Dion Phaneuf Traded to the Leafs

I'll just duplicate what I said on Twitter for now:

Dion Phaneuf is gone from the NW division? Happy day. But now he'll be on CBC every Saturday night. Crap.

UPDATE via almost everyone on Twitter:
Leafs send Hagman, White, Stajan and Mayers to Calgary for Phaneuf, Sjostrom and Aulie

Jordan Leopold Traded Back to the Flames

Per TSN, the most logical trade bait for the Avalanche, Jordan Leopold, has been sent back to the team from whence he came.

This morning the Avalanche sent Leopold to the Flames and got back two defencemen - Lawrence Nycholat and Ryan Wilson - along with a 2nd round pick.

I recognize Nycholat's name but only because he played for the Swift Current Broncos in his junior career. He has bounced around a few teams including the Senators, Canucks and Flames but has spent most of the last decade in the AHL. In other words, sounds like a bust.

Ryan Wilson is a young, offensive defenseman who has spent this season with the Quad City Flames, putting up four goals and 16 assists over 60 games.

Hockeys Future has an assessment of Wilson and makes note that while he puts up good numbers for a player of his size, his defensive abilities are currently lacking.

So another undersized offensive defenseman has been added to the cubbard. Because you can never have too many of those.

The 2nd-round pick is presumably for this year's draft though TSN didn't indicate as such. UPDATE: TSN now indicates it is a 2009 2nd-round pick.

They did however, use the best photo of Leopold in existence to go along with their story.

The deal gets my stamp of approval if only because it means the Avalanche have another draft pick and that Kyle Cumiskey may finally get his chance to play full time next season.


UPDATE
Some commenters on Dater's blog are blasting FG for this move, claiming Nycholat as worthless and Wilson as a bust based on what they read online. Apparently the 2nd-round pick means nothing to them. It means the world to me.

The Avalanche likely picked up Nycholat knowing he'd play in Lake Erie full time. Don't forget that the Avalanche have an AHL roster to fill out. As for Wilson, though preliminary reports aren't great and I'm reluctant to cheer another undersized defenseman, what FG has done is what people have asked. Get some picks and prospects and start a minor rebuild.

Related Links
Leopold to Flames

Avalanche Crunched by Flames Again, Lose 4-1

51 shots against, 23 shots for. Do I really need to go any further?

Good, because I'm tired.

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary

Sharks Crushing Flames

The game isn't half over but already the Sharks are up 5-0 on the Flames and completely dominating the play. The Sharks are good but the Flames are just playing terribly. 

Let's hope they keep that up when the Avs are in town on Tuesday.

Flames Dump Avalanche 3-0, End Streak

I play volleyball every Tuesday and tonight the games were at 7:30 and 9:30. So obviously I had to set the Avalanche-Flames game to record while I was away.

As soon as the last game was over, I raced home, showered up and settled in to the groove on my couch.

I got through the first period in about 5 minutes and things were looking all right. The Avs and Flames both had some chances, Super Joe upended Bertuzzi and Budaj was looking sharp.

I fast-forwarded through intermission and was all set for the second period when I got a text message.

I hesitated, thinking "I'll get back to them later." but I figured the period hadn't started, I could spare a second in case it was important.

And I was met with utter disappointment.

During the offseason, I had signed up at SportsAlert.com to receive text messages for Avalanche games. Although I watch most games, it was an insurance policy if I was ever unexpectedly out while a game was on.

I had yet to receive a single text from them this season. Until tonight.

It read "COLORADO: 0 CALGARY: 3 FINAL"

I'm going to bed.

Avalanche @ Flames, Game 9 Preview

Tonight, two gladiators meet in the center of the arena to decide once and for all who is *dramatic pause* the best in the business.

After suffering three devastating losses to start their season, the Avalanche have turned their fortunes around and delivered five straight stunning knockouts, including one against top contender *dramatic pause* the Buffalo Sabres.

Following their first three losses, the Avalanche changed up their training regimen and looked to backup Andrew Raycroft for success.

Despite two straight wins from Raycroft, the Avalanche went back to their bread and butter in Peter Budaj, a true warrior who never gave up hope.

And Budaj hasn't looked back since reeling off three straight wins including a last second TKO of the Buffalo Sabres.

Tonight, the Calgary Flames will try to end their fortunes in devastating fashion. Calgary doesn't like to beat opponents *dramatic pause* they like to destroy them.

With heavy hitters like Dion Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr in the lineup, the Flames are always one mistake away from delivering a knockout blow.

They Flames are on a streak of their own having racked up three straight wins including a beatdown of the Phoenix Coyotes on Super Saturday.

Which team will keep their streak going and which one will head home with their head in their hands?

We'll find out tonight!

Ok, the above preview was done in my best imitation of Mike Goldberg's voice when hyping an upcoming UFC matchup.

That probably needs a bit more explanation, lest you think I'm off my rocker. Which I probably am.

I was about to start writing a quick preview when I began to wonder what it would be like if NHL matchups were decided not by a predefined schedule but by a "matchmaker" like Joe Silva in the UFC.

There would be some basic rules like each team playing three times a week with a limited amout of back-to-back games allowed. The rest would be in the hands of the matchmaker.

Are two teams on huge winning streaks? Pit them against each other and see which team blinks.

Did two teams shed some blood against each other last night? Pit them against each other for the rubber match the following night.

Got a slumping team? Stack them against a team on a long winning streak and see if the underdog can prevail.

Sure, the logistics of arena and travel bookings would never work but it would damn sure be fun.

Game time

The game starts at 9:30 ET, 7:30 MT and should be a great matchup so no excuses for not watching/listening!

Related Links

Practice Report: Off to Calgary

Avalanche @ Flames - Game 3 Preview

There are still eight winless teams in the NHL this season but tonight that number is guaranteed to go down to six. The Anaheim Ducks and LA Kings will duke it out for control of the Pacific division cellar while our beloved Colorado Avalanche are in Calgary to battle the Flames for the Northwest cellar dweller title.

Is it frustrating to not have any wins to brag about on the season? Absolutely. Especially since the Vancouver Canucks have won twice already. Thank goodness they were brought down to earth last night by the Washington Capitals. Only ten shots after scoring 11 goals in their first two games? That's the Canucks I expected to see this season.

But now is the right time to start betting on the Avalanche. Sure, I don't expect them to walk away with a win tonight - call it one of those ugly gut feelings - but as long as the Avs shore up the defense a bit and keep the offense firing, the wins will come.

Yep, more goaltending talk

Am I worried about Peter Budaj's abilities? I'd say I'm more curious at the moment. He's made some big saves, let in some softies and been victimized at the worst possible times. If that last second tip-in goal hadn't happened against Edmonton, the attitude surrounding the team would be much different today.

Budaj looked almost superhuman in the preseason and had us all patting our backs that we believed in him. I want to see that Peter Budaj tonight. And a little aura of confidence wafting out of him would be nice too. 

As goalie-killer Mike Keenan said: "...that's the game of hockey. Goaltending can solve a lot of problems."

Panic!
But should we panic? Of course not. Should we panic if the team loses tonight? Nope. You can throw something if you want, but don't panic or light anything on fire.

EDIT: Just making sure you're all paying attention. Seriously, this illness better go away soon because it's messing with my head.

You know what I'm more worried about? The near-4-day layoff after tonight's game until they take on the Stars on Saturday afternoon. What the hell am I supposed to write about until then?

Sad Note

As everyone is likely aware, Alexei Cherepanov passed away yesterday. I can't put into words how tragic it is for anyone so young to pass away. Cheers to you and God speed on your next journey, Alexei.

Game time

The game starts at 9:30 ET, 7:30 MT and is live on TSN up here in the great white north. Three games into the season and I still haven't caught an Altitude broadcast. As homerish as they can be, I find myself missing them.

Related Links
Sakic senses 'no panic' despite winless start

Don't even use the word 'panic'

Budaj can't delay good goalie play (editor must have told Frei to make the headline rhyme or heads would roll)

Winless Flames aim for a quick fix

It's not just Miika's fault (but isn't it more fun to blame one person?)

Avalanche Team Report

Alex Tanguay Traded to Montreal Canadiens

It was just announced that Alex Tanguay has been traded to Montreal along with the fifth-round pick in exchange for Montreal's first-rounder (25th overall) and a 2nd-rounder from '09.

Sure he's not an Avalanche anymore but come on, you still have to feel a bit invested him ;)

Avalanche Shut Out Flames

(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

In the immortal words of Al Pacino...Hoo-ah! This was a game the Avalanche definitely needed to win and they ended up shutting out a divisional opponent to maintain a hold on the 8th playoff spot in the West.

It was a hotly contested games as both teams stormed the opposing goaltender, tossed some heavy checks and got a little lippy. In the first period there were more entertaining sequences during stoppages than there were entertaining sequences during actual play. Of course Ian Laperierre figured into most of those interactions and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love how animated he gets when he's really riled up.

Theodore Shuts the Door
Jose Theodore played a solid game although I don't think he played superb. He made a couple excellent saves late in the third when it mattered but up until that point he was tossing out some interesting rebounds. Fortunately, the Flames were more concerned with steamrolling Theodore than burying the rebounds.

This game should go a long way to restoring Theodore's psyche to what it was before the 1-4 run he was on recently. And lets not forget that he was yanked against Edmonton after giving up 3 goals on 8 shots. You've got to give Q props to having the balls to go back to Theodore and not jump the gun and switch to Budaj this late in the season.

Forsberg Returns
Peter Forsberg returned...again. After missing a few games with a sore groin (pssstt...don't tell anyone but it was actually his ankle) he stepped back into the lineup on home ice again. I'll be honest, he wasn't all that noticeable out there. He was part of the great rush that led to the first Avalanche goal but that was about it.

Leopold Punishes Former Team
Jordan Leopold was in the lineup again as Adam Foote continues to rest his injured hip and he made his former team pay. Leopold trailed in off a great rush into the Flames zone and blasted the puck home. Oh, and it was on a powerplay. With Phaneuf in the box. Does it get any sweeter?

Phaneuf talks but doesn't walk
Well, maybe that's not an entirely fair heading. Phaneuf did walk...away from any scrum or challenge that Avalanche players issued. He and Ian Laperierre spent a good portion of the first period jawing with each other but Phaneuf appeared to not want to back up his tough talk by dropping the gloves. Because you know Lappy would have done it at the drop of a hat.

And just for that, let's all remember when Phaneuf was completely owned by Jarko Ruutu.

Iginla off his game
Jarome Iginla was off his game all night. He spent more time running around yipping and bitching than he did concentrating on the game. In fact, it was Iggy who put the icing on the cake by firing the puck wide on the far side in the final seconds which sent the puck out of the zone and sealed the deal. It was a shot out of frustration and anger, not strategy, in my estimation.

Often times you don't want to fire up Iginla but the Avalanche did a great job in pressuring him and really getting under his skin. Again, he and Lappy did a lot of yapping in the first and Iginla was visibly angered, not just fired up. Any time you can take a Hart candidate off his game, you're doing something right.

Botched call?
On the game clinching second goal, you could make an argument that the play should have been whistled as icing. And from what I, and the announcers, could tell you'd be right. The puck was fired from the Avalanche blueline and never touched any other player until Phaneuf got to it. I'm not sure how both linesman let that one go and I know I'd be a bit ticked if I were a Flames fan. But thankfully I'm not a Flames fan.

Lines
The lines stayed solid throughout (and the team won) with Wolski rejoining Sakic and Brunette. Peter Forsberg found himself on the third line (and the lines stayed solid) with Tyler Arnason and David Jones which kept his ice-time down. Hopefully the 15 minutes he played wasn't too much for his foot (and the team won) and we'll see him back in the lineup on Wednesday.

The grind line of McLeod-Guite-Lappy were a spark plug all night (and the lines stayed solid) long and though I tend to prefer McCormick over McLeod, there isn't much complaining to do when the team wins, right?

Oh, did I mention that the lines stayed solid and the team won? I'm going to send some data over to NASA so they can look for a correlation.

Flames Announcers
Seriously, do I ever get to make a post without these two? I'm sure they're not bad people but their blatant homerism is just frustrating to listen to. When an Avalanche player knocks down a Flames player he "tackles him" but the exact same play in reverse is a "great defensive play" It's just too much to handle sometimes.

Hell, when Theodore got run over and bent in half, they actually said "Jose Theodore is allegedly injured..." once the play was stopped. Really, they actually said "allegedly" as Theodore lay in pain after performing a Cirque de Soleil-style stretch.

Oh, and to top it all off, they said Lappy was "an interesting choice as a leader" And they didn't mean that in a good way. They meant it in a way that questions the mentality of a team that would give Lappy an A on his jersey. Anyone who watches him play should know why he's chosen to be a leader but watching the game would be asking too much of those two.

Notes
- Jeff Finger was the ice-time leader for the Avs with 23:49
- the Avs pushed back against a physical Calgary team and showed some testicular fortitude
- the Avalanche won the faceoff game with a 55% win rate
- Ruslan Salei saw a ton of PP time but only ended up with 1 shot on the night
- Cody McLeod saw some PK time

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap
In the Cheat Seats Recap
Phaneuf's Judgement Cometh Soon
Late game observations from Dater
Theodore takes charge
Leopold scores on recovery
Phaneuf's tactics fail to pay off

Avalanche Fall to Flames

I was busy driving down the #4 when this game started and now I'm typing this while my parents incurably cute dog lies on my lap so I can't say my mind was really into this game at the start or finish. And apparently, the Avalanche players minds were somewhere else as well as they put in a mediocre effort and fell 2-1 to the struggling Flames.

Now I'm not saying this was a must-win game but it sure would have been nice. With the loss, the Avalanche remain just 4 points ahead of Nashville and 5 up on Edmonton, who lost to Vancouver last night. It also puts them 3 points out of the division lead which feels near insurmountable in the NW. But hey, as we know, Q isn't aiming for the divisional title. A playoff berth is more than enough for his "do-enough-to-get-by-and-the-rest-is-gravy" attitude.

I don't feel that the playoff berth is in serious jeopardy at the moment but if they lose tomorrow afternoon and Nashville defeats Chicago, the hand wringing will begin in earnest. Hopefully the team is fully awake when the game starts so we can avoid another afternoon defeat.

Oh, and it just wouldn't be a proper recap if I didn't point again that Simmer and Millions remain the most biased - and annoying - broadcast team in the league. They actually said that Joe Sakic has nothing on Jarome Iginla in terms of strength. Ok then.

Tighter than a...

Can the Northwest be any closer? I know it's been talked about every year for the past 3 years but it's been no truer than tonight. Three teams, the Avalanche, Wild and Flames, are tied for the division lead with 84 points while the Canucks are just 2 points behind. And the "lowly" Oilers? They just beat the Sharks and are 7 points behind the division leaders. There is no other division where the bottom team isn't trailing the division leader by double digits.

So what does this mean for the playoffs? Well, right now I'd put the odds on four Northwest teams making it to the show. Nashville is close but if you look at Mirtle's playoff push numbers, they've got some streaking to do if they want to get in. Sure, it may not be terribly scientific, but it gets more accurate as the games wear on. In fact, by the time all games are done, it will perfectly predict the playoff seedings!

Yes, I was being facetious there. ;)

Avalanche Top Flames in OT

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh)

Well that was a bit too close for comfort. I was just cracking the knuckles and getting ready to write another downbeat post about an Avalanche loss. But then the team turned it into a 3-2 win!

Sure, it was an OT win, meaning they only gain one point on the Flames, but it's a huge two points which the Avalanche sorely needed.

Scoring
After scoring the first goal, a Ryan Smyth backhander, the Avalanche then gave up the next two goals to head into the third period down 2-1. The team didn't look to be fighting hard enough for the equalizer in the third but that didn't stop Milan Hejduk from firing the tying goal past a screened Miikka Kiprusoff.

In overtime the Avalanche were looking good behind Joe Sakic's superb skating. Then John-Michael Liles started a rush into the zone but was tripped up by Jarome Iginla leading to an Avalanche powerplay. After continually trying for a one-timer off to Kiprusoff's right-side, it finally paid off. Hejduk's shot was deflected to Ryan Smyth who fed a behind-the-back pass to Paul Stastny. Stastny had a wide open net and finally made good on putting it home after missing a chance earlier this game as well as a chance to tie the game against Edmonton on Sunday.

Foote's Return
Adam Foote made his triumphant return to the Colorado Avalanche after an afternoon of travel on a private jet to make it to Calgary. He was on the bench with about 6 minutes left in the first period and ended the night with 18:30 in ice-time. It was his first game in so I'm not going to analyze it too hard yet but he looked very solid back there and his leadership was evident very quickly.

Odd man out?
As soon as Foote arrived at the bench, Cumiskey hardly ever left it. It's looking fairly apparent that Cumiskey is going to the odd man out once Ruslan Salei joins the team. It probably didn't help that Cumiskey backed into Theodore rather than pressuring Nolan on the go-ahead powerplay goal.

Who wants the puck?
I still want the Avalanche players to want the puck more. Don't get me wrong, they were forechecking and backchecking quite well tonight but on loose pucks they just don't seem to have that intensity and desire to get the pucks that the Flames, and other opponents, seem to have.

In any sport I've done coaching in, which is really just volleyball and hockey, the first thing I emphasize is that you need to want that puck/ball. At the end of the day, hockey is a game of puck possession. If you don't have that puck, you aren't going to win games.

Announcers
Oh, Roger Millions and John Garret. You make me want to watch the hockey game in complete silence rather than subjecting myself to your biased ramblings. If I had to hear one more dose of Millions claiming interference or hooking or tripping on completely innocent plays, I might have fired up my car, drove out to Calgary and dropped him. Fortunately for him the battery in my car is dead.

The best things they had to say about the Avalanche was in regards to Jose Theodore and John-Michael Liles, who both played solid games. Other than that, you'd think the Avalanche were the cheapest team in the league with the myriad of uncalled penalties for hooking and, most notably, interference. Hey, just because a player skates in front of another doesn't make it interference.

Oh, and the best line from him, aside from thinking Q is doing a great job? "The Avalanche player interferes with Craig Conroy, knocking him off the puck." Umm...explain to me how it's interference if Conroy was in possession of the puck? You know what, since I can't drive out there, I'll mail you a copy of the NHL rulebook.

Dion Phaneuf
And how about our resident lovechild, Dion Phaneuf? Can anyone look more constipated than he does at all times? The permascowl is really growing old and certainly doesn't intimidate anyone anymore, if it ever did. But his continued cheap shots are what really set him apart from most other douches in the league.

Ben Guite knocked Phaneuf over in his own zone in the second period and you just knew something was going to come of that. Nobody knocks over precious Dion. Nobody! And his revenge? Why it was a cheap shot boarding hit, of course. Guite was directly facing the boards, Phaneuf took a run from across the ice and plastered him from behind. Then when Sauer took exception, Phaneuf immediately came up swinging even as another Flames player tried to intercept Sauer.

There are two things I abhore in hockey. Hits from behind and Dion Phaneuf. You put those two items together and my anger knows no bounds.

Boy, I hate to seem like I'm spending the entire recap ranting but I just can't help it. Playing the Flames really seems to get my goat and most of it boils down to Phaneuf. Well, that and how every fan in attendance still wears red to the games. The Cup run is two years past guys, live in the now!

Standings
With a Wild (73 pts) loss tonight, the Avalanche (70 pts) are now 5 points back of the division leading Flames (75 pts) and are 2 points back of a playoff spot. The Wild have one game in hand on the Avalanche and the Canucks, who the Avalanche face tomorrow night, have two games in hand. The game against Vancouver tomorrow is made all the more crucial by that factor.

Lines
Smyth-Stastny-Hejduk
Wolski-Sakic-Brunette
McLeod-Guite-Laperriere
Parker-Arnason-Svatos

Hannan-Foote/Sauer
Leopold-Liles
Cumiskey

The RPM line was together at all times and clicking very well scoring all 3 goals. With Parker in the lineup, Q was forced to mix the other lines throughout the game. Wolski eventually found himself back with Arnason and Svatos while Sakic found some time with Guite and Laperriere later in the game. Parker played all of 1:48 tonight.

The defence changed up a bit once Foote arrived. Cumiskey didn't see the ice much after that and Sauer and Foote seemed to alternate with Hannan who hardly left the ice tonight (28:58 in total)

Notes
- Sakic stood up for Liles after Godard drilled him (cleanly) in the 1st
- he was also flying around the ice as the game wore on and making room to fire off that wrist shot
- Parker than squared off with Godard to let him know that wasn't cool
- Phaneuf goaded McLeod in the 1st but then backed off once McLeod dropped the gloves
- Liles took a Phaneuf shot in the knee but was back out after a couple shifts
- Hejduk finally found the back of the net for the first time in the last 8 games
- the Avalanche were finishing more checks than the last few games
- Jaymison Masterbuilt donates $75 to the MS Society for each check the Flames dish out
- Liles did not dive


Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
Denver Post Recap
Rocky Mountain News Recap
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap

Calgary Flames Announcers Hit New Low

I've never been a big fan of Roger Millions and Charlie Simmer as announcers. Not because I'm an Avalanche fan but because I find them to be terribly biased and annoying.

However all announcers are biased towards their home teams to a degree and most are annoying as well so I try to just shrug them off.

Tonight though, I felt more like flipping them off. The Flames were hosting the Islanders and tied at 4 with a few minutes left, I decided to tune in. What I ended up seeing was ridiculous.

Midway through a 4-minute powerplay, the Flames called a timeout and the folks in the booth decided to show the Bumper to Bumper "Bump of the Night". Now of course I'm expecting to see a hit from Phaneuf so everybody can swoon over big bad Dion.

Not this time. It turns out that the bump of the night had Cory Sarich boarding Mike Comrie head first into the boards. Comrie was slow to get up and it was obvious that it should have been a penalty.



Now, to their credit the announcers weren't too amped up about the hit and one of them even grudgingly admitted that "They might have had a penalty call on that". Of course, he finished that sentence with "But there wasn't" just to drive home that no penalty = no foul.

Then, as I was waiting for my lame video capture to be uploaded to YouTube for the world to see, I watched the rest of the game including the post-game show. And do you know who they called arrogant? Rick DiPietro.

I couldn't believe my ears. Now I haven't seen every single interview Rick's ever given but in any interview I've seen he's about as down to earth and humble as it gets. Every post-game he's thanking the fans for making it such a great game and just seems like an all around decent guy.

Considering he's a handsome multi-millionaire living in New York City, I think he could be a lot worse.

Flames Shred Sluggish Avs 5-2

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski

It's almost like they never stopped playing on the road. Tonight the Avalanche had absolutely no offensive jump. Well, at least not until it no longer mattered. With 7 shots in total through the first 2 periods, it's hard to have a favorable outcome.

The only thing that would have changed the tide would have been some timely saves from Theodore. He wasn't able to make any game-changing saves - even though there would have been a lot to save - and really didn't look too sharp tonight.

First Period
After a shot of Parker and Phaneuf jawing at each other during warmup, you had to figure this would be a pretty physical game. It did not disappoint to start as there were some good checks to open up the game.

Scott Parker took his obligatory penalty as he tossed a late elbow at Craig Conroy. Hey Scott, it's Craig frickin' Conroy. Toss your dirty stuff at Phaneuf or Godard if you want but...whatever. The Avalanche killed off the penalty so no harm done in the end.

Ryan Smyth gets the Avs first good chance - and one of their few chances - but Kiprusoff outwaits him, forcing him to go behind the net where he loses the puck. It was already looking like it wasn't the Avs night tonight.

Another Avs chance is stopped by Kiprusoff and leads to a quick breakout by Iginla and Langkow. Iginla feeds the puck to Langkow and he puts a backhand underneath Theodore's armpit. Ugh.

Hannan gets called for a hold but the PK squad does another good job killing off the penalty.

Then Matthew Lombardi *sighs* finds himself wide open in front of Theodore, waits for Theo to make a move and buries it through the five-hole. Lombo should not have found himself that open. Theo should not not have tried to poke check him at that range. Yes, I meant the double negative there.

Second Period
The period opens with Theodore making a big glove save. Of course, if he hadn't coughed out a couple rebounds, he wouldn't have needed to make that save. I'm just sayin'...

Lombardi takes an early penalty and all I thought was "Crap, that'll take 2 minutes off the clock." And that it did. It was nothing doing for the Avalanche again on the powerplay and they really need to solve this beast.

Scott Parker found himself on the ice again, much to his surprise. He spent most of the time jawing at Godard. At one point, the puck was headed his way but he was so busy yapping, he didn't notice it until it was too late and he fanned on the shot. Then Eric Godard draws a penalty on Hannan shortly after. See Parker, that's how you be an effective tough guy. Don't just look mean and yell at people, try and contribute on the ice as well. No chance I'd say that to his face though. Unless separated by bulletproof glass.

Aucoin then puts the Avs up by 3 just as the Hannan penalty had expired. Although the Altidudes - heh - figured Theo had no chance, I think he had plenty of chance. I actually think he got there in time, but he was almost resigned to the puck going in so he didn't do anything after sliding into place.

And then for good measure, Yelle pots one to make it 4-0. It looked like a bit of a softy but it was deflected in close by a sprawling Brett Clark. It still would have been nice for him to snag that one.

Then Scott Parker decides the team needs a spark. Yeah, at 4-0 they need a freakin' flame thrower. Nonetheless, he cross-checks Phaneuf which, as much as I dislike Phaneuf, I hate to see. Phaneuf hammed it up a bit if you ask me but Parker was a tool for getting his stick up like that. Godard then came over and the two scrapped. Long and boring fight it was but it led to 52 minutes in penalties between the two. Godard got the instigator which makes absolutely no sense but I'm not getting into that tonight.

Third Period
Just 3:17 into the third, Joe Sakic finally broke through and got a goal. Phaneuf had just finished dumping Brunette behind the net but the puck popped out right to Sakic and he rocketed it into the back of the net.

Could it be? Another 4-goal comeback in the making? No. Craig Conroy ended fans hopes about 4 minutes later as he buried one under Theodore's arm. Man, a lot of pucks go in under Theo's arms.

There were some more PP chances for the Avalanche, 3 in total, which meant another 6 minutes wasted off the scoreboard.

Late in the third, Richardson took a shot from a real bad angle but it snuck by Kipper. On the replay, you can see Phaneuf caught Kiprusoff's stick in his jersey, thereby lifting his stick and allowing the puck to get by. So both Avs goals were due to Phaneuf which is always nice.

Odds and Ends
- what does it take for some puck possession by the Avs?
- and their version of "cycling down low" doesn't count
- Wolski was on the point again for the PP
- Lombardi shreds the Avs again
- Finger is a strong, strong guy, often just showing Flames players down
- Liles had a strong game where he used his body effectively
- Guite was a scratch tonight to make way for Parker (super!)
- Martin Lapointe has gigantic arms (they showed him lacing his skates before the 2nd game of the doubleheader on CBC and I thought I'd mention it)

Stats
Liles and Clark - oddly reminiscent of Lewis and Clark, isn't it? - were the ice-time leaders with 23:22 and 23:47 respectively. Scott Hannan was only out for 18:40 and can likely thank his 4 PIM for the reduced ice-time.

Hlinka, Sauer and Finger were the only players to be +s in the game. Smyth and Clark were -3 on the night.

7 shots from the D tonight which is good considering they only had 23 in total. Smyth, Arnason and Hannan all had 3 shots.

The Avalanche outhit the Flames 16-14. However I question those stats simply because Clark was credited with 4 hits while Finger was credited with just 1. It's not that Clark couldn't have had four hits, but there's no way Finger had just one.

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
TSN Recap
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap

Flames Power Past Avalanche 4-1

Well, the Avs got the first goal this game. Unfortunately Calgary got the next 4. Yep, another road loss where the team manages to score one whole goal. This team is eerily reminiscent of the Calgary Flames from a couple years back where they were completely dominant at home but sucked on the road.

It was a PPV game which means I shelled out $12.95 to watch another crappy game on a ridiculously crappy feed. If people pay money for this, you'd think they'd at least have some decent video equipment in there. It looked like a bloody YouTube video blown up on a 50" screen. That ain't pretty. I can't believe they show this same feed in movie theatres.

So it's on to Edmonton now to try and salvage at least one point on this brutal road trip. Oh, and that's the cover album for Motley Crue's Theatre of Pain album. The one which had the song "Home Sweet Home". Get it?

First Period
I was recording the Centre Ice feed for about 5 minutes before realizing it was on PPV. Totally glad I paid money to watch this game. Not bitter at all. I missed an Avs PP but obviously they got nothing done.

The Avalanche got another powerplay chance and, while not generating much, it did give Sakic the opportunity to play chase with Matthew Lombardi. As fast as Lombo is, Sakic matched him stride for stride and took the puck away from him on a near breakaway. Millions excused Lombardi by saying it was the end of a shift. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Roger.

Eric Godard and Cody McCormick then faced off. Millions said Godard was mad McCormick got the jump on him. I think Cody could be mad that Godard got a couple shots in after the linesmen were breaking it up. Call it even, m'kay?

A couple more powerplays for the Avs, a couple more easy kills for the Flames. The tripping penalty on Phaneuf, that was a bad call. He definitely got the puck first and Hannan after.

Second Period
Early in, Paul Stastny and Marek Svatos head in on a 2-on-1 with Phaneuf the only D back. Stastny keeps the puck just out of Phaneuf's reach and then feeds a beauty pass to Svatos who buries it. Kiprusoff had no chance.

And just as I was writing notes on that play, Owen Nolan gets the puck past Sauer and fires a shot that virtually went right through Theodore's glove. Tie game. Awesome.

A few minutes after killing off a Skrastins holding penalty, Matthew Lombardi made Sauer and Clark look like fools. He blew past Sauer so fast that Sauer didn't have time to find his jock after. He then out-waited Brett Clark who you just knew was going to sprawl and call it "defence". When he did, he fed a pass to Iginla who buried. Similar to the Stastny-Svatos goal. Except nicer. Iginla had 3 other Avs defenders around him and still had all the time in the world. Ugh.

The teams then traded too many men penalties with no action coming about. Unless you count Smyth getting his nose broken on a hit from behind by Anders Eriksson as "action". Ok, that play may have been after those penalties but whatever. It still involved Eriksson plowing Smyth's face into the glass.

Third Period
It was this period that you realized Smyth's nose was broken. He was on the ice with a chunk of gauze shoved up his left nostril. Possibly to hold it in place. He and Lappy are going to have a contest soon about who's nose looks the worst.

Midway through the period Craig Conroy took what is labelled as a cross-checking penalty in the game summary but was indicated as interference by the ref. The refs were likely confused as Conroy laid a cross-check and Phaneuf was the one interfering.

As a side note, the reffing in this game was pretty bad. A lot of missed calls on both teams and some lame calls like the Phaneuf one.

I then quickly switched to watch the Oilers-Canucks shootout. Glad I did because I missed the game-clinching goal by David Moss. It was a great tip off a great pass from Huselius. Oh, did I mention the Oilers and Canucks went to a shootout? Good to see the other NW teams racking up the points.

Theodore was pulled with about 1:34 left to play but the Avs still couldn't get another one past Kiprusoff. Nolan got his second of the net into the yawning cage and my head started hurting.

Lines
Richardson-Sakic-Brunette
Wolski-Stastny-Svatos
Smyth-Arnason-Hejduk
McCormick-Guite-Smith

Sauer-Clark
Hannan-Cumiskey
Finger-Skrastins

Odds and Ends
- McCormick was in playing mostly on the fourth line
- Richardson found himself on the first line and did well
- Liles was watching from the press box
- Hannan has been pinching a lot lately
- Regehr was a physical force on D tonight
- Roger Millions is still in my bottom 5 for commentators
- Tanguay has the weirdest bald spot on top of his head
- Man do I want Lombardi on the Avs
- Phaneuf is still a dick

Stats
Brett Clark was a -3 while Kurt Sauer was a -2. Smyth, Stastny and Svatos were -2 as well. That was the line which scored the Avs only goal.

Scott Hannan played 25:53 tonight and Joe Sakic was close behind at 24:05 thanks to nearly 6 1/2 minutes on the PP. Wojtek Wolski was on for just over 11 minutes.

Another night of the Avalanche winning the faceoff game. Frankly I prefer when they lose the face game but win the actual game but maybe that's just me. They were 51% in the circle with Stastny going 8 for 12 to negate Sakic going 4 for 12.

Shots were 21-15 in favor of the Avalanche. That's a low shootin' game to have 5 goals in it. Glad the Avalanche could be a part of it.

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap
TSN Recap

Avalanche Dowse Flames 4-1

I'm back. Not 100% yet but enough that I can do a write up or two to get my mind going again. It's amazing what 2 weeks of lying on a couch will do to your mental capacity.

This was a game I had to shell out $12.95 to watch on Flames PPV. With that cash, I was treated to a sloppy team in the Calgary Flames and a sloppy drunk in Theo Fleury, who was doing color commentary.

Ok, I can't say for sure if he was drunk but he took a long time to finish sentences and had trouble with words like "opportunities". But that's as much as I'll rag on Theo. He's had a life filled with crazy highs - last one I swear - and some pretty terrible lows.

First Period
This one started off looking like it might be a rough night. With the Flames on the PP and Theodore playing "snow angel", Alex Tanguay snagged the puck and roofed it for the first goal of the game. They later gave credit to Iginla for the goal but I didn't see Iginla touch it. Unless Iginla truly is that good that he can deflect pucks simply by being in their presence. Kind of like a black hole of suckitude.

You'd think the Flames at this point would turn things up and put the pressure on. Instead, they found themselves worrying more about keeping Ryan Smyth and the rest of the Avs away from Kiprusoff than from keeping the puck out of their net. Or clearing the puck. Or maintaining possession of the puck.

The Avs got their own PP goal to even things up late in the period. With Conroy in the box for the second time of the period, Joe Sakic found Andrew Brunette at the side of the goal. Joe rocketed a pass to Brunette and he buried it in the twine. Did they ever actually make goal nets out of twine?

The Flames ended the period a man down as Tanguay shot the puck over the glass. Roger Millions and Fleury figured that since it hit the camera, it shouldn't count. Well, since the camera is above the glass...well I think you can see where I'm going with this.

Second Period
The Flames came out flat and soft in this period and the Avalanche did their best to make them pay. Kiprusoff was up to the task for the most part and really kept his team in the game.

Halfway through the period though, the Avalanche were able to break through. Hejduk and Wolski went flying in and Wolski tipped a beauty Hejduk feed through Kipper's pads. Wolsk is flying lately and playing like a completely player. Goals, checking and backchecking. Great to see.

The Avs had two glorious chances to salt this one away early but Kiprusoff made two even more glorious saves. The first was an amazing glove save on Stastny which had everyone in the arena off their seats thinking it was a goal. He then proceeded to deny Andrew Brunette on an in tight chance by what appeared to be the ability to dislocate both his hips to get his toenail on the puck.

Third Period
The Wolski-Stastny-Hejduk line continued their domination this period and were able to get on the score sheet twice to finish this one off.

Just 45 seconds in, this line put on a beauty of a rush. These 3 were reading each other so well tonight I wondered if they had mic'd their helmets on a private frequency. Either that or they learned telepathy. They were passing behind each other, across the crease and finally into the back of the net. Just exciting hockey to watch when this line was on the ice.

Then about halfway through Stastny found himself wide open and staring into a wide open net. Wolski appeared to bat the puck back to him and Stastny made no mistake. That ended the night for Kiprusoff but through no fault of his own.

The Avalanche then fell back into defensive mode and looked like they actually knew what they were doing. At the end of the night, they had dealt the Flames their third straight 4-1 loss. Ouch. The Flames self-destructed in this one after about 10 minutes of decent effort.

Odds and Ends
- Guite plastered Phaneuf at least twice, once sending him flying from the blue line back to the red line
- Laperriere and Nystrom scrapped and Lappy got the worst of it (why was Parker dressed if he wasn't going to do this?)
- Lappy congratuled Matt Keetley on his first NHL save (it was a pretty decent one)
- Parker got a 10 minute misconduct at the end of the second but I wasn't privy to why

Stats
Dion Phaneuf finished at -2 on the night and I'd mark him as -4 for the two times Guite crushed him.

Liles and Clark put in the most minutes with 22:17 and 22:18 respectively. Liles had 6:46 of PP time. And no points to show for it.

The Wolski-Stastny-Hejduk line was a +9 collectively on the night. Hejduk had 3 assists, Stastny 2 assists and Wolski 1 goal and 2 assists. Clark and Sauer finished at +2

The Avs fired off 36 shots with 7 coming from Sakic's stick. Stastny had 5 and Liles had 4.

Story Time
I couldn't resist on this one as someone sent Theo Fleury a question asking about the point scoring race he had with Joe Sakic in juniors. In the WHL, Theo played for the Moose Jaw Warriors and Joe of course played with the Swift Current Broncos. These two had a long running rivalry in their time, particularly since the Broncos and Warriors were always rivals due to their proximity.

Well, my dad had season tickets to the Broncos from the minute they came back to Swift and we made that 50 minute trip more times than I can remember. The game Fleury referred to tonight was the one I remember most of all. Well, that and the game against the Raiders when there were 5 fights in the final 10 seconds. Friggin' PA I tell ya.

Now, here is where I may be fuzzy on a detail or two - I was only 8 at the time! - but I'll do my best.

Going into the game, Sakic and Fleury were tied in the point scoring race in the WHL with 150 each and all the buzz around the game was about who would walk away with the title. Nobody cared who won the game, it was all about the personal accolade for our hero. Obviously we all were rooting for Sakic, especially since Fleury was that little, tenacious, loud-mouthed bastard who everybody just hated with a passion. Ask me about the "It must have been your mom" comment if you want to hear what Theo was like on the ice. He knew how to get under players - and fans - skin.

The game ended up being an absolutely ridiculous game. The final score was 14-9 - at least that's what Theo said on the broadcast - with Fleury and Sakic matching each other point for point. Now I can't remember what time the final goal happened for the Broncos, but it was late in the game and everybody was on the edge of their seats. Joe needed one more point to claim the glory.

And as always, he didn't disappoint. It was an assist that put him over the top and as soon as that puck went in the net, the roof damn near blew off the Civic Center. Sure, the Broncos had won the game but by golly, Joe had won the scoring title. Never was that city more proud.

They didn't win the Memorial Cup that year but did manage to capture it the following year. By then Joe had moved on to the NHL but I'm sure he still played a part in that win.

Related Links
In the Cheap Seats Game Notes
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap
TSN Recap

Avalanche Toast Flames 3-2 in OT

I'm not feeling terribly well so this is going to be pretty quick.

First Period
Sakic scores on a great feed by Wolski from behind the net to make it 1-0.

Theodore makes a good save on a Tanguay break.

Tanguay gets another break, catches Theodore a bit off-center and buries it far side. Sauer was caught playing far too aggressively.

Second Period
The Flames strike early as Lombardi takes advantage of his speed and Jeff Finger's carelessness to strip Finger and put the puck past Theodore.

Third Period
I grow weary of the Sportsnet announcers saying you need to go high on Theodore. You need to go high on most goaltenders in the league so just shut up.

Just as a Tanguay penalty is about to expire, Svatos pokes home a rebound to tie the game. Good, dirty goal. I love it.

Overtime
Sakic and Smyth coast in on a 2-on-1. Sakic feeds a saucer to Smyth and he buries it.

Odds and Ends
- Sakic got his 1600th career point (100 against the Flames)
- Quenneville got his 400th win

Related Links
TSN Recap

Game Preview: Avalanche vs Flames

(Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

It's that time of the week again. Time to kick some Calgary Flames butt. The Avalanche (5-4-0) continue their 4-game roadtrip in Calgary (5-3-2) tonight following a 3-day layoff since their 4-2 win against Edmonton on Tuesday. Colorado won the last meeting between these two in a shootout after rallying from a 4-goal deficit. Let's hope, for the sake of all fans sanity, they don't wait until 4 goals in to pick up the pace.

The Flames are coming off a big come-from-behind win of their own. They were down 3-0 against the Wild, the stingiest defensive team in the league, when they broke through and scored 5 unanswered goals to win the game.

There were a couple interesting news stories leading up to the game today. I didn't get a chance to cover them individually as most of my time over the last few days has been spent sick on the couch so here they are.

Starting Goaltender
Jose Theodore gets the nod in goal tonight for...some reason. I can only guess that Q decided that since Theodore got the shootout win in relief last time, it must be a given that he'll be able to do even better tonight without the 4-goal spot. Seems (il)logical. Budaj had a good start against Edmonton so it's a bit confusing, though not surprising, to see the goalie shift. Dario over at In the Cheap Seats has a theory on how Q broke the news.

Leopold Injured
Ah, the redundancy of that headline. I should just put "Leopold" and everyone will understand. He has apparently hurt his hand and is back in Denver along with Karlis Skrastins. Sigh. I admit I had high hopes for Leopold this season. He's been quite a disappointment with his play and his glass-like fragility.

Hejduk Out
Milan Hejduk is likely to miss his third game tonight. The Denver Post reported he was likely, the Rocky Mountain News said unlikely, I'm going with the Rocky Mountain News as they had a Quenneville quote to back it up.

Start Time
The game starts at 9:00pm ET and is on Altitude and Sportsnet West. So I get the privilege of listening to Roger Millions tonight. Score! /sarcasm

Related Links
ColoradoAvalanche.com Preview
TSN Preview

Avalanche Win Barn Burner 5-4 in SO

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Tonight it was your typical Avalanche-Flames matchup and damn was it exciting! I don't know what it is about these two teams but they have some amazing games with back and forth action leading me to have tears of joy and tears of sorrow. Shouts of agony and shouts of joy. It's a good thing I'm young because I don't think my heart could take this if I was older.

Be prepared for a lot of reading.

First Period
Phew. I said it about the third period against the Blues but that distinction is now owned by this period. Worst. Period. Ever. The Avalanche looked like a bush league team with their miscommunication and turnovers. The period didn't actually start too terribly but 5 minutes in, it was becoming evident that the team wasn't here to play.

The Avalanche had some early chances against Kiprusoff but he was easily up to the test. The Avs then got a powerplay which was negated by a Sakic hook which was negated by an Erikkson trip. So it was a 4-on-3 for the Avs with Stastny and Liles on the point and Brunette and Smyth up front. They had a couple chances but couldn't get past the Flames D or Kiprusoff.

Ben Guite and Wyatt Smith were showing some energy early on for the team and had a good 2-on-1 but Kipper held them off. The Flames then headed in on a 2-on-2 and had much better results. Dion Phaneuf burned right past Leopold and made a beauty move on Budaj for the first goal of the game. I know it's Phaneuf and he's a defenseman but it was obvious he wasn't stopping so I'm not sure why Leopold let up on him. Leftover feelings from their time together in Calgary?

Scott Hannan then took his turn jumping into the play but hesitated way too long and Kiprusoff made an easy save. Surprising to see Hannan jumping in like that but he's been doing it a fair bit in the last couple games. Keep that in mind, it'll come to play again before the period is out.

The Flames then made it 2-0 off a strange play. The puck took a weird bounce off the boards - which it seemed to do all night tonight - and that seemed to screw everyone up. Once the smoke had cleared, Liles had slid into Budaj and Nilson had slid the puck under Budaj. Budaj had no chance as he was gloriously interfered with by his own player trying to make a snow angel.

Ryan and Smyth and Jaroslav Hlinka both had a couple bursts down the right wing but neither were able to cash in. The chances are all coming from far out and that's not how you're going to beat Kiprusoff. Edit: I will be proven wrong about this in the second period.

Budaj then made a huge glove save on a giveaway (didn't write down who and don't care to back up and find out) and he was pissed. As soon as the play was whistled, he tossed the puck towards the faceoff circle and went for a quick skate to cool down. None of the goals were his fault and it's easy to see why he was mad. The D is just running around and doing nothing in their own zone except coughing up the puck.

And as I was marking down about miscommunication, running around, etc, the Avs showed a great example. Sakic got the puck and wanted to start a rush so he reversed to Hannan and headed up ice. But Hannan, the only D back, was already starting to jump into the rush leaving Jarome Iginla about 10 seconds to decide how to beat Budaj. And if you give Iginla that much time, he'll beat ya. What was Hannan doing jumping into the rush already with just Sakic back? Think before you jump in. It was only 2-0 at that point so there should have been no panic to get a goal.

Terrible, terrible period. Oh, and they ended it while on the PK. Thumbs up guys!

Second Period
Terrible, terrible start to this period. Iginla is handed a free shot again and beats Budaj high blocker. That was the end of Budaj's night though it was no fault of his own. Theodore comes in, fans shudder, but the Avalanche respond in a huge way.

A mere 13 seconds after the Flames fourth goal, Svatos drives hard to the net, Smyth fires and the puck ends up bouncing in off Regehr who was fighting with Svatos for position. Again and again and again it's been said by myself and people smarter than myself. Go to the net and good things happen. Right from Tiny Tots hockey through to Midget - which is much larger than Tiny Tot though you wouldn't know it to hear it - through to the big leagues. Why do the big guys forget that aspect so often?

Parker and Godard then square off as Parker tries to keep the blood flowing through the Avs veins. Parker wins the uneventful fight with some body shots and a takedown. Godard looked resigned to having to take that fight.

Lappy and Guite then tag-teamed Phaneuf in the corner. Neither went for the puck, they just waited for Phaneuf to touch it so they could crunch him. I like to see that attitude. Except when it's Phaneuf doing it.

The Flames then pulled an Avalanche and gave the puck away deep in their own zone. Stastny fed Smyth but he was denied by the post. That didn't deter Smyth though as he got the puck back shortly after, fired it from outside the circle on Kiprusoff who made the save but the rebound bounced off Erikkson and in. Yep, 2 "own goals" by the Flames tonight but it was all from hard work by the Avalanche. And on a shot from the perimeter. Guess I'll eat my words.

And if you thought the Flames were done putting the puck in their own net, shame on you! Iginla took a double-minor for high-sticking Hannan and the Avs made them pay. Brunette took the puck down low, tried a feed to Smyth in front of the net and had it bounce off Aucoin who was defending against Smyth for position. So once again, hard work in front of the net pays off.

Brunette and Stastny had an amazing chance to tie it but Stastny sent the puck wide of an open net. Have no fear though! The Avalanche continued their hard work and were again rewarded. Wolski put in a great forechecking effort causing the puck to get coughed back to the blue line. Sauer's eyes lit up and he stepped into that puck with all his might and rocketed it past Kiprusoff.

So the Avs had a huge period of their own and took a 4-4 tie into the third period.

Third Period
The Avalanche came out working hard this period. The fourth line and first line were both putting some good pressure on the Flames with some solid forechecking and cycling.

Jarome Iginla took another penalty at the 5:42 mark but the Avalanche couldn't take advantage. The Flames nearly took advantage as Lombardi appeared to have a clear break but 37-year old Joe Sakic was able to catch up to him and strip the puck. I've said before how impressed I am with Lombardi's speed and Sakic was able to match him step for step.

The Avalanche then got trapped in their own end and took a penalty of their own but successfully killed it off. Theo has settled in to a groove by now and is playing fairly well positionally.

As soon as Lappy stepped out of the box, the Avs went on a 3-on-1. It was played perfectly by the Avalanche and even more perfectly by Kiprusoff who made a game-saving stop.

Then Kurt Sauer tried to mess things up. Matthew Lombardi went streaking down the right side and Sauer had no choice but to hook him. Well actually, he could have chosen to step in front of him and knock him on his ass. Anyways, thanks to some goaltending from Theodore and blocked shots from Guite, the Avalanche were able to take the game to OT for the first time this season.

Overtime
Overtime was a pretty measured chess match by both teams. Each team had opportunities but weren't taking any crazy changes. You could tell this one was headed to a shootout early. I was actually so into the game I really didn't have any notes written down for the 5-minute OT period.

Shootout
Wolski makes good on a gorgeous move. Kiprusoff bit on the backhandmove and he pulled it back to the forehand. Almost a reverse of the famous Forsberg move.

Phaneuf gets denied trying to go high blocker on Theodore.

Smyth went in and pulled the classic "open him up on the deke and through the five-hole" move.

Iginla had the game on his stick and he came through going over Theodore's left pad.

Then Sakic had the game on his stick and he...chokes! Ok, it wasn't a huge choke job but he had Kiprusoff beat after Kipper tried a poke check. He just lifted the puck high and wide.

And finally the game was on Tanguay's stick. He needed to score to extend the shootout but Theodore stuck with him the whole way and made the save.

It's a 5-4 come from behind shootout win at home!

Overall
The Avalanche came out terribly flat in the first but were able to rebound in a huge way. This was a huge, huge comeback win and should go a long way to defining the teams capabilities, will and determination. Sure, I'd prefer they not come out and suck horribly but now they won't panic when down early on as they know they can come back. Of course, that could backfire too but I'm staying optimistic.

Stastny had 3 assists and Smyth had 2 goals, both from rebounds that went in off Calgary players. I guess that's what the Sportsnet guys took into account when giving Phaneuf the third star of the game.

Hannan led the Avs in ice-time with 26:57. Paul Stastny was right behind him with 25:12 and Clark rounded out the top 3 with 25:00.

Stastny and Smyth were +2 and Svatos was +1, the only Avs players in the + category. Arnason was the worst with a -2.

The Avs won 49% of their faceoffs, thanks mostly to Stastny winning 64% of his 25 draws. Wyatt Smith was a measly 25% with 2 wins in 8 tries.

Notables
- Wolski had a great backcheck on Iginla to strip him of the puck
- this is rumoured to be McGeough's last season as a ref
- this was Cory Sarich's 394th consecutive game
- Brunette is right behind at 377
- Theodore should stop playing the puck
- Theodore is gold in shootouts
- Phaneuf is still a dick

The Good
- COMEBACK WIN!
- Wolski was backchecking, forechecking and strong on the puck (not sure why people think he should be sent down to the AHL)
- the fourth line worked hard all night
- the first line was dangerous on nearly every shift

The Bad
- coming out to a terrible, terrible start
- running around in defensive end too much
- taking shots from perimeter on Vezina-calibre goaltender
- giving up 3 goals in first period on your home turf

The Ugly
- deserting Budaj in the first period

Related Links
In the Cheap Seats Recap
Mile High Hockey Recap
Jerseys and Hockey Love Recap
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap
TSN Recap

Game Preview: Avalanche vs Flames

(AP Photo/Will Powers)

It's the first game of the year between two teams who found themselves entrenched in a playoff race for the ages last season. The Flames got in by 1 point - in case anyone had forgotten - and the Avalanche were stuck on the sidelines. They both hope to get off to a good start to avoid another race this season and this game could go a long way to swinging the tide for either team.

The Avalanche are coming off a big 5-1 win against Columbus Saturday night. And by "big" I'm talking point margin, not big as in they just beat Detroit or Ottawa (flame away at me if you must). However, the team was looking to be moving well, the line combinations seemed to be clicking, defensive assignments were being followed and they've got me feeling very optimistic about the game today.

A large part of my optimism lies with the line combinations coach Q went with against the Jackets. He moved Wolski back up with Sakic and Brunette while bumping Hlinka down to the third line with Arnason and Svatos, leaving with Smyth with Stastny and Hejduk. Those are exactly the lines that about 99% of Avalanche fans were hoping for during the off-season. If only the staff would read the blogs, read the forums and answer my phone calls, then we wouldn't have had to sit through 4 games of line tinkering.

With the new lines, Sakic netted a hat trick, Hedjuk potted two goals and an assist, Brunette and Wolski both had 2 assists and Smyth and Stastny each had an assist. Smyth also contributed on two other goals but there is no stat tracked for "distracting the goaltender". Yes, it was against the Jackets but it was also against a hot goaltender in Pascal Leclaire while coming off a tough loss to St. Louis the night before.

Peter Budaj gets the call in net tonight which hopefully comes as no surprise to anybody. Jordan Leopold will also be in the lineup after sitting a couple games with a hip injury. Let's hope this game against the Flames doesn't end with another broken wrist for Jordan. *knocks wood* As for who will sit on D, I'd prefer to have Skrastins sit again but odds are Finger will be the one watching from the press box.

The Flames got off to a slow start but are on a 2-game win streak after a 3-2 comeback win against the Stars Friday followed by a 7-4 win against the Predators on Saturday. Miikka Kiprusoff has not posted up Kipper-like numbers with a 3.33 GAA and .875 save percentage but it's only a matter of time before those start to improve. Meanwhile, Daymond Langkow is off to a great start with 5 goals and 2 assists in 5 games.

Both teams have been off since their respective Saturday night wins. The Avalanche are still perfect at home this season and were 5-3-0 against the Flames last season. Hopefully my "the more things change" philosphy takes a hiatus tonight.

Colorado - 3-2-0, 2nd in NW, 6th in West
Calgary - 2-2-1, 4th in NW, 10th in West

BREAKING UPDATE: According to the game notes, Mick McGeough will be one of the refs. Set your phasers to "STUNNED!" in anticipation of a crazy call or two tonight.

Related Links
ColoradoAvalanche.com Preview
Mile High Hockey Preview
Oft-Injured Leopold Ready to Return
Svatos Hustles to Make his Point
Sakic Receives NHL Foundation Player Award