Avalanche Steamroll Thrashers

(AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

You've got to beat the teams you're supposed to beat and the Avalanche did just that tonight with a 5-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. The win moves the Avalanche into 2nd place in the Northwest and 6th in the Western Conference with just under a dozen games left to play.

Thar be the goals
Adrian Dater posted in his blog that it was about time David Jones started scoring if he wanted to solidify his spot. Well Jones had the same idea as tonight he was the #1 star with 1 goal and 2 assists. His goal was a pretty play as he circled the net and left the puck for Joe Sakic who then fed it back to Jones who had cut to the front of the net. He also had the lone assist on the first two Avalanche goals and had just one heck of a game.

Wolski Out, Parker In...then out
Wojtek Wolski was a healthy scratch tonight as he apparently continues to not get the message Q is trying to send him. He wasn't great in the Dallas game but nobody was so I'm not sure why Wolski warranted the benching in favor of Scott Parker.

Parker left the game in the first period with what looked to be a leg injury. I guess his first name starts with S so it shouldn't be entirely unexpected. Once the curse ran out of last names to target, it jumped up to the first names. So walk on eggshells, Hannan.

Foote In...then out
Adam Foote only played for the first half of the first period and then never set foot on the ice. Not really sure what happened as I had the Thrashers feed and they didn't seem to mention it. Hopefully he didn't rush back in and bugger his hip up again.

Injuries
And speaking of injuries, Jordan Leopold and Ruslan Salei sat out this game after their respective injuries in the Dallas game. Both received good news as Salei doesn't have a broken orbital bone and Leopold's head appears to be fine. It appears Leopold will undergo another test before being inserted into the lineup. Fine by me. Head injuries are not something to be trifled with no matter how tough people want to appear.

Oh, and Forsberg didn't play either which means he wasn't just tired, he's actually injured. Yeesh.

Notes
- I swear I heard the announcers claim Cumiskey was 6'4, 220 at one point
- I know I heard Iron Man playing during a stoppage and I gotta say...not much of a hockey song (as pertinent as the lyrics/theme may be)
- Cody McLeod appears to have reigned in his temper a bit lately
- Sakic finally fired home a wrister after what seemed like an eternity
- the PA announcer appears to clarify minor stoppages in play to the fans by announcing the reason for the stoppage (I caught this with high stick calls but didn't hear it on things like gloved passes)
- Carey Price got a 38 save shutout against the Devils including 20 saves in the first period alone (what? That's not pertinent information?)

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary

Post-game vs Phoenix - Mar 29, 2007

Phew. Going into the 3rd period with a 4-0 lead would seem to spell "success". The Avalanche almost turned it into "disaster" as they hung on for a 4-3 lead. If it weren't for a save by the cross bar with about 30 seconds left, this game would have gone to OT. Budaj must have been kissing that post to thank it after the game.

With that win, the Avalanche keep pace with the Flames but are still 7 points back and now there are only 5 games remaining. So hope still exists but it's getting harder and harder to cling to. So much relies on the Flames faltering in their final games but it looks like they're just remembering how to play hockey, both at home and on the road.

The second line picked it up today and broke through on the first 2 goals. They had a brief period where they weren't producing but you wouldn't know it by their play early on. Hejduk got a goal off some good effort behind the net by Stastny and in front of the net by Arnason. Then Brett Mclean raced in and Hejduk fired a perfect pass to Mclean who merely had to keep his stick on the ice to put it in. That line came away with 5 points as Stastny had 2 assists, Hejduk had a goal and an assist and Mclean had a goal. I think it's all because Stastny finally got a hair cut. The extra weight of that hair was slowing him down. Seriously.

Wolski was able break a 7-game scoring drought as he potted one tonight. It was a lucky one that bounced in off a Phoenix D but it counts just the same. It's only his 2nd goal in his last 16 games. Brad Richardson actually ended up spending a fair bit of time on the #1 line in Wolski's place and was rewarded for his efforts as he scored his 13th of the season to make it 4-0. If Wolski keeps playing the way he has been, he might find himself permanently off that #1 line.

Brad Richardson had a solid game in general. He logged 17:09 in ice-time, mostly due to being with Sakic and Brunette. He also managed to kill his own penalty. Ol' Mick McGeough called a holding penalty and promptly put Wolski in the box. The only problem is it was Richardson who was doing the holding. Well, from what I saw it was Richardson being held onto but nonetheless, Richardson ended up out there killing off a penalty when he should have been in the box. Interesting story but not so interesting that I feel I should repeat it 100 times like the Phoenix announcers did.

And speaking of asses...ok, I wasn't but I wanted to segue into talking about this fellow that way...Daniel Carcillo is quite an example of that. I don't see him enough to know if he's one of those "hate to play against him, love to have him on your team" guys but he just bothers me out there. Another one of those "chip on the shoulder" players who has to get in the little cheap shot at every opportunity or rub a glove in a guys face after the whistle just because he feels like it. He did a great job of mugging Richardson late in the 2nd and then had the audacity to shove Richardson after. I guess after you jump somebody, you have to let them know who's boss if they get up again.

Unfortunately, as important as it was to get this win, I'm concerned for the next set of games. The Avalanche won but it wasn't a good looking win. They were outshot 21-8 in the final two periods, they were outhit and outmuscled in a lot of cases and just might have been outchanced as well. They gave up a lot of odd-man rushes, particularly in the first and got some help from the goalposts at a few points. They can't play like that against teams like Vancouver, Nashville, Calgary and Minnesota.

The Good
- 2 points
- good night for 2nd line
- only 2 penalties taken

The Bad
- Lappy injuring his groing and sitting out
- giving up a lot of shots in the final 2 periods
- nearly choking on a 4-goal lead

The Ugly
- seeing Gretzky look so uncomfortable on the bench

Post-game vs Atlanta - Feb 8, 2007

Sigh. A 6-3 loss against Atlanta. I had hope after the Florida game but I'm slowly losing it. Sure, they still have a chance but let's be honest, can they really make it the rest of the way and lose 8 or less games? It doesn't seem terribly likely. However, as dismal as I am feeling about missing the playoffs...it ain't over 'til it's over! We've been spoiled by a decade of playoff births and 2 Stanley Cups. Try to remember that if the team ends up teeing off in mid-April instead of fighting for the Cup again.

It was Jose Theodore's second start in a row and after 3 goals on 11 shots in the 1st, Peter Budaj was put in net to start the 2nd. The goals were not weak goals and I'd say pulling Theodore was a mercy move as much as it was a move to wake up the team. The first 2 goals were complete defensive breakdowns and the third goal was off a deflection. I can't really blame a goaltender for those goals. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop some people from doing so.

It's likely the last start for Theodore for a while but not due to mediocre play. It's simply due to him losing the #1 role earlier in the season. Unless of course the Avalanche do decide the season is lost, which it won't be for at least 5 more games, and stick Theodore in and ride him until the season ends.

It was another one of those nights where the Avs fired off a trillion shots (48 actually) and just couldn't get anything past Lehtonen. He made some great saves but there were plenty of times where the shots were right into his chest. It seems that at times the Avs get very tense and starting seeing the goaltender rather than the twine in the back of the net. It's frustrating to watch and is even more frustrating for the players out there.

Brad May made a successful return to the ice. And by successful I mean he managed to take 2 penalties. However you can't fault the guy for trying. It's too bad he doesn't have softer hands as he had a few chances tonight but just couldn't finish. I'm sure he was a bit jittery in his first game back so I'll wait another game to see what his play will be like this year. Hopefully he fights for the puck in the corners harder than the man who was scratched to make room for him, Brad Richardson. Not to knock Richardson much because not many Avs fight for the puck in the corners.

Karlis Skrastins successfully broke the iron-man record for defensemen tonight and did it while blocking 3 shots and logging 20:03 of ice-time. Clark was again the #1 man in ice-time, followed by Leopold then Skrastins who were a mere 9 seconds apart. Clark was -3, Skrastins -2, Leopold, Liles, and Vaananen were -1, and Sauer was even. Yep, Kurt Sauer was not on the ice for a single goal tonight and he had 18 minutes in ice-time. The rest of the defense should hang their heads in shame at that. Even Ossi managed to go -1 with a mere 8 minutes in ice-time. This loss, to me, hangs squarely on the defenses shoulders. Not a single person, just the defense as a crew.

The Good
- 48 shots (I guess it should go here)
- 3rd line showed a pulse
- May delivered some grit

The Bad
- flat start after a huge win
- 6 goals against
- the whole "forgetting 60 minutes" for the umpteenth time

The Ugly
- Guite's hit (he left his feet, it was not a legit hit)

Pre-game vs Atlanta - Feb 8, 2007

The Avalanche end their five-game homestand as they welcome the Atlanta Thrashers, Bob Hartley et al., to the Pepsi Center. It's been 4 years since Atlanta was last at the Pepsi Center and that was one month into Hartley's tenure as the Thrashers new head coach. Atlanta is heading into a six-game roadswing hot on the heels of a six-game homestand that ended with a shootout loss to Buffalo on Tuesday. As I'm sure all here are aware, the Avalanche are coming off a huge 5-4 overtime win over the Panthers on Tuesday. From the sounds of how practice went the next day, spirits were pretty high after that win.

They'll need to make sure their spirits remain high and their defence comes out to play. Atlanta is a high-scoring team but the majority comes from their top 3 scorers: Hossa, Kovalchuk and Kozlov. The point production of players below them drops off by half so if those 3 can be shut down, the Avalanche have a good chance at coming away with a win tonight. Although Kari Lehtonen is starting to show he can be a #1 goalie, he doesn't have a great defense in front of him which has led to Atlanta being one of the bottom 10 teams in goals against.

Brad May is tentatively scheduled to return to the lineup tonight. To make room for him, Antti Laaksonen was put on waivers yesterday. As far as I've heard, no team has picked him up yet so he may be destined for the minors. It's unfortunate but at the moment I would take May over Laaksonen. Something is missing with Laaksonen this year as he seems to have lost a step in his game. Brad May is no quicker, but he will bring more grit and heart to the team than Laaksonen does. I'd look for May to take an early penalty though as he's likely going to be pretty fired up in his first game back. I'll say he gets called for roughing at the 5 minute mark. Any other bets?

This will be John-Michael Liles second game back from his broken foot. If Adrian Dater was not exaggerating, then Liles had a foot that was flowing with blood after the game was over on Tuesday. However Liles was all smiles as he explained that while the game is on, he doesn't feel a thing. I would say that if blood was actually flowing from his foot...it's probably not a good thing. Hopefully he wasn't rushed back too soon.

And in another repeat, it will be Jose Theodore's second start in a row. It's the first time he's started back-to-back since late December. Given the way Quenneville has played goaltenders to this point, I'd say that he feels confident with Theodore in net, otherwise he would have went back to Budaj. It's not unheard of for a backup goaltender to make 2 starts in a row (Aebischer in Montreal) so I don't think this is any sort of move saying that Theodore is set to resume #1 responsibilities. I'd say it's more a day-at-a-time approach based on his play in practice and games. If it means that Theodore regains enough form to be shopped, great. If it means he regains enough form to become a full-fledged #1, great. If not, then that will be the end of Theodore's chances this season I would say.

Injuries
Brisebois - back, LTI
May - shoulder, IR (likely to be activate

Vigier - groin, IR

Hot
Sakic has 4 in 2, Stastny has 3 in 2, Wolski has 6 in 6, Clark has 7 in 7, Hejduk has 4 in 4.

Kovalchuk has 11 in 9, Slater has 4 in 3, Sim and Mellanby have 3 in 3.

Cold
Holik has 0 in 7, Metropolit has 2 in 8, Ruchin has 1 in 4, Kapanen has 0 in 5.

Laperriere has 1 in 5, Klee has 0 in 17.

Goaltenders
Jose Theodore - 10-11-1, 3.16 GAA, .898 save pct
Kari Lehtonen - 24-15-8, 2.85 GAA, .909 save pct.

Standings
Colorado - 26-23-4, 4th in NW, 9th in West
Atlanta - 29-18-9, 1st in SE, 3rd in East