Avalanche 6 - Flames 5; Sieve Edition

In one of the great goaltending duels of our time, the Avalache came away with what some are calling a steal of a win. I don't consider it a steal myself. It may have been a late goal that won it but it was hard work that made it happen.

What did play nicely into the hands of the Avalanche was the Flames giving Henrik Karlsson the start. I have my doubts that Miikka Kiprusoff would have let in half the goals tonight, most notably the Yip goal.

The same could be said in the other direction as Peter Budaj did not have a solid game. I tried to get on the Budaj bandwagon way back when and I'd love it if I could jump on again. Problem is I can't bring myself to do it.

What can be said about Chris Stewart's hat trick? Kids a beast and has shown himself to be worth the contract extension he earned this summer. I wonder if it's time to give Stewart a shot at being that big right-handed shot from the point on power plays?

Once again, Daniel Winnik proves himself to be the best acquisition of the offseason. He's got more goals than Kovalchuk at approximately 1/100th the price and puts in 100x the effort each shift. I'll take it.

Joe Sacco told Ryan O'Reilly to get more aggressive. Result? This beauty of a forecheck leading to Stewart's second goal of the night. Three assists? Just another day at the office for O'Reilly. The kid's smart, motivated and listens to the coach? Love it.

Jonas Holos recorded his first NHL point tonight which is great. His defensive play had a few blunders stil which is not so great. Hopefully those go away as he could be a great asset to the blueline.

One person who did not record a point tonight was John-Michael Liles. Thwarted at nine in a row. What a great start to the season for Liles and here's to another 9-game streak starting with the next one! The countdown stands at 31.

NHL.com Highlights


Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
Burgundy Blog Recap
Put it on Ice Recap
MHH Recap

Anderson Out Indefinitely But No Surgery Required

Terry Frei fed us the news earlier today that Craig Anderson is out indefinitely but will not require surgery. He's headed back to (or likely is back in) Denver while John Grahame has been called in to back up Peter Budaj.

If no surgery is needed then there is no full tear, which is great. Hopefully the Avalanche release full details of the injury (I know, I know) to the fans and media. Better to let the facts out than to have baseless speculation running rampant.

It would seem that now might be time to get restart the "I Believe in Budaj" campaign as he's now the #1 again. Those were good times, weren't they?

It's not like Anderson was playing lights out to this point nor was Budaj playing badly. However Anderson has shown the ability to deliver consistently stellar results while Budaj has shown the opposite.

But I tell ya, there's strength in his new hairdo. I'm not worried.

Avalanche Sign Budaj, Koci

Really?

More to say later but I'm shocked that Budaj is willing to come back and I have no idea why the Avalanche are willing to lug Koci around.

Anderson Set to Make 15th Straight Start

Wow. Craig Anderson will make his 15th straight start tomorrow against the Vancouver Canucks.

I can only presume that the coaching staff believe the hype behind the wheels coming off for this team and have decided to ride Neo while he is hot. Once our youngsters hit the wall and the losses start piling up, Peter Budaj should see some playing time.

Avalanche vs Sharks - Game Preview

I was off the blogging grid for about a week and it looks like the world kept turning. Who knew!

In the time I've been gone, the Avalanche have continued winning, the bodies on the injured list have continued to pile up and the media (mainstream and otherwise) are looking for the Avs to cool off.

I'll take 2 out of 3 of those any day of the week. The injuries however have got to stop. With the latest news being that T.J. Galiardi is out for 4-6 weeks, the franchise's organizational depth will be tested. Philippe Dupuis has been called up and joins Chris Durno and Brian Willsie from the Monsters roster and press box hound T.J. Hensick finds himself drawing in to the lineup again. Thankfully John-Michael Liles makes his return tonight which should help the powerplay pick up steam.

Though Peter Budaj has recovered from his bout with H1N1, Craig Anderson will make his 14th straight start tonight. I guess coach Sacco felt that with organizational depth being tested, it was best to stick with a hot goaltender. I concur.

As this week has been draining, I'm going to be splayed out on my couch in full relax mode for this one. Enjoy the game everybody. I know I will.

Oh, and Matt Duchene will get goal #2 tonight.

Avalanche vs Leafs, Game Preview

The Colorado Avalanche (3-1-1) head to the ACC for part three of their seven part road trip to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs (0-4-1) tonight at 7:30pm ET.

This season has been going better than most Avalanche fans expected and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't expecting a win out of this game. I generally subscribe to the "the more things stay the same, the more likely they are to change" philosophy but I can't see the Leafs pulling it together after a blowout yesterday against the Rangers.

The opposition

The Leafs have yet to get one in the W column this season and I can't tell you how funny I find that. After Brian Burke was once again fellated by the media - or was that just TSN? - for his off-season signings and "toughening up" of the team, it appears the "Genius at work" sign outside Burke's office might need to be taken down.

It's all well and good to build a team that's tough to play against, but there's tough to play against and there's annoying to play against. The Leafs are simply an annoyance at the moment. The only credible threat they display is violence and it's frankly not all that credible.

They're like the bully who picks on people because they suck at everything else in life. It's not scary, it's just sad.

Backup duel?

Most people are expecting to see Peter Budaj's first appearance for the 09/10 season tonight and it would make sense. Back-to-back games heading into a weaker opponent is generally the equation for when to bring a backup in. But given how early it is in the season, Anderson getting the nod wouldn't be terribly shocking or anything to stir significant analysis.

On the Leafs side, they'll be starting Joey Macdonald after prize signing, Jonas Gustavsson, headed onto the IR and prized whipping boy, Vesa Toskala, taking the "do what he does" advice from goaltending coach Francoise Allaire to heart, ended up injuring himself as well.

But don't get too cocky as Joey Mac is the guy that helped hold the Islanders together after Rick Dipietro hurt himself...again. His stats belie the performances he put in with that squad last year.

David Jones returns, and it was good

David Jones made his return yesterday afternoon against the Bruins and Chris Stewart was the odd man out. It was a good, albeit obvious call, by coach Joe Sacco. Jones rewarded the move with a shorthanded goal plus an assist. That should easily put him on a pace to eclipse that 30-goal mark, eh?

Chris Stewart struggles

I'm not sure what is causing Stewart's early struggles but Sacco has a good comment in the latest DP column:

"We're OK; we'll work with him. He's a young player, and he kind of needs to find his niche again on our team. He'll be fine. We'll get him back in the lineup soon."

That's exactly the sort of comment a young player needs to hear. It's not heaped all on him to get better, the coaching staff is taking on the challenge as well. Who knew you couldn't just say "He needs to find his game" and hope it would magically get better?

Is tonight the night?

I think it's time for Matt Duchene to get his first goal and I think tonight is the night. The conditions are ripe for the picking and hopefully Duchene can get that monkey off his back. Hopefully I don't pull something when it happens.

Lineup

I can't see the lineup changing from last game. With Jones' display and the need for David Koci in the lineup, it would be hard to find a slot for Hensick or Stewart to slide in. Another big body like Stewart would be nice but his less-than-inspired play leaves me thinking he would subtract more than he would add.

And if anyone suggests pulling Marek Svatos out, well it's pretty tough to do that when he's scoring goals. He's not gelling with Matt Duchene well and that's unfortunate - as is thinking Darcy Tucker would work better on his LW - but there are other options to deal with that issue.

Ryan Wilson was called up due to Ruslan Salei being placed on the IR but I'm not holding my breath to see him in action. If he were to slot in for anyone, it would most likely be Brett Clark, though that would leave an under-experienced 3rd pairing of Kyle Cumiskey and Wilson, or the unnecessary shifting of Foote or Liles "down" to the 3rd line.

Game time

The puck drops at 7:38pm ET and there is a bit of confusion on where to watch the game. It's listed as being on RIS and Leafs TV but there is no mention of an Altitude feed. "Center Ice to the rescue!", right? Apparently not as nobody can find it in their listings. I see it in ExpressVu's listings down here on the farm but if anybody figures out what's happening on the US side, I'd be interested to hear it.

Avs Nearly Get Past Sharks, Lose 1-0

Peter Budaj clocked a shutout tonight against the San Jose Sharks but the Avalanche still came away with just one point. One meaningless yet exciting point. Because no matter how badly I want Tavares or Hedman, I can't diminish my excitement when the team puts up a fight against one of the top-3 teams in the league.

But did anyone find it weird that the Avs hung in as well as they did? Sure, Budaj carried them into and through OT, but the Avs seemed pretty even with the Sharks tonight. Well, I might have come across a bit of insight as to what was up with the Sharks tonight.

On the way home from work yesterday, which takes all of 5 minutes, I was listening to the Drew Remenda Sports Show as I often do. Drew brought up a conversation he had with Todd McLellan Sunday evening.

On the plane ride back to San Jose following the Sharks 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks, McLellan asked Remenda what he thought of the game. Drew told McLellan that he thought the Sharks looked like a different team. A different, less explosive team.

McLellan's reply was "It's playoff hockey now, Drew! There'll be no more three-wide rushes into the zone. We're tightening up and getting ready for the push." To which I ask "If wide open has worked so far, why change it up?"

Obviously I'm no NHL coach and given what McLellan has done at that level already, I'll have to trust him. But I'll tell you what, I expected the Sharks to destroy the Avalanche tonight. I mean obliterate them. Like what the Hurricanes did to the Islanders.

Random Thoughts
I'm really liking Michael Vernace. Sure, he's had some stumbles along the way, but he looks very calm and collected out there. Late in the third, he fell on his back in front of Budaj but he got up quickly and immediately raced over to pick up a man in front. He didn't look for the puck, he looked for an open man. Hell yeah.

And related to that play was a game saving stop by Budaj. With Vernace on his keester and Ian Laperierre whiffing on a clear, Jeremy Roenick found himself wide open with the puck on his stick. But Budaj quickly closed up shop which left Roenick looking skyward. I woke up the neighbours on that one. Budaj put in one hell of a performance tonight once the Sharks started pressuring.

We know Jonathon Cheechoo won the Rocket Richard trophy. Once. He's scored progressively less goals every year since then. Can we say "outlier"?

Did anybody catch the 'stache on the guy in the visitor's penalty box? Am I the only one who was reminded of Snidely Whiplash? It was awesome.

Jay Vean caught an interesting thing at the end of the game. Dave Barr and Todd McLellan shook hands at the end of the game. Usually you don't see that until the playoffs and even then it's only at the end of a series, not every game.

Avalanche Slide Past Oilers, Win 3-2

I got back from volleyball last night in time to catch all of the first period and haphazard moments of the final 2.2 periods. And what I saw to start the game had me yelling at the TV.

Take the first goal. Peter Budaj kicks out a rebound, Brett Clark falls down and, while sliding, kicks the puck in to the net. Just what in the hell was Clark planning on doing there? I'm assuming he wanted to kick it away from the Oiler forechecker but he could have stayed on his feet and done that. And failing staying on your feet, at least try and aim towards the corner of the rink.

But the main thing that had me shaking my head was Budaj's second effort. To hell with trying to make a picture perfect side-push over, just scramble to stop the f'n puck. Pull a Tim Thomas, I don't care how ugly you think it looks. Keeping the puck out of the goal looks pretty no matter how you do it. I 100% believe that was a stoppable "shot" if Budaj had simply abandoned the fundamentals and remembered that he just need to keep the puck out of the net, not pass a test while doing so.

Transition? To what?
Who is in charge of the Avalanche's transition "strategy"? Because they should be fired immediately with no severance. Plus a kick in the ass on the way out. Early on in the season I bemoaned their "flying I" strategy where they all crowd together in a straight line and try to carry the puck up the ice. It. Doesn't. Work.

It's the same story time and time again. The center gets the puck, crowds over to the right side, the left wing slides over to the right side of center and they make 2-inch passes to each others skates before finally dumping it in. They will then try to forecheck or, if you're Darcy Tucker, peel off at the blueline and look angry at the world.

I was watching the Red Wings play a couple nights ago and they went from the left side of their blueline to the right side of the opposition blueline in one pass. And then they scored. I don't think I've seen the Avalanche do that once this season.

I think the lack of transition is the most frustrating aspect of watching this team. You can tell it pisses off some players too. By the end of the night, John-Michael Liles was just carrying the puck up the ice every time rather than giving it to the forwards so they could screw it up.

In-zone coverage? We're supposed to do that?
Marc Crawford was mentioning - seemingly with glee - that the Avalanche have a "fire drill" defense deep in their own zone. And unfortunately he's 100% accurate.

The biggest reason everybody gets confused is because nobody is simply paying attention to their own assignment and are instead worrying that somebody else is forgetting theirs. Remember kids, the other player's assignments are their responsibility, not yours. Hockey is a team game and it's done by being selfish and worrying about what you're doing, not what your teammates are doing.

Once again, I'm watching a Red Wings game - because I have money on them beating Columbus this afternoon - and their wingers rarely, if ever, go lower than the top of the circle in their own zone. Why? Because they're covering the opposing defensemen - as they should be - and waiting to help break out of the zone. You can't do either if you're past the hashmarks, getting in the way of your own defensemen while trying to "help out"

The urge to do more than you're responsible for is hard to resist, especially when your team is playing sub-par, but you have to fight it. When you start trying to do too much, everybody gets confused. When you concentrate on doing your job right, things often start to fall in to place.

Geez, Nancy. Lighten up on the negativity
At the end of the day, a win's a win and I was happy when Liles put the game winner past Dwayne "Don't touch me!" Roloson but the frustration of being in last place in the West should have these guys playing from the opening bell, not waking up midway through the game.

It's just poor preparation and it has sunk this team.

Avalanche Shut out by Wild, Lose 2-0

I want to burn through the recap to get to the really interesting part of the night.

Two second recap
The Avs lost. They couldn't score. They couldn't play defense. Adam Foote got hurt. Darcy Tucker classed the joint up. Wojtek Wolski wants to continue playing center. 

The fun part
AD has gone on another classic rant

And it was good.  Right until the end.

Oh, and has anybody checked out Theodore’s record lately? 13-6-1. Yeah, we didn’t need guys like him anymore.

Must the horse continue to be beaten?

Theodore - and the Caps - are on a good run right now. Theodore has let in just one or two goals per game for his last four games.

Before that he was living up to his unfortunate "Three-or-four" nickname.

The Capitals were winning in spite of Theodore's play.

Their individual stats - which of course have their flaws - are nearly identical.
Theodore - 2.98 GAA, .892 Save Pct
Budaj - 2.84 GAA, .899 Save Pct

Francois Giguere made many questionable moves this offseason but letting Theodore walk was not one of those moves.

He's spot on with regards to Andrew Brunette, Stephane Yelle and the Toronto cast-offs.

Giguere's job will only be saved thanks to the injuries to Paul Stastny and Joe Sakic.

Avalanche vs Red Wings, Game Preview

The holiday season has come and gone.

The presents are unwrapped. The chocolates have been eaten. The turkey has been stuffed and devoured.

But one thing hasn't changed.

Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny will be absent from the Avalanche lineup for the foreseeable future.

One man's loss is another man's gain
Oh, one more thing has changed.

Tyler Arnason is the new #1 center.

If that doesn't strike fear into the hearts and minds of Avalanche opponents, I don't know what will.

Did I say opponents? Sorry, I meant fans.

I didn't get much for Christmas. I didn't ask for much either. I must have suspected I would need a more important gift.

And now I want to cash it in.

Santa, if you're still around please help Tyler Arnason rise to the occasion and make us all not unproud.

Hensick also slides up
Along with the Arnason promotion, T.J. Hensick has moved up from a fourth-line winger position to become the second-line center.

Based on practice reports, he will center a line with David Jones and Wojtek Wolski.

Svatos and Salei slide back in
Marek Svatos and Ruslan Salei will make their returns tonight.

Svatos really needs to step up and provide some offensive support. It will be tough sledding as he will likely find himself on the third line tonight but he needs to find a way to get it done.

Third line pickle
Cody McCormick sat last game and may sit again while the Avs give Chris Stewart more time to showcase his skills.

If Stewart stays in he would likely play on a line with Ian Laperriere and the returning Marek Svatos which would leave Darcy Tucker on the fourth line with Ben Guite and Cody Mcleod.

If Stewart draws out, Granato would likely renew the McLappy line leaving a Tucker and Svatos to play on a line centered by Guite.

So no matter how you dice it, the third line will be quite the interesting mix.

UPDATE: AD informs us that McCormick is out.

Budaj back in net
Peter Budaj gets the start in goal and will presumably go up against Ty Conklin as Chris Osgood is still recovering from a busted vagina.

Lidstrom possibly out
Nik Lidstrom took a puck to the ankle last night and will be a gametime decision tonight.

The sweats have already started over there.

The Avs will need every advantage they can get tonight so pray to Vishnu that Lidstrom's foot is swollen bigger than [go ahead and finish this one off in your head while I keep things PG-13 ;)]

UPDATE: AD informs us that Nik Lidstrom is out for tonight's game.

Game time
The puck drops at 9:00 ET at the Pepsi Center. Denver natives, get down there and support your team!

Related Links
Avalanche report: Arnason, Hensick take center stage against Red Wings
Avs promote Arnason to first line with Sakic, Stastny out
Arnie the new #1 center
Scouting the Avs

Avalanche vs Coyotes Game Preview

I'm late, I'm late. For a very important date.

It's only 15 minutes to game time and I'm just getting to a preview. Shouldn't Christmas time be less stressful as we all bask in the joy and goodness?

Is it fired up again?
My main thought is that I don't see the sense in starting Andrew Raycroft tonight.

We're getting away from Tony Granato's original theory on how this goaltending rotation would work.

It was abandoned when Budaj was on a winning streak - and I endorsed it - and now it seems with Budaj playing less than stellar, we've gone to a reward-based system for goaltending starts.

I won't delve much further into this lest I not finish until after the game ends, but I don't see Raycroft doing enough to unshelf Peter Budaj.

No shutout please
I didn't say anything after the Panthers win because, to be frank, I was flipping embarassed.

Shutout? By the Panthers? Come on now.

If the Avs get shut out by the Coyotes tonight, I won't watch the Avs for the rest of the year...

Avalanche @ Panthers Game Preview

The Avalanche are in Florida this afternoon to take on the Panthers and I'm feeling pretty good about this game.

The one thing that has me a bit leery is that the Avs have won 10 straight road games against the Panthers. That sounds like a streak that's just dying to end.

Budaj back in
And if it does end tonight, it will be with Peter Budaj between the pipes.

Tony Granato has gone back to Peter Budaj after Andrew Raycroft took down the Lightning and improved his record to 5-1-0 this season.

Raycroft's record speaks more than his play and it's the right call for TG to quell any whisperings of a goaltending controversy.

He never should have let it begin in the first place.

Welcome home, baby
My TV has finally made its way to my temporary dwellings.

Was it wrong to miss an object so much?

Probably. But its smile is just so damn pretty. Especially in HD.

Game time
The puck drops at 5:00 ET which means those West Coast folks will be rolling out of bed just in time to watch.

Related Links
An easy decision: Budaj will start
Bitter over the shootout

Raycroft Gets Rewarded, Budaj Gets Bombarded

From AD: Andrew Raycroft will start in goal tomorrow night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Well...crap.

But I'll tell you what, I'm going to give Tony Granato the benefit of the doubt on this one.

For one reason or another, I'm in a forgiving mood today.

I don't feel like assuming it's a knee-jerk move designed to punish Budaj for a mediocre performance against the Flyers.

I don't want to presume that TG learned too much from ol' JQ over the last three years.

I hate to leap to the conclusion that Granato is panicking for no reason over Budaj's abilities.

I won't perceive that Granato is putting too much stock into Raycroft's win against the Wings.

I can't fathom that TG is going to start the fabled "win and you're in" goaltending rotation.

I just can't bring myself to do it.

Avalanche vs Blackhawks Game Preview

It has been a bitch of a week. I'm paying a mortgage + rent (long story), still can't get a decent sleep at night, had a ridiculous end to the work week, Joe Sakic nearly severed his fingers plus I still don't have my damn TV. Cable box but no TV. How messed up is that?

But do you know what could save it all? If the Avalanche could crush the Joel Quenneville-led Chicago Blackhawks tonight.

I don't want them to squeak out a win. I want them to annihilate the bastards. 6-0, 7-1, 8-3. Anything less than a 5-goal cushion just won't do it for me.

I want to see pain on the face of their players. I want to see rage in Quenneville's eyes. I want their fans to feel this loss for years to come. I want Wolski to undress Khabibulin the way Toews did Theodore.

I want a hug.

Lines
Marek Svatos is day-to-day with a back injury and will sit out this game. The Avs have called up Phillippe Dupuis from Lake Erie to fill the vacant roster spot.

With Darcy Tucker not at 100% yet, Dupuis could find himself in the lineup tonight which should be interesting. It's always fun to see someone play their first NHL game even if that player comes with no hype.

On defense, Adam Foote is back in the lineup and Daniel Tjarnqvist finds himself back in the press box. It's unfortunate as Tjarnqvist put in a decent relief effort while Foote was out.

Foote skated with John-Michael Liles during practice which would bump Ruslan Salei back over to a line with Jordan Leopold who was previously paired with Tjarnqvist. Man, that was a confusing sentence, wasn't it?

I'll re-word:
Foote-Liles
Clark-Hannan
Salei-Leopold

Goaltending
Quenneville is clinging to his "lose the right to play in goal" motto with an iron grip as he is starting Nikolai Khabibulin tonight.

Who cares if Cristobal Huet has won 3 of his last 4 starts. So what that he shut out Ottawa on Wednesday? Big deal that he seems to play better with more starts. What difference does it make that his confidence seems to be rising?

It's all about the competition. And healthy competition at that. right? They have to be scared to lose. They have to be afraid to make a mistake. They have to know that if they screw up, they're benched.

Because nothing inspires confidence and trust like making people scared to make a mistake.

For the Avs, Tony Granato will likely continue to ride Peter Budaj. I thought Budaj was going to tire out a bit but he appears to be going strong.

I just hope Granato and Budaj will be honest enough with each other to know when he does need a rest.

Game time
Puck drop is at 9:00 ET, 7:00 MT at the Pepsi Center.

Related Links

Avs unafraid of Sakic's absence

Tjarnqvist: Back on the pine

Avalanche report: Foote ready to return

Leading resurgent Chicago, Quenneville at peace with himself (Was he at war before? Because that could explain a lot)

Avalanche Break Scoring Slump, Down Wild 6-5

My goodness that was an exciting game! I'm still a bit amped up and am having a hard time collecting my thoughts.

The Avalanche put down the Wild with an intense 6-5 win at the Xcel Energy Center.

Right from puck drop the Avs had their legs flying and they kept it up throughout most of the game. It's amazing how much free ice you have to skate when your teammates give you room to breathe.

The Wild drew first blood but the Avs didn't let that get them down. They kept applying the pressure and were rewarded with two quick goals.

Marek Svatos and David Jones answered back for the Avs and you started to get the feeling this one was going to escalate.

The Wild then got their first of three goals on the powerplay with Ryan Smyth in the box.

Smyth then promptly headed right back into the box after lipping off to the referee. It was a bold move. And by "bold", I mean "boneheaded". The Wild scored again with Smyth in the box to make it 3-2.

I suppose it's the Wild's fault really for scoring 6 seconds in to the first powerplay and not giving Smyth a chance to cool down in the box.

But then the Avalanche really opened up.

Paul Stastny, Milan Hejduk and T.J. Hensick put the Avs up 5-3. And then Stastny potted one more for good measure to make it 6-3.

Stastny's secong goal was due to some hard work down low by Ryan Smyth that helped make up for the two penalties he took earlier. But it was the equivalent of saying sorry after cheating on your girlfriend. The damage was already done and no amount of work could make it the same again. Once a cheater, always a cheater!

The Avs gave up another PP goal to close out the period after a weak, weak, weak, weak tripping call on David Jones. How weak was it? ...Dang, I thought I had a good joke there but I blanked after seeing a De La Hoya-Pacquiao promo.

Josh Harding replaced Backstrom for the third period and did an admirable job stopping all five shots that were sent his way.

Then, for the second game in a row, the Avs had their fans on edge after the opposition pulled within one goal.

It was a goal that never should have counted though. Brent Burns, playing as a winger, drove wide on Brett Clark and beat him to the goal. And then proceeded to push Budaj out of the way while the puck slowly slid into the net.

The goal was reviewed to see if Burns had kicked the puck in and during the review, the announcers stated "See, Budaj tried to make a play with his stick. That didn't work."

My response was "Because Burns skate was pushing his stick out of the way!"

I mean, my goodness. If that's not the definition of goaltender interference, I don't know what is. I'll watch the highlights again to make sure I'm not overreacting on that goal but I'm quite certain I'm not.

Either way, the Wild ended up shooting themselves in the foot as Bergeron ended up tripping Milan Hejduk with just 54 seconds to go.

Phew, that was a mouthful. I'll come back tomorrow with some overall thoughts on the game.

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary

Avalanche @ Wild, Game 24 Preview

After my Hockey Talk Day post, combined with a bunch of technical and process documentation writing at work, I'm near all writ out. I don't know if there's a word I haven't used today. Maybe discombobulate. Ok, now that's all of them.

But I'll soldier on so I don't get jaded. And because I'm kind of bored after work.

Preview
After hanging on for a 4-3 win against the Lightning, the Avs are now in the hockey hotbed of St. Paul, Minnesota. And no, that wasn't facetious. Minnesota loves their hockey and I love them for it.

The Avs are on a five-game road losing streak in the regular season to the Wild and I think it's high time they put an end to it.

But a win against the Wild won't come as easy as a win against the Lightning.

The Wild are 14-7-1 this season and are only in 2nd place in the Northwest because Vancouver has played two more games.

They give up a stingy 2.14 goals per game which is second only to the surprising Boston Bruins (by 0.02 g/g)

Couple that with Colorado's 2nd-last goal scoring pace of 2.41 goals per game, and this could have disaster written all over.

But I remain confident in the Avs ability to overcome this. Why? Because it's Hockey Talk Day where nary a bad thing should be said about hockey.

Goaltending
After a day off for both team's starters, it will be Peter Budaj vs Niklas Backstromg tonight. And remember, Peter Budaj has already out-dueled on elite goaltender this year. And I bet he's just itching to do it again.

Injuries
Nothing new here. Joe Sakic and Adam Foote have not made the trip. And of course Darcy Tucker and Ben Guite remain on the IR.

Scouting
The Wild's no-name line - and again, I don't mean that in a derogatory way - of Andrew Brunette-Mikko Koivu-Antti Miettinen have combined for 58 points on the season. Stop them and you have a good shot at taking out the Wild. Ok, a better shot.

And Andrew Brunette is scoring on over 25% of his shots so it's imperative to keep an eye out for the crafty vet. I think we all know what he can do around the net.

Game time
Puck drops at 8:00 ET. And if you aren't local to Minnesota or Colorado, you might want to check out MyP2P. For no reason. Just to browse.

Related Links
Tjarnqvist gets inside scoop on Wild

Dude, where's my updates?

I've been a bit silent lately and not for any good reason. I was simply not enthused enough to write anything. Which works out well because the Avalanche have not been enthused enough to play hockey during that time.

The Avs downed the Blues 3-1 on Wednesday but it was still a less-than-stellar effort from the squad. The team is still playing with no spunk and are making Tony Granato's "run-and-gun" offense look like it's all out of bullets.

Phew. If that's not a lame joke, I don't know what is. Maybe the Avs offense? Boo-ya!

Game time
I'm going to play a game of good news, bad news, good news. See, you start with the good news which puts everyone in a good mood. Then you toss in some bad news while the people are on a bit of a high. Then, because people really only remember the last thing you say, you end with more good news.

Good News
Peter Budaj continues to redeem his slow start this season by being the only Avalanche player to consistently show up over the past dozen games.

It was widely believed by pundits that Budaj would be the downfall of the Avalanche this year. It turns out, he's been the bright spot while the rest of the team fizzles.

Color me skeptical on whether Budaj can continue this level of play for 70 games this season but I'll be more than happy if he does.

It appears keeping Jeff Hackett around was a smart move by the Avs organization.

Bad News
Joe Sakic played only 28 seconds against the Blues before leaving for the rest of the game. He won't be in the lineup tonight.

This is not a good sign.

The Avalanche have scored 19 goals in their last 12 games.

This is not a good sign.

Tony Granato felt the team played a heck of a game against the Coyotes and deserved a better fate.

This is not a good sign.

Good news
Ryan Smyth has started putting his ass in goaltenders faces and has two goals in his last two games.

You could see the relief on Smyth's face when he scored against the Blues. It was like the weight of the world came off his shoulders.

And all it took was to let him do his thing.

Who knew that would be a good strategy?

I'll be back this afternoon with a preview of the Lightning game. As a bit of a preview, I'm actually feeling optimistic about the game.

Avalanche Stomped by Ducks, Lose 4-1

Sigh.

I set the game to record as I was going to be away for the first period. When I came back and spotted the 2-0 score on NHL.com, I decided to save a bit of my sanity and not watch the first period.

The second period started and I completely spaced out about five minutes in. I was more interested in watching my fingernails grow.  At one point I heard a *ping* and noticed the Ducks had scored again to make it 3-0.

During the intermission I was upstairs explaining to my mom why I would not be watching Twilight even though I'm a fan of vampire-related literature/movies. I then went on a long, snooty diatribe about the quality of some of these latest literary hits like the Harry Potter series, the Twilight series and the whole Dan Brown fiasco.  

After wrapping things up with a discussion on why A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the - if not the - greatest series in modern literature, I decided to see if the Avs could respond to a three goal deficit.

The answer? No.

Sure they got the early goal they needed and managed to fire off 12 shots in the period but did they ever appear hungry or dangerous? Rather than fighting like a wounded cheetah cornered by a tiger, they looked like a three-toed sloth with a papercut. Which of course raises the question: Can a three-toed slot get a paper cut?

Things are looking mighty grim at the moment and I'm getting mighty tired of saying "Things need to change." I'm all out of energy. This must be what it feels like to play for the Avs right now.

And though I'm all out of emotion I will be putting together another piece for Illegal Curve's "State of the Northwest Division" feature tomorrow. I could sum things up with one word. It starts with "F".  It ends with "ck". And just one of u and me is in the middle. But I won't.

Notes

Darcy Tucker was helped off the ice early in the third period due to a knee injury after colliding with Brendan Morrison.

Peter Budaj needs a rest after some valiant work for the team.

Wojtek Wolski sat out the game hopefully just for precautionary reasons.

Why do no defenders look behind them when defending the slot?

Just four shots in the second period? Four? You were down 2-0 and you couldn't find the energy to get off at least a half dozen shots?

The Da Vinci Code was trite and formulaic. And made Dan Brown a bazillionaire.

Related Links

NHL.com Event Summary

Agony of defeat rises for Avs

Anaheim bares fangs as root canal delays Sakic return (do ducks have fangs that I don't know about?)

MHH Game Recap

Avalanche @ Kings, Game 19 Preview

The Colorado Avalache face off against the Los Angeles Kings tonight and Joe Sakic is doubtful to be in the lineup.

The Avalanche have recalled Brian Willsie after placing Ben Guite on injured reserve and I would love to see him in the lineup tonight.

I think any shakup, even one as minor as this, could provide a much needed spark to the offense. I'm not saying Willsie will stroll in and put the Avs on his back but the team is playing complacently. A little reminder that there are hungry folks below couldn't hurt.

And who should sit if Willsie draws in? Well the Rocky Mountain News reports that Tyler Arnason was the fifth center in practice. Would Granato sit Arnason again?

Probably not since Willsie is a RW and if Arnason sits, that leaves just three centers on the team. Since Sakic was at practice, Granato would be running the lines on the premise that Sakic would be in the lineup.

And though Wolski has played center before, he hasn't spent one lick at center during practices - I assume AD would have noted it at some point if he had - so I can't see Granato moving him there at this point.

UPDATE: David Jones is out, Willsie is in. Good. I was just saying that Jones should head down to the AHL to regain some confidence. I don't think sitting in the press box is enough for him at this point but at least we'll get a hungry player in the lineup.

Will the Avalanche break out of their slump? I don't know. What I do know is that if this team doesn't start supporting Peter Budaj's efforts with some goals, I wouldn't blame Budaj if he were to take his pads and go home.

The puck drops at 10:30 ET, 8:30 MT. I'll be watching via my new Slingbox while I'm back on the farm. It's not great quality but it's still awesome to be able to control my PVR from 360 km away. That's about 220 miles for you non-metric folks.

Related Links
Practice report: Budaj shoulders load
Avalanche report: Looking for some offense
ColoradoAvalanche.com Game Preview

Avalanche Streaking Again, Down Oilers 3-2 in Shootout

(Associated Press)

When I woke up this morning I had a great opening line for this recap. Unfortunately I promptly fell back asleep and forgot it. Something about wanting to be called Ishmael while a man in black fled across a desert.

Anyhoo...last night the Avalanche grabbed their fourth of six possible points on their current road trip - and third win in a row - with their 3-2 shootout victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Heading into the third period, the Avalanche were down 2-1 and didn't appear poised to score the tying goal any time soon.

But then the rarest of rarities happened. The Oilers took two penalties leading to a 6-on-3 advantage for the Avalanche with just 25 seconds left.

It started when Fernando Pisani got called for hooking at 18:01. The Avalanche pulled Peter Budaj for the 6-on-4 advantage but couldn't get anything together.

Then Marek Svatos decided to take matters into his own hands and stickhandled past half a dozen Oilers and their moms leading to an Ethan Moreau tripping penalty.

So in a smart - if not obvious - move, Granato sent out Smyth and Tucker to stand in front of the net and annoy Roloson. Roloson was frustrated and distracted by Smyth all game long so why not toss an extra body in front of him and see if he snaps.

It worked superbly as Jordan Leopold fired a shot from the point and while Roloson was hacking, slashing and punching at the pesty pair, Tucker managed to get a stick on it and tip it past Roloson.

Roloson quickly went screaming over to the refs to protest the undoubtedly legal goal. Smyth and Tucker stayed out of the crease, the tip in happened well below the goal line and nobody had touched Roloson.

Seriously Dwayne, grow some stones and quit whining to the refs whenever opponents get within a meter of you. And don't think we didn't notice your dive when Smyth breathed on in the third period. We noticed and we loved it.

That tied the game with 11 seconds to go and as OT solved nothing, it was off to the shootout.

Wojtek Wolski and Sam Gagner both scored to start things off but the next six shooters couldn't get anything past the keepers.

Then Darcy Tucker stepped on the ice. And I said "WTF?" Then Tucker scored. And I said "WTF?" Then Budaj stopped Horcoff. And I said "Yippee!"

The Avalanche now head into Calgary to complete their trip. The Flames got spanked 6-1 by the Sharks on Thursday and don't play again until Tuesday. I think it's safe to say that they will come out pretty fired up. Of course you never know what Iron Mike has up his sleeve.

Notes
Peter Budaj stood tall in net once again. He has allowed just three goals in his last three games. Coincidentally, those all equated to wins. He is on his way to proving what many believed all along - he has the technology. He can play bigger, stronger, faster.

Liam Reddox drew in tonight as Dustin Penner and Kyle Brodziak were in street clothes. And in true Avalanche fashion, he scored the first goal of his NHL career. Is somebody willing to look up how many players scored their first career goal against the Avs? Because offhand...it feels like a lot.

Ryan Smyth got his first goal against his former team as he drove the net hard and banged in a rebound. Remember kids, it's never a bad idea to go hard to the net. And it's always fun to score against your former team no matter what anybody says.

Darcy Tucker is getting back into everyone's good books as he scored the game tying goal as well as the winner in the shootout.

Joe Sakic sat out for the second straight game. The Avalanche are hopeful he will join the team in Calgary. But don't worry, they were hopeful he would join the team in Edmonton too.

Brett Clark was the ice-time leader with 24 minutes last night. He shouldn't be playing that many minutes as it became evident late in the game that he was gassing and making poor plays.

Late in the third, he was circling behind the net being chased by an Oiler when another Oiler started coming at him from the other direction. Rather than dump the puck past the oncoming Oiler, he tried to cut out in front of Budaj which was nearly disastrous. Mostly because my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.

David Jones spent a grand total of 6:41 on the ice tonight, most of that in the first and second periods. What happened to the dynamo from the preseason? If he doesn't wake up soon, he'll be heading back to Lake Erie to hopefully regain some confidence. He's got none at the moment.

Milan Hejduk took the draw to start off the 6-on-3 advantage and won it handily. Paul Stastny was on the ice but had only won 8 of his 20 draws while Hejduk was a perfect 3-for-3 leading up to that crucial draw.

Ian Laperriere, Cody Mcleod, Cody McCormick, Zach Stortini, Jesse Boulerice...and no fights? Bizarre.

Game highlights


Post-game Comments


Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
In the Cheap Seats Recap
Rocky Mountain News Recap
Denver Post Recap
Budaj, Avalanche stun Oilers in SO
Avalanche defeat Oilers in shootout