Avs Talk - A Colorado Avalanche Blog

Another day, another game against a divisional rival. This time the Avs are rolling into Vancouver to see if they can solve the riddle that is Roberto Luongo. They haven't had much trouble solving him in the past but lately he's playing like a man possessed. If not for him, and the Sedins, Vancouver would likely be battling with Colorado and Edmonton to not end up last in the division.

Jose Theodore should get the start in goal tonight. Not because Peter Budaj was shaky against Calgary, which he was a bit, but because it's a back-to-back game and Theodore has a good record against Vancouver. Budaj didn't get pulled last night and if Theodore manages that feat tonight, then my dream of two straight games with no goalie being pulled will become reality. Isn't it sad that that is my hope this late into the season? Maybe it's just me.

Wojtek Wolski is not going to play tonight after getting rattled by Craig Conroy late in Saturday's game. He'll be evaluated once he's in Denver and I'd say they'll tell him "You got clocked in the head" or something along those lines. If it's his first time getting his bell rung, it likely looked worse than it was. Hopefully he's not out for a signifant amount of time.

Jordan Leopold, our anti-ironman, is out with a wrist injury and is day-to-day. It appears he took an awkward fall into the boards on Thursday. If he was anything like a certain ironman, he'd strap a cast on and get his ass back on the ice. Jeff Finger will be in the lineup tonight so there should be enough d-men, but it's about quality, not quantity. We'll see how the blue line holds up, especially if Vaananen ends up with a suspension. If it hasn't happened by now though, I don't see it happening.

Injuries
Brisebois - back, LTI
Leopold - wrist, day-to-day
Wolski - head, day-to-day
Turgeon - calf, IR

Kesler - hip

Hot
Sakic has 6 in 2, Hejduk has 8 in 4, Brunette has 4 in 2, Stastny has 8 in 6.

Naslund has 10 in 9, Morrison has 4 in 3, Salo has 3 in 2, Cooke has 3 in 3.

Cold
Laperriere, Arnason, Mclean, and Wolsi have 0 in 3.

The Sedins have 1 in 4, Bieksa has 0 in 8.

Goaltenders
Jose Theodore - 11-12-1, 3.28 GAA, .892 save pct
Roberto Luongo - 33-18-3, 2.32 GAA, .922 save pct

Standings
Colorado - 28-26-4, 5th in NW, 10th in West
Vancouver - 33-21-4, 1st in NW, 3rd in West