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

Avalanche 3 - Rangers 1 - Prologue Edition

I am staring at my giant new 24" Samsung monitor, typing on my new Microsoft Arc keyboard, caressing my new Microsoft Arc mouse and, more importantly, sitting at my newly reconstituted desk. I'm also dreading my next credit card bill but that's besides the point.

Back in 2002, the first thing I did when I was hired out of university was to purchase a gorgeous L-shaped desk for my command center. I spent most at that desk writing programs, writing poetry and writing content. I also ate there, read there, watched TV there and at times I literally slept at my desk. It grew into an extension of myself.

Skip to two years ago and my girlfriend and I were moving back into an apartment for reasons I won't elaborate on but some of you may be aware of. Coming from a townhouse we had too many things to fit in the apartment and some things had to go. The final choice we had to make was between setting up my desk or having a kitchen table. The kitchen table won and I put the desk in storage.

Fast forward to last Friday and I was dying. Figuratively. I felt creatively dead - I had for a long time - and I had no idea what was wrong. So I started running through all the reasons this could have happened.

Had my recent health issues changed me on a more fundamental level than just physical health? Was I so burnt out from what I went through that there was simply no energy left for free thought outside of work? Was my brain already digitally re-wired and I was just a consumption machine? Was I simply past my creative prime?

None of those felt true and then it hit me - it was my desk. A cradle of creativity where I could sit, free of suffocation. No laptop buring my lap. A structure open yet contained. Inviting, comforting, secure. It's my zen garden.

So on Saturday we ditched the kitchen table and I set up my desk again. The last time I changed any hardware (monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer, lamp, etc) was back in 2003 and I felt it was time to refresh for 2010. I already had the new computer so the rest was academic.

Today, I sit here a contented man. The creativity? It's coming back.

Does this mean I will be posting more often and with more insight than the twitter-style commentary I've done recently? I hope so. But if not, we'll always have this story.

For tonight, I think I've held up your time long enough so I'll again share a few twitter-style comments on the Avalanche's 3-1 win over the Rangers and call it a blog post.

Twoughts*
*(You know, like a short form of "Twit-thoughts"...wait, I just said it out loud and that's not good...)

Johnny Liles is now 32 points away from 40. The question now isn't will he hit 40, it's will he hit 40 in 40?

Chris Stewart's expression after scoring goals is priceless. And we got to see it twice today.

Both those goals were on the powerplay. Weird.

How badly does Kyle Quincey want to forget his performance tonight?

Does the Rangers not having Marian Gaborik, Chris Drury or Vinny Propsal take anything away from tonight's victory? Hell no.

I love ice-level sounds and caught the following conversation snippet during a whistle: "...for the last 20 f'n years, bud. You won't last." I can only presume it was Adam Foote talking...but to whom? Stepan, maybe?

Have you all watched Tweet It?

Related Links
NHL Boxscore
AP Story
DP Recap
MHH Recap
Put It On Ice Recap
Burgundy Blog Recap
Aaron @ HockeyBuzz Recap

Avalanche 4 - Blackhawks 3, Late Review Edition

It was a good start to the season last night and you can already get a glimpse at some promising -and some troubling - developments. I'm going to reel off some thoughts and forgo a more eloquent recap. But to make it seem like I did put thought into this, I'll group things into the "promising" and "troubling" categories.

Troubling
The Avs strategy without the puck still seems to be "chase the puck". It didn't work well last year and it doesn't look like it will do any better this year. Time to fix it.

Slow start, great middle, terrible end - this apparently hasn't changed from last year. It makes for nail-biting finishes but it's super stressful. Quit giving up the lead!

You remember during the MHH roundtable how a lot of us talked about how this team had toughness but nobody knew about it? Where the hell was that last night? They may not be the biggest team but they've got at least show they've got a pair. Anderson shouldn't have to defend himself, guys shouldn't be allowed to get close enough to bother him. And what was with Scott shoving Duchene around and getting away with it? I know he's a big guy but you can't let that precedent be set.

Where was Brandon Yip last night? Vacation? Did he stay at a Holiday Inn Express at least?

Promising
Johnny Liles is just 38 points away from hitting 40 on the season.

Paul Stastny owned that game~ He's always been the quiet guy who just GSD (got $#!^ done) but last night he was extremely noticeable. It looks like he's about to take a step forward in his development and possible become a dominant force.

Chris Stewart is a beast. A beast with silky soft hands. He is going to be so fun to watch this season.

Milan Hejduk is aging extremely well. If his knee can hold up, he should have a good year. It doesn't seem like he's lost much in terms of speed and he still has some of the best hands in the NHL.

Ryan O'Reilly is looking sharp early on. Can he have as good a start to this season as last season?

How about Matty Duchene taking control and setting up the game winning goal? Hell yeah!

Oh and how about the enthusiasm he showed after the goal? He was celebrating all the way to the locker room. That's going to be infectious for the team and it's clearly a good thing.


Final thought
Starting the season with a win on home ice is always nice. Against the defending champs makes it that much sweeter. Let's hope they can ride that momentum into...Monday?! Monday? Damn, that's a long wait.

To my Canadian friends, enjoy Thanksgiving weekend!

Avalanche 2 - Canucks 800; Game Thoughts

The new third jerseys are cursed and should never be worn again.

And I'll never trash talk Roberto Luongo again because he apparently reads this blog and was not happy with my cockiness.

Stupid karma.

Game 1 Highlights: Avalanche 5 - Sharks 2

I'll try and get up an actual post tomorrow, but for now here are some quick hits.

Sakic ceremony had me pinch out a couple tears, particularly the locker stall enshrinement. Well done by the organization.

Matt Duchene is ffffffast, but he needs to strengthen up to fight in front of the net and along the boards better.

Wolski looks awake more so than in previous years. I'm liking it.

Who figured "crash the net" could be sound strategy? I was almost getting to like the cycle-but-don't-score strategy.

Galiardi was out a lot on the PK, the most of any forward by far. Sacco is showing confidence in the kids and I'm liking that, too.

Seeing Kyle Quincey play makes me feel much better about the Ryan Smyth trade. Dude was a beast! Ice-time is indicating #1 d-man status and he deserved it.

Was anybody else reminded of this goal on Cody Mac's goal off the rebound from Stewie?

Stastny pulled a Forsberg with his behind-the-back from behind the net out to Wolski. I was getting reminded of a lot of things tonight it seems.

Ryan O'Reilly got his first NHL point before Matt Duchene did. Oh snap!

And hey, Craig Anderson didn't let in any weak goals! Huzzah!

Check out the game highlights below from NHL.tv.

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.

Avs Trounced By Ducks, Lose 7-2

I stopped off at the grocery store on my way home from work to grab some chicken and ended up leaving with milk and a mini watermelon. It was seedless so I was instantly sold. I still get leery of having a watermelon plant growing inside me if I accidentally swallow one. It could happen.

When I got home, the girlfriend was tuned in to American Idol so I unpacked the leftovers from lunch, put away the milk, pretended to give birth to the mini-watermelon (as my way of introducing the gf to the cute little thing) and settled in to the couch to catch some Simon quips. Boy, Adam lit it up tonight! Hopefully Megan is going home tomorrow. She's hot but no superstar in the making.

3-0.

I sat around and thought about stuff for a while. Do you think free will can exist even if our lives are predetermined? Some folks do but it made my head hurt so I closed all those tabs and burned them in effigy. Then I read about this "recession thing" that's going down. Sounds serious.

5-0.

I found mold on some bread so I tossed it. Then I got a craving for some toast, necessitating trip #2 to the grocery store. I came back with bread, honey, sliced almonds, butter and two apples. See, while I was there I decided I wanted to make an apple pie. Of course I forgot to get some oats and I just didn't have a third trip in me today. Tomorrow shall be the day.

6-1.

I checked out the scores of the other games and noticed that the Sharks-Hawks game was not 5-3 Hawks in the 3rd. I smelled a comeback so quickly tuned in. Devon Setoguchi and Joe Thornton scored in the final five minutes to tie it up. How excited must Sharks fans have been! Unfortunately for them, the Hawks won in a shootout. I wonder if Joel Quenneville will switch to Cristobal Huet after uncharacteristically declaring Nikolai Khabibulin as "the man"?

Bethany twitted "I wonder who the Avs will put in for the third?" and that got me thinking of how awesome it would be if the NHL was run like the WWE.

Mike Haynes: This team is getting beaten like a rented mule!
Peter McNab: My goodness, Mike! I'm surprised they're even standing after that thrashing. It's unbelievable the heart this team has against this evil Ducks squad.
Mike Haynes: To pull out a win here, it's going to take a miracle!
Peter McNab: There's only one man who can give them that, Mike.

*cue the music*

7-1.

Fans rise out of their seats...the music picks up to a crescendo as the chorus kicks in. And then the Avalanche appear led by...Patrick Roy!

Mike Haynes: Stone Cold! Stone Cold! The Rattlesnake! I mean....Patrick Roy! Patrick Roy! He's back! Business is about to pick up!
Peter McNab: I can't believe my eyes! The Anaheim Ducks have turned tail and left the arena!
Mike Haynes: They left quicker than a hiccup!

The fans swarm the ice, hoping for one touch by their saviour...

Of course, the sad truth is that even Patrick Roy couldn't save this team. And if he did, he certainly wouldn't do it to the tune of Huey Lewis.

Sorry I didn't do much for a recap but I figure if the team doesn't give a shit, why should I?

7-2.

Avalanche-Sharks Afterthoughts

The Avalanche lost to the Sharks but they did it the right way. They tried. As simple as that sounds, it's something the team has not done all too often this year.

On Sunday, they faced the (now) top team in the league and showed flashes of what this team could have been this season. Not a contender, but a team that can hold their own every night.

And though I'm a bit late to the party, I thought I'd share a few thoughts on the game.

Just like the economy
This team collapses all too readily. I know I'm harping on it but I think it's one of the key problems in the defensive "system" that the team employs.

Far too often the wingers are finding themselves caught heading deep into the zone as they follow the puck rather than covering an open man. I'll grant that on a rush, things can get a bit harried as the opposition breaks into the zone. And it doesn't help if the center on your line has decided to forgo backchecking.

But that doesn't absolve them of their responsibility once the rush has slowed and everybody is back in the zone. Now's the time to cover your d-man and help on the breakout. Don't just take it from me, take it from Milan Hejduk who on more than one occasion was directing T.J. Galiardi to cover the Sharks left defenseman rather than heading deep.

Just like OJ
This team has trouble breaking out. However there were a couple notable instances where they shed the "flying I" and went for "triangle of danger" (patent pending)

In this scenario, the left-side defenseman comes from behind the net and carries the puck up the ice. Near the Avs blueline, they fire a pass to a streaking right winger who is close to the opponents blueline. While this is happening, the center is racing up the middle of the ice and the left-wing starts to angle in as well (thus forming a triangle...get it? get it?)

The right-wing can either carry the puck into the zone or feed to the center or left-wing. But the key thing to happen at this point is that all forwards maintain speed in heading towards the net. This will pressure the defenders, possibly causing them to collapse too deep. At this point, it's a judgement call. The puck carrier can either fire a shot on net or drop it back to a trailing defenseman who one-times one towards the net.

Either way, what happens here is a quick transition which puts pressure on the opponents as well as generating not just a shot, but a chance at a tip or rebound opportunity since all the forwards were driving the net.

Of course this won't be possible on every breakout but when the opportunity arises (ie. the opponents peel off for a line change after a dump-in), the Avs need to strike and strike fast.

They showed they have the skills to pull this off. They just need it to be part of the gameplan.

Walk tall and carry...
A big stick. I don't want this to come off all creepy but does Evgeni Nabokov not use a ridiculously long stick?

Byngin it home
Patrick Marleau took what was his ninth minor penalty of the season as he clipped Cody Mcleod while trying to jump past him. Given where Martin St. Louis and Pavel Datsyuk are in the points race combined with their 10 and 20 PIMs respectively, I don't see Marleau walking away with the Byng. But he should be in the picture.

Steaming along
The Cheechoo train found itself derailed (groan) early in the game as he caught Lawrence Nycholat from behind, injuring Nycholat and gaining Cheechoo a 5-minute major and game misconduct. I think it was an unfairly assessed game misconduct but I'm also a big proponent of eliminating any hit from behind so I guess I have to stick to my guns on this one.

Down goes Staubitz!
Brad Staubitz delivered a head shot to Ryan Smyth and John-Michael Liles took exception. The diminuitive Liles immediately grabbed Staubitz and ended up tossing him to the ice.

"Big deal", you say. Well, given that Staubitz is 6'1, 210lbs and recently destroyed Jordin Tootoo, you've got to admire Liles for having no qualms about sticking up for his teammates. That's the kind of play that brings a team together.

I'll take "penalty" for $1000, Alex
The Avalanche pulled Raycroft down 2-1 with about 1:30 left in the game. And then they got a huge break from the referees.

The Sharks fired the puck out of their zone but it was well wide of the net and prime for an icing call. Until you say that the race was between Scott "Minister of Defense" Hannan and Marleau. I would wager that Marleau is in the top-10 in the league for speed and Hannan is...well...not so much. And given how much time Hannan has spent with Marleau, you know he knew that too.

So he did what anyone would do. He grabbed Marleau's arm and held on for dear life. They arrived at the boards at the same time but both whiffed on the puck, leaving the trailing Avalanche player to touch up for the icing.

And when Marleau turned to the refs and said "That's holding!", I couldn't help but agree. It wasn't even a missed call, it was simply a no-call. If the Avs had scored to tie the game, the Sharks and their fans would be justifiable in their anger.

I would have been ecstatic. But there would have been a twinge of guilt, I swear.

Related Links
MHH Recap
The Greatest - Aaron resurface to end the Roy vs Brodeur debate
Frei: Is it time to toast Sakic - the RMN is done, no need to keep fishing for hits
Jib meets AD and the world didn't asplode! Jib's account here, AD's here

Avalanche Downed by Canucks, Lose 4-2

When your team goes down 3-0 by the end of the first period, what is there to say? "They were tired"? "Vancouver was rested"? "It was a late game"? I don't buy any of that.

The Avalanche just weren't prepared to play in the first 20 minutes. When you play the night before, you actually need more of a warmup the next day to get your body ready to fight. Instead, it appeared that the Avalanche woke from a nap that ended about 5 minutes before puck drop, just in time to toss on the pads and skates and see who their opponent was.

John-Michael Liles in particular was looking quite dreadful to start the game. After Alexander Edler ran Chris Stewart face first into the boards, the Avs had what the announcers called a "power play." It was anything but.

Liles had the puck at the point and tried to make a pass with Alexandre Burrows stick a mere inch away from his own. Shockingly, Burrows intercepted the pass, streaking in on surprise starter, Andrew Raycroft with about ten steps on Liles. Lucikly, Burrows got denied by the post but not to worry, the fun wasn't done.

Liles picked up the puck, carrying it along the left boards where he was then rubbed out by Ryan Kesler. Kesler then broke into the Avs zone but was knocked off the puck by Milan Hejduk. The puck ended up in Liles skates and in classic comedic style, he couldn't get a handle on it. Kesler centered it to Burrows who was initially denied by Raycroft but thanks to Wojtek Wolski forgetting he was playing defense, he was able to grab his own rebound and put it into an empty net.

That put the Canucks up 2-0 on the backs of a powerplay goal and a shortie. Taylor Pyatt then completed the trifecta with an even strength goal while Avs fans everywhere picked up the "Tavares or Hedman?" debate.

Luckily, Vancouver came out looking a bit listless - overconfident perhaps? - in the second period and the Avalanche were able to put one past Bobba Lou, on the powerplay no less! And then thanks to a miscue by Lou to start the third period, Darcy Tucker was able to bang home his eighth goal of the season. It was an interesting goal as Tucker shot it from behind the net while Luongo was racing back in. The puck ended up sticking to Luongo's outside skate and as he rotated to find it, he swung it into the net. And we had a one-goal game and renewed hope!

Alas, it was not to be. A phantom hi-sticking call on Ben Guite put the Canucks on the powerplay with a little over two minutes left in the game. In other words, the Avs needed to score a shortie or they were done. And done they were as Alexander Edler nabbed his ninth of the year to make it a two-goal game.

I think the best part of the phantom call to seal the game came this morning from Tony Gallagher (via Kukla) who complained that the referees kept Colorado in the game by parading the Canucks to the penalty box after they went up 3-0. Yeah, that seven second 5-on-3 was a bitch, wasn't it? And Henrik Sedin getting called for a pretty obvious trip at the tail end of a Canucks powerplay was a horribly biased call. And when Edler put the puck over the glass? What kind of crap call was that? Bad referees. Bad, bad, bad.

Random thoughts
Wingers still go deep in our zone, leaving the points open to keep the cycle going. I'm not even a friggin' coach, let alone a defensive coach, and I can see that as a problem.

Marek Svatos hasn't looked too hot playing with Stastny the last couple games. He's been pretty soft on the puck and has actually been trying to carry it too much. He's not a stickhandler, he's a sniper.

AD mentioned that Peter Budaj would get the start but I guess Tony G was trying to trick the Canucks as he went with Andrew Raycroft instead. Interesting strategy. If only the name "Andrew Raycroft" struck fear in opponents hearts rather than inducing laughter.

After last night, I now believe that Scott Hannan is incapable of scoring. He simply can't do it. He had two chances tonight, the second being a wide open cage and he couldn't put it home. Don't feel bad, Scott. We don't expect you to score. Even if it's an empty net. But it would be nice.

From the Announcers
I had the Canucks feed tonight and had the announcers tuned out about five minutes in. But I did catch a couple notables.

Darcy Tucker is 34 but the way he's playing this year, could be 44

Sad but true. Though he has looked much better playing on a grind line rather than a scoring line.

...taken away by Stastny who was in perfect position

Just say "taken away by Stastny", the rest is redundant.

Related Links
MHH Canucks-Avalanche Game Recap
Early errors cost Avs in road loss (Denver Post)

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 Down Wild in SO, Win 2-1

Cody McCormick = steel. As in balls. Steel balls. Because that's what you would need to take on Godzilla on skates. But that's exactly what McCormick did tonight as he lined up with John Scott just two minutes into the third period.

At first I thought "Who the hell is John Scott?" Then the announcers gave us the guys numbers. 6'8", 260lbs. And I thought "Sweet jeebus, I hope he doesn't kill Cody." But in the end, it was McCormick that got a hold of Scott and gave him a Rock Bottom to the ice. The Avs should get boosted to the top of the standings based on that performance.

But the Avalanche did walk away with two points tonight on the heels of a shootout dominated by Wojtek Wolski and Milan Hejduk. Wolski scored first on a classic Wolski move with a twist. Then Hejduk one-upped him. You had to run the replay in slow-motion just to see Hejduk's stickhandling prowess but it was beautiful. If ninjas could stickhandle, that's what it would look like.

I know I've been absent for a while and frankly it's because the passion died off a bit. The team didn't help but life kind of kicked my ass for a while. Thankfully I took care of that and am back for the stretch run.

Can they make the playoffs? Hell no. Can they save Granato's job? Maybe. Can they at least try to go out with a bang instead of a whimper? I sure as hell hope so.

Either way, let's try and have a little fun with what's been one of the worst years in franchise history. And they used to be the friggin' Nordiques!

Related Links
NHL.com Boxscore

Avalanche Fall to Islanders, Lose 4-2

The New York Islanders, the worst team in the league, outplayed the Colorado Avalanche tonight. And by what I felt was a large margin. So what does that make the Avalanche? Don't answer.

Jon Sim? First three-goal game of his career. Jesse Joensuu? First goal of his career. Shane Giroux? First embolism of his life.

What does this team need for motivation? Heading into this game they had lost four in a row and looked abysmal while doing so. Coach Granato runs the team through a hard practice, Ryan Smyth calls the current situation misery and...nothing. No spark.

The only bright spot is that this could be enough to make Giguere wake up and realize that he can't simply write this season off due to injuries. Joe Sakic is the only regular still riding the pine and the team continues to look utterly confused on the ice.

There were times where Cody Mcleod - playing as a winger - was behind the Avalanche goal chasing an Islanders forward. Now, this might be some newfangled approach to defense that I've never heard of, but when was the last time a defensive coach told his wingers "Yeah, go deep in the zone. Don't worry about covering the point or helping us break out of the zone. Fuck it, we're trying something new!"

My TV is shuddering in a corner after the expletives I treated it too tonight.

But congrats to Ryan Smyth on sticking it to the boo-birds with a two-goal night. Suck it, NY. He's our slightly overpriced forward.

D-day
The Kings, Coyotes and Avalanche are the three official "sell! sell! sell!" teams in the West to go along with the Senators, Lightning, Thrashers and Islanders in the East. Seven teams selling, 23 teams buying. I like those odds.

Deals will go down on Wednesday and while I still fully expect Ryan Smyth to stick around, I'm getting nervous about Ian Laperriere. I really hope Lappy is here after the 3:00pm ET bell on Wednesday and I hope Giguere gives him the two years he's looking for quick, fast and in a hurry.

But hey, who needs leadership when you've got competent coaching, right?

Avalanche Shut Out by Devils, Lose 4-0

Welcome back, Marty. Hope you enjoyed the stay. If you need anything else, let us know. We are but your doormats.

Related Links
Avalanche-Devils Boxscore

Avalanche Crunch Caps, Win 4-1

(AP)

Stick it to em, José.

Avalanche Take Season Series Against Red Wings, Win 6-5

(AP)

Damn, that felt good!

The Avalanche took down the Winged Wheel by a score of 6-5 in a game that needed 5 shootout rounds to decide the winner.

For those counting, that's 3-0 against the Evil Empire this season. Yep, the team sitting last in the Western Conference was able to take down one of the best teams in the league three out of three times and has officially taken the season series regardless of what goes down on March 4th.

Ain't that just a kick in the pants?

Recap
Ian Laperriere scored just 16 seconds into the first period and Wings and Avs fans alike were shocked. If anyone would score first, you'd think it would be the Wings loaded offense against a 3.00+ GAA goaltender in Andrew Raycroft.

The remainder of the first period was fairly sloppy. Nearly as sloppy as Chris Osgood's puck handling abilities. The Avalanche killed off the first of their three 5-on-3 situations - conspiracy my ass, Wings fans - and headed in to the locker room with a 1-0 lead.

The second period opened with the Lappy line and once again, they didn't disappoint. They pushed the puck deep into the Wings zone and then Laperriere got in front of Osgood to help create havoc in front of him, allowing a Ruslan Salei point shot to find the twine.

2-0 and the feelings of "Is this real life?" were starting to kick in.

The question was quickly answered with four penalties, two 5-on-3 sequences and two Red Wings PP goals in the span of 2 1/2 minutes. Tack on a beauty Marian Hossa goal at 8:58 and real life was rearing its ugly head with a 3-2 Wings lead.

Then the third period started and everyone was thinking "It can't happen again." But happen it did. Andreas Lilja took a penalty just nine seconds into the period which ended at the 1:01 mark when Marek Svatos got a stick on a Wojtek Wolski shot to even things up at 3-3.

Marian Hossa put the Wings up 4-3, Ben Guite tied it up. Jiri Hudler put the Wings up 5-4, Milan Hejduk tied it up. Who would have thought the Avs would have the gumption to keep battling back against the Wings?

The Avalanche held off a late onslaught from the Wings to take it to OT. An OT which proved fairly uneventful so it was off to a shootout.

I won't detail all the shooters since it went five rounds, but suffice to say that Wolski is still money and when Leopold scored to end it, I leaped out of my chair with more joy than should be afforded to simply cheering for the winning team in a sporting event.

Tonight, I'm going to revel in the honeymoon phase of this win. Because when I wake up tomorrow, it will be to a bleak, uncertain future.

Boo-ya!

(AP)

Random Thoughts
The Avalanche still get undisciplined when caught for an extended time in their own zone. The wingers leaving their d-men to go "help out" leaves a wide-open cycle game for the opposition.

The Hossa or Franzen question should be answered by now. If it has to be one, it has to be Hossa.

The Wings announcers were bemoaning the "bounces not going their way" early in the first period. I guess it's not just Granato. It's merely a common refrain from the losing team.

But hey, what can you expect from an announcing squad who sound like they're on downers all game long? Here's some gems:

"Probably a hold on Colorado." - Nope, Interference on the Wings.
"It's a 2-2 tie." - Nope, it was 3-2 at that point
"Wings have three games in hand on the Sharks." - Nope, Sharks have three in hand on the Wings.

Please, please, please let me have the Altidudes next game. At least they have energy and factual statements.

The conspiracy theories should be able to be put to bed after Mikael Samuellson jumped on Ben Guite, ground his face into the ice, then popped up scot-free to help create a screen on the 5-4 goal. If that one had stood up to be the winner, I would have been pissed. But I wouldn't have blamed Bettman.

But hey, Ruslan Salei got away with a high stick in the final minutes so...conspiracy back on!

Line of the night
Ian Laperriere, CodyMcCormick and Ben Guite were the line of the night tonight. Granato wisely opened the first two periods with that crew and they rewarded him both times with early goals.

Not content with just scoresheet contributions, they drew a penalty which led to the Avs third goal and were busting their asses all night.

If Giguere wants to trade Lappy, I won't be happy unless a first-rounder comes over to the Avs.

And I would guess Guite didn't appreciate being benched in favor of players like Darcy Tucker and Tyler Arnason. Hopefully he's shown Granato that he should stay in the lineup.

Goaltender of the night
No question here, Andrew Raycroft gets the nod with a 40-save performance. But it's not like Chris Osgood gave him any competition with his own 23-save performance.

I still find Andrew Raycroft overplays a lot of shots but who am I to complain when he gets the job done?

On conspiracies and injuries
You know what, I'll just let the headline speak for itself.

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
Avs beat Red Wings, again

Avalanche Shut Out by Blue Jackets, Lose 3-0

Season. Over.

Avalanche Schooled by Blues, Lose 4-1; Hejduk Fine

Is there still any debate on what the Avalanche should do at the deadline?

After a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues, anybody who still thinks the Stanley Cup is a possibility is deluding themselves.

And if a Cup run is not on the table, then what the hell are the Avs aiming for?

Yes, Paul Stastny will be back soon. Yes, Joe Sakic will (hopefully) be back in a little over a month. Yes, Adam Foote should return.

But all the players in the world won't solve the lack of identity this squad has displayed night in and night out this season. If only Avs management had heeded Tapeleg's warning (scroll way, way down).

A "Cinderella run" is not in the cards for the Avalanche. I'd stake my house on that.

Hejduk in
The only good news to come out of that debacle is that Milan Hejduk did not break his jaw. He practiced today and will be back in the lineup for Tuesday's game against Columbus.

Foote out
Adam Foote won't be in the lineup which will piss off all the Columbus fans, no doubt. I understand the anger to a point and wish Foote would just play - or at least take the warmup skate - so the fans can boo themselves out and get it over with.

Mason out
Steve Mason was placed on the IR with mononucleosis and though I feel for Mason, I'm happy the Avs won't have to face him.

I remember my doubt two years ago when Team Canada went with Steve Mason over Jonathon Bernier in the gold medal game of the World Juniors. I remember the controversy after Bernier's remarks - which actually cemented my acceptance of the decision - and the fan debate leading up the game.

The debate ended after Canada won and though Mason didn't have to play exceptional, he got it done.

In his short NHL career, he's played exceptionally and I hope he's able to keep it up.

But dude, don't try and play goal with mono!

Who needs a wing man?
In the most important news of the day, Wojtek Wolski has been named as one of Denver's top singles.

But what about John-Michael Liles? How is he going to take this snub?

Rumor is that Wolski and Liles will have a dance-off to determine who the real top model is on this team.

Avalanche vs Leafs Game Thoughts

My thoughts on this game are going to be a bit disjointed as I watched most of the first period at my place, about half of the second at my uncles and most of the third back at home.

Smyth responds to Toskala
I'll start off with the funniest one.

When Smyth got his garbage goaltender interference call, he was down on one knee arguing with the ref when Vesa Toskala turned and said something to him.

Smyth got a funny look on his face for a split second and promptly responded.

You couldn't hear what he said but I started laughing immediately.

My girlfriend asked "What? What did he say?"

So I rewound and let her follow his lips.

The first two words were hard to make out but the ending made it perfectly clear that his response to Toskala was "Shut the f@$k up"

The Duke gets shafted again
After Milan Hejduk read my blog* and found out that he was shafted from the Top 10 Czech list, he decided to prove my point.

And he would have netted a hat trick had it not been for the aforementioned garbage goaltender interference call on Smyth.

But even with just two goals, Hejduk showed why his exclusion from that list was an egregious oversight.

And that ought to fill up my quota of big words quite nicely.

Schenn is schenn-sational
See, I can play the cheesy headline card just as well as the MSM. But they probably pulled that one already meaning I ripped it off from them. Damnit.

I love Luke Schenn. When the Leafs drafted him, it made me sad.

He is going to be a staple of their blueline for years to come and the Leafs should be thankful they have him.

But his big hit on Ryan Smyth, causing Smyth to contort like Gumby? It was interference.

Finger lickin' good
Was it just me or did it seem like Jeff Finger was on the ice for every Toronto goal?

Darcy Tucker and Andrew Raycroft might want to take notes on how to properly face off against your former team.

It's getting tiresome
Can they whine any flippin' more?

At some point you need to STFU and get on with your life.

Unless your life is just being a whiny bitch.

Are you there, Clark? It's me, Shane.
Geez, what the hell was Brett Clark doing last night?

How about that one goal where he took it from behind the net - albeit in a slightly bad spot set up by Raycroft - and then essentially handed it off to Jason Blake (I believe) so he could pot one past his old teammate?

I'm curious if he blacked out for a second there because that is not a play that an NHL player - let alone one making $3.5M - should be making.

Block all the damn shots you want, but don't hand out goals on a silver platter every other shift.

Spark the sizzle?
The Montreal Canadiens are in a bit of a slump.

It's been enough to cause soft-spoken Carey Price to softly drop the F-bomb during a post-game interview.

And he supposedly tossed his equipment bag across the room.

And then he kicked a bunny rabbit in the face.

Maybe not that last part.

AD mentioned a couple weeks back that he'd like to see some fire from Peter Budaj when things aren't going well.

He got taken to task because people thought he was asking for a Patrick Roy clone.

I think he was just asking for the Budaj - and the rest of the team - to look like they actually give a crap about losing and won't accept it.

Stop slumping your shoulders, stop bitching about injuries and quit complaining about bad breaks.

Stand up, grow a set and go play a brand of hockey that will make your fan base - and yourself - proud.

In other words, shut up and win.

*I have no knowledge of whether Hejduk did or did not read my blog. But I'm guessing he didn't.

Avalanche Pasted by Leafs, Lose 7-4

Season over.

More to come tomorrow once I dry the tears.

Avalanche Jobbed by BJs, Lose 4-3

(AP)

A low-scoring game exploded into a high-scoring affair in the span of less than four minutes.

The Avalanche scored in the final three minutes of the first but were answered by the Blue Jackets in the final two minutes of the second. I was half-asleep in my chair.

The third period started with me in the kitchen on a tangent about vitamins B12 and D (which I'm sure my girlfriend appreciated).

Then the goal horn went off.

Then the crowd went silent.

Then the goal horn went off again. And again.

From 1-1 to 4-2 Columbus in under three minutes.

Then the Columbus feed cut to some sort of infomercial with Mike Peca and by the time they cut back, the Avs had cut the lead to one while on the powerplay.

Note to producers: don't allow a lame, pre-taped vignette to take time away from the game. Especially while one team is on the powerplay. But especially never.

The least you could do is inset the bloody game so we can watch what we paid to see.

In the end, the Avs got a little sloppy, the BJs capitalized and there wasn't enough time for the Avalanche to recover.

Quick Thoughts
Why does Darcy Tucker have a perma-scowl on his face? And why does he continue to act like a fool on the ice? I'm tired of him.

Granato doesn't appear to feel the same way. He had Tucker out on the ice with just over a minute left in a one-goal game.

Steve Mason was very un-Mason-like tonight but he still got the job done. Oh what it must feel like to have a blue-chip goaltending prospect playing like a Vezina winner 95% of the time.

Brett Clark fired a slapshot at Mason from beyond the red line with a full six seconds left on the clock. Genius. It's what's for dinner.

John-Michael Liles laid out Derek Dorsett in the 2nd. I want to see that side of Liles more often.

Kristian Huselius was a fantasy stud for me tonight with one goal, two assists and a +2 rating. But it's a hollow victory.

Andrew Raycroft lost. Did you know that was allowed?

Related Links
Avs lose 4-3 at Columbus