The Rebuild Begins

It was the trade heard 'round the world. The Ryan Smythtrade signaled the end of an era for the Avalanche. An era that included greatness, dominance and glory coupled with a steep fall from grace which included shame, ridicule and frustration.

Now, it's time for Paul Stastny. Time for Chris Stewart. Time for T.J. Galiardi. Time for Matt Duchene. Time for Kevin Shattenkirk. Not all this year of course, but these players will be the new face of the Avalanche.

But was it time to let Ian Laperriere walk after offering him less than he deserved? Was it time to trade Ryan Smyth for Kyle Quincey + two bags of pucks? Was it time to keep Darcy Tucker knowing they would be shedding salary so would have the cap space to eat his buyout. No.

And if it turns out Sakic told Sherman "I'm retiring" and he still got rid of Smyth, then heaven help the man because I think he might get beat down by a crazed fan.*

So prepare yourselfs, Avs fans because it's going to be a rough couple years in terms of standings. But the joy of watching these young kids grow and cheering them on is untouchable. New leaders will emerge, new stars will blossom, and the organization will have a new identity when all is said and done. And I (have to) believe that identity will be a good one.

But I've got concerns with Stan Kroenke's ownership recently. A rebuild is one thing, but cutting costs is another. And the cost-cutting isn't coming just in the player salary department, but throughout the organization. I'm a penny-pincher by nature but you can't let that blind you to your surroundings.

It appears Kroenke is being blinded and possibly distracted by his many other sporting endeavors. Given that he's pouring more money into Arsenal, the cost cutting can't be due to tanking Wal-Mart shares or real estate holdings. Something else is behind his apparent disregard for the Avs and it is concerning.

This rebuild could be spectacular. But it could be hamstrung by an owner not willing to open his pockets for his former favorite child while still expecting fans to open theirs. A rebuild is mutual, as is the partnership between a team and its fans.

Let's hope we can work this out together.

*I'm not implying I would do it. This was not a threat. Please stay away from me, FBI. I'm also not saying I wouldn't do it...

Colorado Avalanche Trade Ryan Smyth

I'm in shock. I didn't want to believe the rumors. In fact, during the trade deadline I was quite emphatic that it was all bunk. Turns out, I was wrong.

The Avalanche have traded Ryan Smyth to the Los Angeles Kings. I haven't yet heard what we're getting in return but I'd guess Doughty is not an option.

This frees up $3M in cap space which should help with Kroenke's goal of driving away fans...I mean trimming payroll. It would also create some extra space to allow both Sakic and Duchene to fit on the squad. So maybe I'm not wrong on Sakic...

UPDATE 1: AD has the early scoop on the details: Tom Preissing, Kyle Quincey and a 5th-round pick next year. Without researching more on those players, it's a "meh" from me. And dangerously close to a "WTF?".

UPDATE 2: Tom Preissing was looking like a stud early in his career but he completely tanked in LA and ended up spending time in the AHL. I remember him now from his time with the Ottawa Senators during their run in '07 and he looked like a blossoming defenceman so I'm not sure what happened but based on his last two seasons, he's not worth $2.75M. But I suppose if you want someone to take a big contract off your hands, you've got to take back an unwanted one in return.

Kyle Quincey actually had a solid season with the Kings and could be an excellent pickup. He spent time in the Detroit organization and there are definitely worse places to be trained. The Wings did waive him this season, leading to his LA picup He scored 38 points in 72 games with the Kings and feels a bit like John-Michael Liles' doppleganger. There are worse things to be, especially with a 500K price tag.

The 5th-round pick should have been a 2nd or 3rd-round pick since those later rounds are basically throw-aways. Yeah, yeah, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, blah blah blah.

The end result leaves me going "WTF?!". Note the extra exclamation point. It's not the loss of Smyth, it's the lack of return. I know Smyth had a large contract for what some viewed as limited point production, but Smyth did so much more than just put up points. This leaves room for young guys to step up which I'm actually excited for, but I still feel Smyth was worth more than this. It's probably the 5th-round pick that's really sticking in my craw.

Logjam in the backend
This possibly squeezes out Kyle Cumiskey for another season since there is a bit of a logjam on defence now. To be honest, I'm not that sold on Cumiskey and Quincey looks to be a better version. Of course, I say that without having had enough time to really watch Quincey.

Surely you would think there's another d-man on the move. That's a lot of salary on the backend for a squad of that calibre and there's a lot of offensive d-men, and not many shutdown guys. But when you're in cost-cutting mode, I'm guessing filling roles is a secondary priority.

Youth Movement
So it's officially time for the youth movement (come on, let's spin it a bit). There's now room on the squad for T.J. Galiardi, who should make the team based on his play last year, as well as Matt Duchene.

But just because you're going younger doesn't mean you trade the vets for nothing. I'll say this, Duchene better be as good as we all hope he is and Stastny better stop blocking shots with bare body parts. And for the love of Pete, let's hope Hejduk stays healthy. And that Wolski picks up his game. And that Svatos decides to score 30+ again. And that...oh hell, let's just call next season a full-on rebuild season and get it over with.

Leadership
This leaves a lot of leadership room that needs to be picked up by guys like Milan Hejduk, Scott Hannan and Adam Foote. Especially if I'm wrong on Sakic coming back. Smyth, Sakic and Ian Laperriere contained a lot of leadership. Losing all three at once would be a big hit.

Smyth Breaks His Hand

Ryan Smyth has a broken hand and is out for the season.

The final pockmark on this wreck of a season will be if Joe Sakic doesn't suit up and then retires in the off season.

Brutal.

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?

Penguins Make Their Move

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired Chris Kunitz from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Ryan Whitney. The Pens also get a prospect, Chris Tangradi.

This will likely put a kybosh on the Milan Hejduk/Ryan Smyth to the Pens rumors.

Don't forget the other half

I got a bit riled up the other day about the Ryan Smyth trade rumors and today I just want to add one more piece as to why I don't think Smyth is going anywhere.

Read this article from NHL.com and tell me if you think Smyth wants to subject his family to a third change of address in as many years.

There's a reason players try and negotiate NTCs into their contracts.

Will Ryan Smyth be Traded by Colorado?

No.

That is all.

Milan Hejduk and Ryan Smyth Hit Career Milestone

I will be shooting for a recap at lunch - work willing - but first, congratulations to Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk on hitting the 300 career goal mark last night.

And what better game for it to be a part of than a win against the Flames?

I was quickly twitting with Tyler from NHLDigest.com and I mentioned that Hajduk's 300 felt more special since he'd scored every one of those goals as an Avalanche.

With Smyth, it's nice for him but it's piggy-backing off his work as an Oiler.

Am I crazy?

Probably.

But I'm not stupid.

Usually.

Related Links
Jib channels the Spartans for some creative juices
Hedgie and Smitty - the 300 club

Trade Winds are Blowing

Ok, I usually don't talk about trade rumours since I'm not a big rumour fan. Which is odd since I grew up in the mother of all rumour-filled small towns.

But I've heard a few related to the Avalanche lately and thought I'd briefly weigh in.

Afinogenov to Denver
First, AD reports that the Avalanche may be interested in Maxim Afinogenov. The usual "change of scenery" motive is given as Afinogenov is playing brutal in Buffalo (1 goal, 8 assists in 21 games) and I believe has been relegated to the fourth line.

Afinogenov had two excellent seasons in Buffalo but it's ot enough to make me think he can consistenly pull out that sort of production.

He certainly has the speed and skill but I think he's too much of an enigma to take a flyer on.

And if Francois Giguere gives up Brett Clark for Afinogenov, then he is officially not qualified to run an NHL team.

Lappy for Ott
Second, Bruce Garrioch (of "Malking to the Kings" fame) proposes the following trade: Colorado sends RW Ian Laperriere to Dallas for Steve Ott.

Wow. If Giguere makes that trade I vow to drive out to Denver, locate Giguere and cuff him upside the head.

Good grief, Bruce. How does it make sense to trade a heart-and-soul scrapper for a boneheaded agitator who is a detriment to his team more times than not?

Trade Smyth
Third, and this one isn't from a rumour, it's just something I've seen pop up from time to time from fans. Trade Smyth.

The no-trade clause in his contract makes that a virtual non-option. And even if he didn't have it, the only reason to trade him would be to free up cap space. The Avs have plenty of that. So no. Smyth is staying.

Something may change
The team is struggling, no doubt about it. And something may change. But bringing in Afinogenov won't solve the team's struggles. If anything, it would be a token player move to make before letting the coach go.

Dude, where's my updates?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is not a good sign.

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

This is not a good sign.

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

This is not a good sign.

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

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

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

Who knew that would be a good strategy?

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

Avalanche @ Canucks, Game 15 Thoughts

Here's a few more thoughts from last night, in no particular order.

Ruslan Salei played his best game of the season last night. I watched him more closely than any other defender as I was getting tired of seeing him underperform. Early in the first it was apparent his positioning was much better. He wasn't allowing players to skate past him while he brushed them on their side with a "check". Tonight, he was stepping in front of them and preventing them from going around him. His head was moving much better tonight as well and he always seemed to be aware of where the nearest Canucks players were.

The McLappy line had a new ingredient last night as Darcy Tucker joined the line while Cody Mcleod found himself on the third line with Tyler Arnason. Tucker ended up spending some time with Hensick including a shift during OT. The weird chemistry those two had in their past two games may be wearing off a bit. It never made much sense to begin with frankly.

If T.J. Hensick gets sent down, everybody sharpen up your pitchforks. Though he didn't get any points tonight - tough to get any in a one-goal game - he still looked good out there. Coach Granato agreed as he played him for 18 minutes which could be a career high for Hensick. Contrast that with the 8:20 Arnason played tonight in his triumphant return after being a healthy scratch.

Ryan Smyth continues to do a great job fighting in the corners and being a pain in the ass for the opposing team. He's currently on pace for a 23 goal, 53 point season which is not spectacular. Someone could certainly argue it's not worth over $7M/season. But his work along the boards is invaluable and if Granato keeps sticking him in front of the net on the PP, more points will come. He did make one bonehead behind-the-back pass in his own zone but I'll forgive him. Just this once.

Early in the first period while the Avs were shelling Roberto Luongo, Ray Ferraro said "This is what a great goalie can do for you when you struggle" Amen, Ray. We saw it from both sides tonight and it was exciting as hell to watch.

Marek Svatos has been awarded the game-tying goal that originally went to Paul Stastny. In the first view I saw, I was elated as it looked like Svatos had scored. But from the "in the net" view, it looked like Svatos had wiffed on it and Stastny put it in. I'll take this decision as I've got Svatos in my pool and he's been underwhelming so far to say the least.

Chris Cuthbert mentioned itsallaboutlappy.com on the air. Now go buy a shirt and support Ronald Macdonald House!

Now, for my main beef with the game tonight. And it's been a beef of mine since the season started. The Avalanche are running a "wide open" offensive style, right? Then why in the world do they do they try and hold hands through the neutral zone?

There were half a dozen occasions where on a breakout, the player on the opposite side of the ice would skate over and actually get in the puck carriers way. What is the deal with that? Are they trying to use the flying V?

I'm getting frustrated watching the puck carrier try to manoeuvre the puck through his teammates skates while heading into the zone so I can't imaging how the puck carrier feels. It makes negative sense to me.

Related Links
Wolski, Svatos deliver in shootout for Avalanche
Avalanche cracks Luongo in shootout

Play of the Week Returns

The official Colorado Avalanche site has resumed its "Play of the Week" feature. Each week you get to vote on one of three nominees for the best play of the week.

This week has Joe Sakic's first goal of the year pitted against the Paul Stastny-Ryan Smyth beauty of a PP goal against Calgary and Cody McCormick'ss workhorse goal from yesterday.

I'm torn between the Smyth and McCormick goals but I think I'll give the edge to Cody Mac because he doesn't score often and it was a hell of an effort. And it involved David Jones.

Avalanche Still Winless, Fall 5-4 to Flames

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Larry MacDougal)

Three games in and the frustration is starting to mount. Once again the Avalanche found themselves in a hole early, battled back hard but ended up just short of the still elusive "W" as the Flames downed them by a double-checked score of 5-4.

Brace yourselves, there's a lot of talking below.

1st Period

The Avalanche started the game off solid. Milan Hejduk nearly snuck one past Kiprusoff early, Paul Stastny showed what it means to cover the middle of the ice on defense, and Liles and Jones teamed up on Bertuzzi with a knock-em-over-elbow-em-in-the-head move.

But just over three minutes in the Flames got on the board with their first of three powerplay goals. Peter Budaj made the initial save - a very nice save - but the rebound hung around in the slot and Dustin Boyd got a handle on it before anybody else. 

While everybody was still reeling from the Avalanche giving up the early lead again, Peter Budaj tried to snag a tipped puck that went about 50 feet in the air...and it bounced out of his glove right to Todd friggin Bertuzzi's stick. And just like that, the Flames had a 2-0 lead on back-to-back powerplay goals.

Cody Mcleod calmed everybody's fears though as he brought the Avs within one. Ryan Smyth worked hard down low but the Flames still got it out of the zone. However they were confused by the brilliance of Smyth's work down low and ended up running into each other in the neutral zone. Cody McCormick, in for the benched Marek Svatos, then stole the puck, fired a shot on Kipper and Mcleod banged home the rebound. The best part of that goal? Phaneuf lost coverage and ended up falling into the net just as the puck was going in. Norris trophy my ass, Phaneuf.

Craig "Crazy Eyes" Conroy restored the two goal lead on a goal that Budaj certainly would like back. Hell, I'd like it back. Conroy broke down the wing and whipped a backhand on net that went right through Budaj's five hole. A backhand fired from close to the hashmarks with a defender draped on the shooter should never make its way into the back of the net. Unless the net was empty.

The Avalanche capped off a wild first period with a powerplay goal of their own. Mark Giordano crunched Milan Hejduk along the boards, completely wiping himself out of the play in the neutral zone. Smyth grabbed the puck, fed it to Stastny - and took a hit from Rene Bourque in the process. Stastny got Phaneuf to bite on covering the cross ice pass and ended up dropping it back to Liles who had the entire ice surface to himself and made no mistake. Meanwhile, Phaneuf was left standing idly by Kiprusoff while Mathew Lombardi's speedy backcheck left him helpless behind the goal line. 

And then the rough stuff began. At the end of the period, Phaneuf put a late hit on Mcleod and Mcleod shoved him over. McCormick then deflected Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow away from Mcleod, leaving Mcleod to jaw with Phaneuf. Iggy got a little feisty, McCormick popped him one, knocking him down, and then it was on.

McCormick gave Iginla time to take his visored helmet off but Iginla left it on and lost a bit of street cred in my book. The two tossed some punches and Iginla ended up taking McCormick down to the ice.  But I still give the win to McCormick because that's how I roll.

2nd Period

I spent the first five minutes of the second period watching election results, making a quiche, and twittering. Luckily I didn't miss any excitement.

Nine minutes in, the Avalanche tied it up on an absolutely gorgeous powerplay goal. Joe Sakic took a hard hit along the boards from Robyn Regeher but maintained control of the puck. He then fired a pass across to Paul Stastny who held the puck long enough to draw a defender to him. He then whipped a pass across to Ryan Smyth who was uncovered behind Kiprusoff. Smyth cooly buried the puck and hopes were restored.

The Flames surged hard at the end of the second but Budaj made a couple nice saves to maintain the tie going into the third period.

3rd Period

The Avalanche were getting outshot 27-15 going into the third and you know Tony Granato brought that up during the intermission pep talk. 

Unfortunately, the Flames got off the first two goals of the third period. Iginla scored the Flames third PP goal as David Jones failed to clear the puck, leading to a wide open Iginla firing a rocket shot top corner past Budaj. 

Iginla then capped off his Gordie Howe hat trick as his initial shot was kicked out by Budaj directly onto Todd friggin Bertuzzi's stick for his second of the game. It was a big rebound by Budaj but Adam Foote left Bertuzzi alone to gobble it up so they share equal blame.

I was ready to call it a game at that point. Then lady luck smiled on the Avalanche.

18 seconds after the Flames fifth goal, Ben Guite wristed a shot in from the blueline which took a bounce about eight feet away from Kiprusoff which carried it over his shoulder and into the back of the net. Now the Avs can't claim this game was due to bad bounces!

But that was all she wrote for the Avs as they couldn't capitalize on a Phaneuf penalty or once Budaj was yanked for the extra attacker.

An 0-3 start to the season and not only has the handwringing begun, there are some broken fingers starting to pop up.

Line

Granato shook up the lines a bit tonight starting with bringing in Cody McCormick and sitting Marek Svatos. Svatos had been pretty silent in the first two games but I didn't think he was silent enough for a benching. But McCormick played a good game tonight and I can't say that Svatos would have made a difference.

The new lines were (for the most part):

Smyth-Sakic-Tucker

Wolski-Stastny-Hejduk

Mcleod-Arnason-Jones

McCormick-Guite-Laperierre

The defensive pairings were unchanged with Clark-Foote, Liles-Hannan and Leopold-Salei.

Stats

Ryan Smyth was the ice-time leader with 23:59 and for good reason. He was a demon on the forecheck all game long.

The Avalanche were credited with 15 hits on the night, three of them coming from Wojtek Wolski. Again the RTSS stats show their subjectivity as Jones only had one credited hit but I personally had a note of three obvious hits for Jones.

Hejduk and Smyth fired off five shots on goal while Sakic managed a mere four shots on goal. He must be feeling his age. 

The Avalanche were outshot for the first time in the season. They managed a respectable 29 shots on goal to the Flames 35.

The Avalanche lost out in the faceoff circle thanks to Tyler Arnason's stellar 2-for-11 outing. Ray Ferraro commented that "It looks like Arnason is scared to rip the tape on his stick in the faceoff circle." Yep, that's our Arny.

Odds and Ends

I'll lead off with the greatest note. It's so great I'm actually going to take a video of it and put it on YouTube once I find my camera. Around the four minute mark of the third period, Dion Phaneuf fell off the bench on a line change. I'm not 100% positive it was Phaneuf but he was on the ice on the ensuing whistle, the fallen player was definitely a defenseman and it appeared to be the right side D-man. That's a conviction in my books!

The Avs PP looked brilliant at times and utterly atrocious at other times. The PP goal was a thing of brilliance but too often they looked disorganized breaking in to the zone and spent a lot of time not moving their feet once they'd established themselves. Granato needs to tighten that up.

The defense looked more cohesive today. Wingers were sticking near their point men more often as opposed to collapsing down low too early. Not every time, but more often than the last few games. Hopefully they keep working on that adjustment.

Paul Stastny is making a statement so far. And that statement, unfortunately for the Avalanche, is "I am worth a boatload of cash." Time to re-up his contract, Mr. Giguere.

David Jones is looking good physically but he's not getting any points nor very many scoring changes. After spending time on the top line and not getting any production, he could find himself stuck on the third line until he picks it up a notch.

TSN is still talking about Mats Sundin like people still care. Here's a hint: nobody cares. Especially not the Rangers who don't have the cap room to sign him nor the have the need to sign him. And man, Torts is boring so far on the panel.

And just to make sure I rag on TSN enough, what a brutal "video montage" to go along with their prized acquisition, the old HNIC theme. It looked like shots from NHL '09 haphazardly put together by a 10-year old. There was no passion, no fire, no reality. In short, it was an epic fail.

But I prefer Ferraro on color commentary as opposed to Pierre McGuire. So there's one point for TSN.

Related Links

ColoradoAvalanche.com Game Recap

NHL.com Boxscore

RMN Game Recap

Avalanche Over, What Next?

I threw my notes on the game out last night so no point recapping. Just look at the score and you'll know all you need to know.

So where do we go from here? Well, I don't know about anyone else but I still want to see who will win the Stanley Cup. And not only that, the World Hockey Championships get under way this afternoon. Can you believe Selanne joined the Finnish team? Amazing what an extra 5 months rest will do for someone who was thinking of retiring.

So I think I'll be using those as a way to get over the complete beatdown that was handed to the Avalanche by a team with a gloating, mocking fan base. I don't know if I'll watch any Red Wings games though. You know, to avoid the nightmares.

But what about Forsberg retiring? And is Sakic going to play again? Will Foote come back? Will the team re-sign Theodore? Is Budaj the answer?

I've got thoughts on all those subjects but I think I'll wait until the season is fully over to expand on them.

One thing I'd like to note is the injuries the team had. Not because I'm using that as an excuse why they lost. I'm using that as an excuse why this team still deserves our pride.

Dario from ITCS caught the morning show with Coach Q who revealed that Peter Forsberg was playing with two torn groin muscles while Scott Hannan and Ian Laperriere were both playing on a broken foot. Two torn groin muscles and the man was still skating. A broken foot each and they were still lacing up their skates and giving it their all. That's courage and dedication right there and they deserve our thanks for gutting it out.

Add up Ryan Smyth's likely broken foot, Wojtek Wolski's 5 broken ribs, Marek Svatos' torn knee, Paul Stastny's bum knee, Brett Clark's bitched shoulder and Theodore's bubonic plague and you have a worn out, beat up team. And though I was a bit pissed last night due to an 8-2 drubbing, after putting the injuries into perspective and what some of the players played through, I can honestly say I'm proud of the squad for giving it their best.

It's just too bad their best wasn't enough.

Related Links
Postmortem
Living with the aftershock
So much for pride, Mr. Theodore
The scoop on the Avs injuries
Avs season ends with thud
The End.
Q&A with Francois Giguere

Playoff Gameday: Avalanche vs Red Wings - Game 3

UPDATE: Jib has had enough and wants to get everyone fired up and I must admit, the excessive use of profanity energized the shit out of me! Let's hope the whole team reads his blog so they can get riled up for this game too.

If you want to talk about must win siutations, tonight's game can be part of the dictionary entry. If the Avalanche lose today, it's season over.

Yes, people will quote the miracle of 3-0 comebacks but the odds would not be in the Avalanche's favor.

Hell, I wouldn't even call it odds. I would call it the likelihood of God being an Avalanche fan because it would take divine intervention to take 4 straight from the Wings at this point.

Smyth out?
To make matters worse, it is being reported that Ryan Smyth will miss this game. Maintenance day my ass, coach Q. If there's one thing I hate about the playoffs, it's the ridiculous injury updates.

Forsberg in?
Peter Forsberg skated in practice and is likely to play. But I'll believe it when I see him out for his first shift. Not even sitting on the bench at puck drop will convince me that he's in the lineup.

Hannan in?
Scott Hannan is probable as well but I won't believe it until I see him on the bench. I won't need him to actually take a shift to believe he's in the game. Lucky him, eh?

Lineup
So what to do with all these injuries?

Well, if Hannan is out, Finger will stay in. If Hannan is in, Finger will likely swap out. The defence is the easy one to deal with. Though I'd like someone to remind Sauer and Foote that they need to wake up a bit.

If Forsberg and Smyth are out, Q again will need to draw on some reserve power. Cody McCormick and Jaroslav Hlinka will stay in even though both played less than stellar in their recent outings. He then has to decide from players such as Brad Richardson, Wyatt Smith and T.J. Hensick to fill Smyth's spot.

I'm not sure I'd trust Hensick in a crucial situation like this but there is something to be said for that rookie enthusiasm. I don't feel Wyatt Smith will bring anything to the tableand Brad Richardson has been in Q's doghouse all year.

I think the order in Q's head based on comments he's made so far and what we saw in the regular season is:
Wyatt Smith
T.J. Hensick
Brad Richardson

And I hope to God I'm wrong because I don't want to see Wyatt Smith anywhere near the ice.

But let's hope it doesn't come down to that and Forsberg is good to go.

Related Links
RMN Avalanche Playoff Report
Forsberg might play, Theodore simply must
Dear Quenneville, You must be kidding
I flu over the cuckoo's nest
Avs Forsberg, Hannan Probable for Game 3
Colorado not worried about being down to Wings (when has a team ever said "Yeah, we're scared shitless"???)
Let's get fired up

Colorado Avalanche Injury and Roster Updates - April 25

I just finished watching the media conference with Joel Quenneville following Colorado's afternoon practice and it was a little comme ci, comme ça for me. A bit of good, a bit of bad and a bit of "You've got to be f'n kidding me."

Let's start with that last one and work our way up.

Wojtek Wolski out for series
Wojtek Wolski is "out indefinitely" and likely won't be back for the series. That is a huge blow for the Avalanche as Wolski forms part of the top trio and was playing very well in the playoffs.

He was in his groove and playing a solid puck possesion game while opening up lots of space for his linemates. He chalked up 2 goals and 3 assists in the 6 1/4 games he played so his production will certainly be missed.

Peter Forsberg day-to-day
Peter Forsberg is still listed as day-to-day and is questionable for the game tomorrow. I don't have to expand upon Forsberg's boost to this lineup other than to say the Avalanche are 12-3 with him in the lineup and 2-6-1 without him (since March 4th)

Lineup changes
If Forsberg comes back, obviously he'll take Wolski's spot in the lineup. If not, Q needs to draw on some reserve power.

Some folks were a bit surprised at putting in Cody McCormick rather than Jaroslav Hlinka. While I can appreciate that Q was likely doing it to inject some more grit, this was the wrong team to do it against. You need to ice a team with wheels and puck handling ability against the Wings and I think that even if Forsberg comes back, McCormick will be out and Hlinka in.

Q mentioned Scott Parker and Wyatt Smith as possible candidates, along with Hlinka. I hope he only tossed a few extra names around to make it sound like there were other reasonable options. Scott Parker is not a reasonable option. Wyatt Smith is not a reasonable option.

Hlinka needs to get inserted into the lineup, regardless of the team being stocked at center already.

Jose Theodore probable
Theodore practiced today and sounds probable for the game tomorrow. I guess the "flu" disappeared fast. And yes, I use "flu" in quotes because I find it a bit hard to believe he could look as weak as he did last night and be fine today.

But all the hockey players take Cold-FX, right? Or is that just Messier and Grapes?

I don't think there is any goaltending controversy as long as Theodore is 99% healthy. Peter Budaj did an admirable job stepping in last night and shutting it down but now is not the time to switch goaltenders.

It worked for Carolina in '06 but that was a different story. Gerber had faltered a couple games straight before Ward stepped in. Theodore faltered one game after an ill-advised attempt at playing through illness/injury.

No consolation in a close loss
Theodore being available was good news despite my sarcasm. The other piece of good news? Q finally grew a pair.

He said the team should not take any consolation from a close win last night and need to wipe that from their minds.

Damn straight. Game 1 is over. Nothing can be done about it now but to fight hard and make up for it in the next game. There are no second chances but there are new opportunities. Any other cliches to toss in there?

The Avalanche went on a pretty decent run when they lost some of their big guns in the regular season. The team seemed to play better and harder without the big guns to fall back on. As frustrating as that fallback mindset is, it's only natural to look to your leaders to pick up the slack.

And without Forsberg and Wolski, they'll be missing some big guns and need some new heroes to step up. Thankfully Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk appear to have awoken again with Ryan Smyth at their side.

Related Links
Avs-Wings: Goalies in limbo
Avs lost but...
Theodore doesn't regret trying to gut it out

Avalanche Play 30 Minutes, Lose to Red Wings

(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

You cannot play 30 minutes against the Detroit Red Wings and expect to win the hockey game.

Unfortunately that's what Jose Theodore and the Colorado Avalanche tried to do tonight.

Strike first, strike un-often
Although the Avalanche got on the board first, it felt like it was only a matter of time before the Wings broke out. And break out they did. The Wings went on to score 4 straight goals as they chased Jose Theodore from the net.

The team was confused, disoriented and appeared shocked that they were involved in a hockey game. It was hard to watch and I found myself turning away from the tv, giving my head a little shake, turning back and hoping that things had changed.

Theodore takes his pads and goes home
Theodore ended up heading back to the hotel in street clothes and was reported as having the flu. I hope so because he did not look very good tonight. Sure, the Avalanche weren't helping at all but he just didn't seem to be in his groove at all.

Given that Tyler Weiman dressed as the backup for the third period, I would say it's legit that Theodore has the flu. Or a broken leg. Who knows in the playoffs.

Put the remote down and back away from the tv
After the fourth goal went in I had that brief moment that I'm sure all Avalanche fans had. My hand slowly went towards the remote control as my other hand cradled my head. My mind and body started an intense battle.

My thumb was itching to hit that glowing power button. My mind was telling me to hold on and see this one through. Or it was trying to punish me for all the brain cell killing I did as a youth. In the end, my brain won the day.

I kept the TV on and hoped that the team would wake up on the heels of the goaltending change.

Game lag
And wake up they did. Four minutes after Budaj came in, John-Michael Liles flew down the wing, took a feed from Cody McLeod and buried a shot past the short side on Osgood. The Avs were back in it!

At that point, I started to wonder if the Avalanche had a case of "game lag." It's similar to jet lag except a bit more annoying - for fans anyways. You see, all the previous Avalanche games started at 7:00 or 8:00 MT rather than 5:30 as today's game did. And when did the team wake up? Right around 7:00 MT.

They better cure that right quick as Saturday's game is at 1:00pm MT.

Rally picks up
The rally continued late in the second period. The Avalanche had finally been applying some pressure and making this look like a hockey game. But if they wanted any chance of getting back into it, they needed to get within one goal before the third period.

The newly reunited RPM line got it done. Breaking in on a 3-on-2, Ryan Smyth fed the puck up to Paul Stastny who displayed some excellent patience and fed Milan Hejduk who potted it over an outstretched Osgood's left pad.

Rally falls short
Unfortunately the rally didn't produce any goals in the third period. It did produce one heart wrenching *CLANK* off of the iron on a Milan Hejduk shot. Oh, if only that had been a few centimeters to the right, we might have been headed to overtime.

But the hockey gods don't take kindly to teams who don't play a full game so the Avalanche were denied the full comeback.

Lessons learned
Early on in this game, I had horrible visions of the 4-0 rout in the regular season. Would we be destined to sit idly by while the Avalanche played on their heels and were content simply trying to "stay close" and snag an OT point?

The Avalanche answered those fears with some solid play throughout the last half of the second and most of the third period.

The Avalanche defensive unit, with the exception of Liles and Leopold, are not the most mobile unit in the NHL. With that being said, they can still be effective by having proper positioning.

Letting Zetterberg sneak past you while trying to decide whether to block a shot - come on, Foote - is not proper positioning. Driving Datsyuk into the ice as he tries to break wide past you - thank you, Liles - is proper positioning.

In the end, the Avalanche put in a terrible 30 minutes followed by an above-average 30 minutes and lost by one goal.

The potential was there for a blowout but the team woke up, dug in and showed that they're going to make a series of it.

Notes
- the Avalanche scored first for the seventh straight time this playoffs
- Wojtek Wolski left the game with an injury after taking a hip check from Ruslan Salei (no, that isn't a typo)
- Nik Kronwall had a hate on for David Jones
- Tyler Arnason was a man on fire late in the third
- Datsyuk is a freakin' magician with the puck
- Budaj faced 2o shots and didn't give an inch
- but they should still come back with Theodore if he's healthy Saturday
- Cody McCormick drew in to the open forward slot
- Hejduk, Stastny and Smyth were +2, +2 and +1 with 2 points each
- Pierre McGuire wants to marry Mike Bacbock
- did the Wings find their anthem singer at the bottom of the discount porn barrel?
- throwing octopuses is a retarded tradition

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap
Jerseys and Hockey Love Recap
Denver Post Recap
RMN Recap
On the Wings Recap
Medical worries haunt Colorado
A sickening feeling in the Motor City
Wolski injured against Wings
Franzen's goal shows he's not foreign to success
The deal with the devil

Avalanche Thump Canucks

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Well that was the biggest win of the season by far. Tonight the Avalanche thumped the Canucks 6-3 - including 5 goals on Roberto Luongo - to jump into 7th in the West. The Avalanche are now 4 up on Nashville and 5 up on Edmonton in the playoff race. With a mere 4 or 5 games remaining between the teams gunning for the final spots, the Avalanche are all but assured a spot if they just keep the pedal pressed down.

Goaltending anti-duel
Roberto Luongo let in 5 goals which is the first time he's done that since February 9th against...the Colorado Avalanche. For a guy with a GAA below the 2.3 mark the Avalanche sure haven't had trouble scoring on him. Hey Gary, can you make an exception and let the Avs play the Canucks in the playoffs? Pretty please?

At the other end, Jose Theodore got the better of Luongo but still had some stumbling points. The first goal was a great goal by the Canucks and the 2nd goal was pure dumb luck. The third goal, however, could have turned the tide of the game in the Canucks favor. Sami Salo blasted a shot from the point and it beat Theodore cleanly on the short side. That's a puck that needed to be stopped as they were just 10 seconds away from taking a 3 goal lead into the third.

Forsberg and Hejduk together again
In what you could say is a brilliant coaching move, Joel Quenneville bumped Ryan Smyth from the RPM line and created the PPM line. And PPM stood for Point Per Minute for that trio tonight. Once those three were together they accounted for 3 goals and 9 points. Paul Stastny had a goal and two assists, Hejduk had two goals and one assist and Forsberg had three assist.

I think everyone well remembers the dynamite duo that Forsberg and Hejduk were back in day and Quenneville decided to give the duo a shot again. It payed off extremely well and I can't see why he'd bother breaking them up at this point. Of course next game they could come out flat for 5 minutes and Forsberg would find himself playing with Ben Guite.

Timeout while up?
In what I'd call another excellent coaching move, Quenneville called a timeout shortly after the Avs went up 5-2 after an icing call. Not only did it give the players a chance to catch a breather before a tough draw but it also settled the team down. They really started running around and loosening up a bit much so the timeout served to settle them back into their groove.

Smyth drops 'em?
In what I'd call a not so brilliant coaching move, after the Canucks had scored the late 2nd period goal Alain Vigneault put out a line including uber-pest Alex Burrows. Q, with last change, put out a line including Ryan Smyth rather than the grind line. What happened was Alex Burrows lined up next to Smyth and knocked his stick out of his hands off the draw. This apparently enraged Smyth and he chased after Burrows and the two dropped the gloves and fell to the ice (as Burrows was backpedaling faster than Dion Phaneuf)

Now, I think Smyth should have kept his cool and let it go but in his defense, he did get bumped down to the third line again so he may have been frustrated. But he never should have been out there at that point anyways. A 10 second shift to end the period after a momentum changing goal calls for the grind line of Guite, Lappy and McLeod.

"I really think Vancouver can come back"
In the only reference I'll make to McGuire - who wasn't that bad tonight I thought - he stated before the third period began that he really felt the Canucks could come back and take this game to OT. 23 seconds later Milan Hejduk made it 6-3 and we never heard mention of that comment again.

Notes
- Wolski had a great steal down low to lead to the 5th goal
- the Avs had 23 shots in their 4-goal second period
- Leopold left the game in the third with what appears to be another injury
- McLeod's goal was his first in 23 games and he keeps doing it against superstar goaltenders
- the fans were really into this game and it was great to hear the excitement
- that's the first 3-game losing streak for the Canucks this season
- Andrew Brunette continues to quietly rack up points with 2 assists tonight
- the Avs won the faceoff game (!!!) with 60%

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
In the Cheap Seats Recap
Denver Post Recap
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap
How Luongo getting laid could help the Avs
Doing the dirty work, game in and game out

Updated - The S Curse Continues

Note: This post has been updated after the recent announcement provided by the Avalanche. And kudos to them on doing a good job of doling out the information in appropriate chunks.

The Avalanche have announced that Marek Svatos is out for the rest of the season while Ryan Smyth is out indefinitely. After seeing both injuries, it's not much of a surprise. The Svatos injury was terribly awkward looking and the Smyth injury was just...brutal. I hope his family was not watching the game because that would have been terrible to see happen to your son/husband/etc.

AD had originally provided an analysis of what the "official" news means. To sum it up in one word...shit. He felt it was doubtful that either return for the rest of the season barring a long playoff run. Since then, Svatos' diagnosis is an ACL tear which puts him for the remainder of the season while Smyth can't return to practice until he is free of concussion symptoms. His shoulder is also partially separated but appears, at the moment, to be the least of his concerns.

I pray that Francois Giguere immediately provides some sort of offering to the hockey gods as it's quite apparent the organization has wronged them somehow.

Avalanche Crunch Kings 5-2

Or should I say Jack Johnson crunches Ryan Smyth. Preliminary reports have Smyth coherent and walking around before heading to the hospital for observation. It was a scary looking hit and I can't say I didn't want someone to hand Johnson his ass in a torn paper bag.

The Avalanche also lost Marek Svatos midway through the game as he took a push which sent him skidding awkwardly into the boards. The Avalanche scored on that play so that should help accelerate the healing process.

And that's all I have time to say as I'm off to bed to get some beauty sleep before I play at least 3 straight volleyball games tomorrow morning. If I'm not ridiculously exhausted, I might add to this tomorrow afternoon but don't hold your breath.