene because they all can possess the puck. And, with Duchy’s usefulness behind the net, the cycle game is strong with this group.
However, Iginla is likely to get demoted soon if he doesn’t start to produce. Still, it’s a good line while Jared Bednar figures out the best way to shake the Iginla issue down.
But, that’s neither here nor there.
Conclusion
Duchene has been the best player for the Avalanche so far this season. And, all stats point to him continuing this torrid pace throughout the year.
He’s shooting a lot, has been responsible with the puck, and is playing on a line that should contribute to his success with the puck behind the net.
Jarome Iginla’s been a successful possession player so far this season, with a 56.5 Corsi-for percentage through the first seven games. So, even though Iggy isn’t producing with points, he should still help that line possess the puck in the offensive zone.
Hopefully we’ll be looking at another 30 goal season for Duchy, and hopefully a lot more assists this year.
If Duchene keeps playing like he has — even with a more realistic shooting percentage — he could be on pace for a career year.
Cheers to that!
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