Who Own da Avs.. Owns, Owns (Feb 4)

Well, if Tuesday night wasn't just a swift kick in the balls. The Avs blew a great opportunity to get a victory in one of their few home games in the month of February, and instead, allowed one of the teams chasing them in the Western Conference playoff push to gain a little ground. Everything started out great for the Avs, as Phoenix started Mikael Tellqvist in lieu of the machine known as Ilya Bryzgalov, and Marek Svatos was back in the lineup after missing the last game with a bit of a groin injury.
The first period was pretty much back and forth with the two teams combining for 29 shots on goal. T.J. Hensick kicked off the scoring with a power play goal 17:48 into the first, but the Avs took two quick penalties shortly thereafter and Peter Mueller was able to connect on a one-timer from teh top of the circles on the 5 on 3 to tie the game. Mueller is going to be a star. He's big, can play physical, has wheels and great hands, and a nose for the net. Plus, it's not often you see a rookie playing the point on the power play. Hopefully Phoenix fans appreciate what they have in that kid.

The second period continued in the same fashion. Even though he was held off the scoresheet, Milan Hejduk had some real good chances, and looked pretty quick. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Andrew Brunette. Phoenix's second goal, scored by Daniel Winnick was the result of J-M Liles failing to get the puck out of his own zone, the Yotes working hard down low, and Winnick getting open in front for a tip with a couple Avs just looking at him. The prettiest goal of the period came about 10 minutes later when Jovanovski made a blind pass in the Avs end along the blue line which was picked off by Brad Richardson. Lappy was able to hustle in and join the play to cause a tight 2 on 1, and chipped in a pretty feed from Richardson with a guy on his back to even the score. Ian Laperriere had a great game. He was everywhere, killed penalties, and was probably the hardest working Avs player on that ice.
The 3rd period was almost like two different acts, and quite frankly was kind of weird. The Avs played very well in the first half of the period, and had a good chance about 9 minutes in when Brad Richardson got a breakaway coming out of the sin bin (after a questionable slashing call). He didn't score, but was able to draw a penalty. Which brings us to the beginning of the odd. T.J. Hensick scored on that ensuing power play, sneaking the puck just inside the goal line off the skate of a sliding Coyotes defender giving the Avs a 3-2 lead, but it wasn't official until about a minute thirty later. Al the Avs saw the puck go in, raised their sticks, and the puck went down the ice. Play went on until the next whistle when the play was officially reviewed, for a long time, then finally called good. Then the Avs decided to sit on the lead, quit pushing the play, and looked very lackadaisical. With just over 3 minutes, and after shoddy defensive play caused a faceoff to the right of Budaj, Tyler Arnason was kicked out of the circle forcing Svatos to take the draw. The Coyotes ran a set play with Steven Reinprecht pushing the puck past Svatos and feeding a pass across to a wide open Radim Vrbata. Where the hell did everyone go!! Arnason went after Reinprecht, and Jeff Finger, who was supposed to be there, was not. Ugh. Ironically, the Altitude guys had just gone on a two minute stretch about how the Avs could move into 5th place in the West and a point behind Minny with a win... Oops.
Honestly, I was too pissed to pay attention to the overtime period, and of course, Phoenix scored on another questionable play to end the game 3:23 into OT. The goal was credited to Vrbata, who put a shot on goal. Budaj appeared to have the puck underneath him, then Shane Doan dove, stickless and punched between Budaj's legs, squirting the puck into the net. The ref was right there, didn't blow the whistle until the puck had crossed the line and he was signaling goal, Wayne Gretzky was jumping up and down, and that was that. The Yotes quickly scampered back to the locker room while the Avs stayed on the bench and a heated Joel Quinneville
gave it to the refs. Was it a bad call? Maybe. Should the Avs have been in that position in the first place? Definitely not.
News and Notes:
The Coyotes are 3-0 against the Avs this year, winning both games in Denver.
Karlis Skrastins was the odd-man out in the 7 defenseman carousel
T.J. Hensick he of the 4 goals in 2 games, had only one shift in regulation after his second goal with 10 minutes left in the third.
Jose Theodore will be in net Wednesday at San Jose after missing the last two games because of back spasms
Paul Stastny will make the trip and is questionable for Wednesday's game

Numbers!!!
Goals
1 - 17:48 of 1st COL PP- Hensick (4) from Arnason (15) and Liles (19)
2 - 19:01 of 1st PHX PP - Mueller (16) from Jovanovski (30) and Doan (33)
3 - 5:04 of 2nd PHX - Winnik (6) from Murley (1) and Kapanen (15)
4 - 14:49 of 2nd COL - Laperriere (4) from Richardson (3)
5 - 9:52 of 3rd COL PP - Hensick (5) from Hlinka (16) and Arnason (16)
6 - 16:49 of 3rd PHX - Vrbata (23) from Reinprecht (21)
7 - 3:23 of OT PHX - Vrbata (24) from Doan (34) and Michalek (9)

SOG
Avs: 12-11-11-2 - 36
Coyotes: 17-9-6-1 - 33

PP
Avs: 2-4
Coyotes: 1-4

Standings:
Avs: 61 Points 5th in West
Coyotes: 59 Points 8th in West

Next Up: @ San Jose Wednesday, February 6

Avs Get Big Win in St. Louis (Feb. 2)

I don't know what happens when these two teams play each other, but one thing is for sure, you are going to see some goals. The Avs won the second of back-to-back games for the 5th time in 7 tries last night holding off the Blues 6-4. After the games the two teams played the night before, a 2-0 lose by the Avs to Detroit, and a 1-0 shootout win for the Blues over the Ducks, one thought, we would be in for another grinding, low-scoring affair. I guess not.
The Avs struck first on a TJ Hensick goal on a pretty feed from Laperriere. The play was started by Cody McLeod down low, something he did well all game, and got him another assist later in the 3rd period. Danny Hinote countered less than a minute later on a wraparound similar to the goal Zetterberg scored on Budaj the night before. Before the 1st period ended, the Jaroslav Hlinka potted a rebound, and Paul Kariya scored a PP goal less than a minute later, and we had ourselves a 2-2 game after 1.
The Avs had the only goal of the second on a delayed penalty call. Wolski came off the bench as the 6th skater, got a nice feed from Scott Hannan and put a one-timer on net. Ben Guite deflected the puck in front, and the Avs regained a 3-2 lead.
The third period ended up being the fastest paced an funnest of the game. The Avs actually converted a power play opportunity 1:00 into the period by TJ Hensick, then teh Avs shut 'er down. Andy McDonald converted on a nice play be David Perron on a 3 on 2 where teh defense got caught, and the forwards were too tired to get back and help. Tyler Arnason scored a wraparound goal that I'm sure Manny Legace still wants back, and a minute later, Keith Tkachuk answered. From that point on, with the Avs leading 5-4, it was all Blues. The Avs quit trying to attack, the Blues were swarming, hit the post on 3 separate occasions, and honestly should have tied the game. Instead, Ben Guite scored an empty netter, and that was that.
It was a game the Avs really needed, and it took 59:53 to officially put away the Blues. The Avs looked like a completely different team playing a completely different style from the night before. They forechecked well, created good chances, and capitalized on their opportunities. With the exception of Guite's empty netter from his own end, all the Avs goals were scored within 4 feet of the Blues net. They were the ugly, hard working goals this team needs to win games, while the Blues goals were mostly pretty plays.
Marek Svatos became the next in the long list of Avs players with the last name starting with S (Sakic, Smyth, Sauer, Stastny) to succomb to an injury. Svatos missed the game with what is being called a (groin) injury. I remember when Sakic's hernia was supposed to be just a little groin injury.. Shit..
The Avs won the game, but there was a lot to be desired. They allowed the league's lowest scoring team to score 4 goals. They made the league's worst power play look pretty fantastic, but were still able to hold them to 1-4. The Avs were outshot in every period. And most frustrating was that everytime they were in postion to put the game out of reach, they sat back and played that Quinneville Prevent Defense. It's that defense that doesn't allow the Avs to forecheck or establish any offensive presence while letting the other team control the puck in their own end, and hoping really hard they don't score. Not fun to watch if you're an Avs fan.

Things that make you go uhhhhhh..
The three Avs forwards with the most ice time Saturday night were... Hlinka, McCormick, and Laperriere.. J-M Liles and Jordan Leopold were both under 12:00 in ice time, while Kurt Sauer was at 13:45 in his first game back from concussion. TJ Hensick scored his second goal of the game one minute into the 3rd on the power play and was rewarded with only two more :30 shifts the rest of the game.. Despite giving up 4 goals, Budaj looked good again..
Numbers!!
Goals
1 - 5:28 of 1st COL - Hensick (2) from Laperriere (11) and McLeod (2)
2 - 6:16 of 1st STL - Hinote (5) from Mayers (10) and Johnson (9)
3 - 13:42 of 1st COL - Hlinka (6) from Wolski (19) and Clark (14)
4 - 14:34 of 1st STL PP - Kariya (13) from Boyes (14) and Backes (11)
5 - 10:01 of 2nd COL - Guite (5) from Wolski (20) and Hannan (13)
6 - 1:00 of 3rd COL PP - Hensick (3) from Arnason (14) and Liles (18)
7 - 6:24 of 3rd STL - McDonald (10) from Perron (10) and Boyes (15)
8 - 11:16 of 3rd COL - Arnason (6) from McLeod (3)
9 - 19:53 of 3rd COL EN - Guite (6) unassisted

SOG
Avs: 9-10-5 - 24
Blues: 12-12-8 - 32

PP
Avs: 1-3
Blues: 1-4

Standings:
Avs: 60 pts. - 7th in West
Blues: 55 pts. - 12th in West

Playing Not To Lose - Avs at Detroit Feb. 1

The month of February is going to be, by far, the biggest test for the Colorado Avalanche this year. The Avs started the month in Detroit Friday night, a month that will see them play 10 of 14 games on the road, and only 1 against a team that is not currently in a playoff spot or on the verge of one. Throw in the fact that they will most likely have to play this month without Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth, and you have got yourself quite a conundrum.
From the opening faceoff, you knew this game would not resemble Wednesday night's win vs. Chicago. The Avs, though they played a spirited game, played the entire game as though they were trying not to lose, instead of trying to win. The Red Wings controlled the puck well, created chances, and didn't allow the Avalanche to mount any kind of offensive attack for the first 40 minutes. The Avs were able to muster 3 shots on goal in the 1st, followed up with 1 in the second. That's right, one shot on goal. The Avs did have a goal disallowed with 8 seconds left in the 2nd period when Scott Hannan was pushed into the goal post trying to come around the net, and while he stayed out of the crease and hung on to the crossbar, Milan Hejduk threaded a shot through his legs and into the goal. Thanks to a golden globe worthy performance by Hasek, who "allegedly" was interfered with, the goal was immediately waved off. That was the best chance the Avs had to gather any momentum, and it was for naught.
The Avs did show up for the last 20 minutes though, creating chances and actually registering 11 shots on goal. Peter Budaj continued to be the only reason the game was tied, but all that changed with 2:40 left in the 3rd when Henrik Zetterberg potted a wraparound to take the lead for Detroit and seal victory. Kris Draper would add an empty netter with :13 left, and that was that.
It was obvious again, that the Avs have a long way to go when it comes to competing with the best teams in the league. Yes they are dealing with injuries, but they didn't even give themselves a chance to win for the first 40 minutes. While they were able to keep Detroit to the outside for most of the game, the game plan was to clearly hope Budaj could steal a shutout through 3 periods, steal a point, and maybe a second in OT or the shootout. Unfortunately, the Wings finally broke through late, and that was that.
The Avs power play went 0-3 and continues to look horrible, spending more time in their own end rather than attacking. On the bright side, the PK killed 4 Wings opportunities including a big 5 on 3 early in the 1st period.
The Avs travel to St. Louis today, a game they really need. With Budaj's performance last night, one would assume that he would get the start tonight, but with Joel Quinneville, who knows.
Numbers!!!
Goals
Wings: Zetterberg (30) from Datsyuk (45) and Rafalski (35)
Draper (9) from Datsyuk (46) and Lidstrom (44)

SOG
Avs: 3-1-11 - 15
Wings: 14-9-13 - 36

PP
Avs: 0-3
Wings: 0-4

Standings:
Avalanche 58 points - 7th in West
Red Wings 82 points - 1st in West

Avs Start 2nd Half Right

The Avalanche came out firing on all cylinders Wednesday night and hammered the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3. The win ended a two-game skid, and with winning the last of a five-game home stand, the Avs improved their record at the Pepsi Center to 18-8-1.
The Avs were powered offensively by the line of Wolski, Arnason, and Svatos who combined for 3 of the 6 goals and 8 points. Brad Richardson, called up from Lake Erie on Tuesday, played effectively on a line with Ben Guite and Ian Laperriere.
The Power Play still looked lost but managed to go 1-4 with Andrew Brunette cashing in ona one-timer from the top of the circles on a nice feed by Hejduk.
Jose Theodore played well, being beat just once on a bit of a misdirection play in front early in the second period. Theodore left the game after two periods due to back spasms, and was replaced by Budaj who allowed two late 3rd period goals while facing only 4 shots.
Paul Stastny remains out until possibly late next week.
The Avs start a brutal February scehdule in Detroit on Friday which will see them play 10 of their 14 games on the road.

Avalanche First Half in Review

Through the first 50 games of the 2007-2008 season, the Colorado Avalanche have faced as much turmoil and adversity as they ever have in their time in Denver. After an exciting and eventful off-season that saw the major free agent acquisitions of Ryan Smyth and Scott Hannan, hopes were high for Avalanche faithful. Throw in the performance of the Avs in their last 19 games of the 06-07 season (15-2-2), and the Avs looked as though they would be primed again to take their spot at the top of the tough Northwest division. Then the season started. A season that has been marred by inconsistency, injuries, and inquiry, and yet the Avalanche are within three points of first place in the division, and have a finger hold on the 8th spot in the West.

As expected, the Avs started off the year strong offensively, but defensive breakdowns and inconsistent play in goal were common place. If you look at the success of the Avs at the end of last year, a lot can be attributed to the solid team defense and the play of Peter Budaj. Budaj struggled early and in Joel Quinneville fashion, with a healthy Jose Theodore, the Avs went to a rotating goalie system, with each goalie playing no more than a few games at a time. Each goalie has played well at times, and each goalie has definitely had off nights. But in defense to each of them, there have been an innumerable amount of goals scored on the Avs by guys left wide open in front. Whether it be both defensemen chasing the puck down low, or the centers not helping out in the slot, both Budaj and Theodore have been left out on an island at times. At the same time, bad rebounds and soft goals continue to drive fans crazy. Heading into the all-star break, Theodore has started 10 consecutive games, for the most part has played well, and even has some wondering if he’s returning to the form that he once showed as league MVP.

The defensive corps of the Avalanche has been an enigma through the first half of the season. Everyone knows what this group is capable of, we all saw it in last year’s push that left them just shy of the playoffs, perhaps that’s why the inconsistency is so frustrating. Scott Hannan has played well, but hasn’t been the force many expected him to be. Jordan Leopold has shown flashes of great ability at times and has earned time on the power play, but again has bothered by injuries, and most recently a touch of the flu. Karlis Skrastins continues to play significant minutes, but just doesn’t seem to be the same guy from the past couple years. Kurt Sauer who stepped up huge for the Avs at the end of last season and played well to start the year has been sidelined for 26 games due to post-concussion symptoms. As of this past week, he was still experiencing dizziness, and his return seems to be a ways off. Kyle Cumiskey and Johnny Boychik have been called up at times this year, and Cumiskey in particular has flashed amazing skating ability which he has used to rush the puck and make up ground when getting caught in the defensive zone. The two most consistent defensemen throughout the year have been Brett Clark and Jeff Finger. Each has played well in their own zone, both are tough competitors, and both can contribute offensively. For two guys that have had to battle just to get the opportunity to play in the NHL, the Avs have got to be pleased with the play they get from these two guys night in and night out. Perhaps the biggest disappointment this year has been John-Michael Liles. He’s never been the biggest or strongest guy in his own end, but his offensive contributions made a lot of people forget about his shortcomings. Unfortunately Liles has struggled this year finding the back of the net. While he has played very well the last couple weeks, he remains snakebitten, and with him being a UFA at the end of this year, there are many out there wondering if the Avs will deal him to strengthen the team in other areas

The Avs have had to deal with injuries in the past, but this year, it’s starting to get ridiculous. Joe Sakic has been out for 26 games with a groin injury that turned out to be a hernia. Ryan Smyth has missed 14 games most due to a broken ankle. Both of these guys will be out until late February-early March. Then a week before he was to make his first All-Star appearance, Paul Stastny underwent an appendectomy and will be out another 1-2 weeks. Stastny has been the best player for the Avs this year with contributions not only in the offensive zone (49P in 46GP), but strong play in his own end and on the PK as well. With arguably their 3 most talented offensive players on the shelf, the Avs have had to find a new identity as a team and have looked to their secondary players to step up and provide primary scoring. Marek Svatos leads the team in goals at the break with 20, but somehow only has four assists. He has shown that he is fully over the injuries that have cut his previous seasons short, and still continues to score big goals at key times (5 GWG). Milan Hejduk, continues to be his streaky self, and his play as of late, has shown how important it is for him to have a playmaker such as Sakic or Stastny play alongside him. Wojtek Wolski continues to show that he can be a star in this league, but needs to be more consistent. Andrew Brunette struggled after Sakic went out, but reemerged on a line with Stastny and Hejduk, and has started to do the things that made him successful last year. Perhaps the best group of players in the wake of the injury bug are the grinders and energy players. For about a two week stretch after Sakic went out, the line of Cody McCormick, Ben Guite, and Ian Laperriere was the best every night for the Avs. Cody McLeod has been up from Lake Erie for 17 games and has played a solid role for the Avs. For a team that has been struggling to find an identity all season, this team has turned into a hard working, grinding team, and especially of late, has not been shy about dropping the gloves.

The Avs special teams can be described easily. The penalty kill has been decent (15th in the league, out of 30). The power play has been awful. And for as much grief and blame we place on the defense and goalies for close losses, the lack of power play goals has absolutely killed this team. At the break, the Avs are 29th in the league in overall power play percentage at 13.2%, and are dead last with a 9.9% effectiveness on the road.

Heading into the last 32 games of the season, the playoffs are a possibility but far from a certainty, and this team is full of question marks. Theodore has been playing well as of late, but can he continue and carry this team to a playoff spot? Will Quinneville even give him this opportunity? How much longer will Smyth and Sakic be out, and how much will they be able to contribute when they return? With 30 days left till the trade deadline, will the Avs make any big moves (Liles)? The Avs have a tough two week stretch coming up, and that could very well determine what they do before the deadline. Will the Avs figure out what the hell is wrong with their power play? Can the Avs scratch and claw for a playoff berth, or will they be on the outside looking in for the second year in a row? And finally, the Avs have to get fully healthy at some time don’t they?

NHL All-Star Game 08

Call me biased, but I still don’t understand why so many people shit on the game of hockey. The NHL all-star game has come and gone, and this weekend has given the game’s critics another chance and stage to pander the game. Granted, any all-star game in any sport isn’t the best interpretation of what the sport truly is, and that holds true for hockey. The game is an exhibition to showcase to the general masses the skill of the league’s best players and gives fans from across the country a chance to familiarize themselves with players they may not be able to see on a consistent basis.

I enjoyed the all-star game, especially the third period, and especially the final 5-6 minutes. The skating picked up, and guys were even backchecking! There were pretty goals, great saves, mic’d goalies, a good atmosphere, a 4-goal comeback, and a game that wasn’t decided until the final 20 seconds. But for some reason, with all the positives of the game, there are still people out there who will continue to bash the game, and the state of the league. The funny thing is if you ask them why, they can’t give you a legitimate answer. People look down on the league and the sport because that seems to be the thing to do. What can be done?

I have no doubts that the contempt shown by the world-wide leader in sports plays a big part in the general perception of the game. It’s a catch-22 for the league. ESPN doesn’t need the NHL, but the NHL desperately needs ESPN. Versus has done a good job with their coverage, especially this year compared to last, but the lack of availability and visibility of the network hinders the league and the progress in connectivity with new fans.

The NHL needs to find an outlet to show the world the type of men that play in this league. With all the issues swirling around the other major sports leagues, the biggest problem facing the NHL is visibility and acceptance by the casual sports fan. You look at professional athletes, and the thing that stands out to me about hockey players is the mix of skill, humility and respect for the game and those that have played the game. Thanks in part to the sacrifices these guys have to make at a young age, there is a maturity found even in the youngest of stars that you don’t see in other sports. Call me crazy, but it’s nice to see guys who are truly thankful for the opportunity they have and how they give that back to their communities.

Enough with expansion talks and gimmicks. The league has a solid foundation on which to build on, but it doesn’t seem to be enough focus on building upon what they have. I don’t want to see more teams in the league, I want to see more successful franchises. It does nobody any good to place a franchise in a city and hope it works. The rejuvenation in the fan bases in Chicago and St. Louis is great for the sport. It’s amazing what winning can do. The points system has created tight races and parity in the league, and because of this I can’t see the league changing this for the foreseeable future. I think the schedule will continue to be tweaked, but no matter what, you can’t please everybody. Back to the TV issue, a lot of hockey naysayers will tell you that the game is hard to follow on TV. To those people I say go to a few games in person. It honestly doesn’t take long to get a feel for what the game is about, and when that happens, the game is pretty easy to follow on TV. Just don’t bring back the glow pucks.

The game has a lot to offer, and for the most part, true fans are passionate fans, there doesn’t seem to be a happy medium. Unfortunately, you either love it or you hate it, and who knows if that will ever really change.

2007 NHL Free Agent List Presented By Pabst Blue Ribbon

My summer project will be tracking the free agent player movement in the NHL. Follow along at http://therealstoney.googlepages.com/home