The Colorado Avalanche ended their streak of good games tonight at four. Less than a minute into the game, Gabe Landeskog took a penalty. Colorado killed off the penalty…only to be scored on right after time expired. The team battled back, and P.A. Parenteau scored after Shane O’Brien made a beautiful pass. Unfortunately, the defensive breakdowns continued, and Jordan Eberle was given the opportunity to test out his Denis Savard-Patrick Kane spin-o-rama move, which led to a tip in front of the net.

Edmonton would score two more goals in the second. Varlamov was left out to dry on pretty much all of the goals (although I would argue that a confident, at-his-best Varlamov might have been able to pull off a spectacular save or two. During the third, the Avs continued to play poorly until the final three minutes. There have been too many games this season where the team has played “blah” (not horrible, but not great) for the majority of the first 57 minutes, and then they play their best in the last couple of minutes when the team is already down a few goals.

I do think the team will have a good response next game, as it will be “Military Appreciation Night” and I would hope that that would motivate the team.

Other Thoughts

-P.A. Parenteau now is the sole leader in goals for the team. He and Duchene were tied at 16, but P.A. now has 17. Last season, he had only 18 goals in 80 games.

-Milan Hejduk had a couple of good chances in his first game back.

-Shane O’Brien was the best defenseman for the Avs tonight.

Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Avs lost their second game in a row, 2-1, with an own goal. At least tonight though, the Avs played well. It was a really strong game from the Avs, and at the end of the night, they were beaten by two bad bounces and Jimmy Howard’s spectacular goaltending.

Things stayed even at zero throughout the first, and seven minutes of the second. Unfortunately, a Stefan Elliott slapshot was blocked, and the puck was sent to a streaking Johan Franzen. He scored a beautiful goal as the puck just clipped the crossbar. Seven minutes later, Kronwall shot the puck intentionally wide when the Wings were in the zone. The puck bounced back, hit J.S. Giguere’s stick, and slid into the Avs net.

Colorado continued to work hard, they killed off over a minute of 5 on 3 time, and they had a couple of beautiful shots on Howard that he stopped up. With two minutes left in the game, Coach Sacco pulled Giguere. Paul Stastny broke Howard’s shutout 30 seconds later after picking up his own rebound. The game was nearly tied in the final six seconds by Matt Duchene, but the puck bounced on him, and he shot it just wide.

This is a frustrating loss, just from the fact that the Avs played so well. I can’t really critisize them, but I can’t sit here and act like everything is hunky dory. The team is sitting at 20 points in 21 games. We’re looking at going 18-9 in these final games.

The Blackhawks are the opponent tomorrow night. Everyone knows they’re awesome and killing it. It’s good that the Hawks played tonight too, so that they won’t be totally fresh. It’s going to take a hell of an effort to beat the Hawks tomorrow night. I hope the boys, and Varlamov especially, are ready.

Other Thoughts

-J.S. Giguere had 31 saves in tonight’s game. Shockingly, the Avs shot the puck more than the other team, as Howard made 36 saves.

-Aaron Palushaj didn’t look the same after he took a hard hit to the head in the second. He took a second hit in the head from Jordin Tootoo in the third. Hopefully he’s okay.

-Milan Hejduk has a torso injury. I hope that he’s not out too long, but I don’t know how severe it is.

-Shane O’Brien was really active offensively tonight. Sacco is nuts if he takes him out of the lineup again.

-O’Byrne had a really good game. He’s been looking better lately, and I think he looked really strong tonight.

-David Jones had another pretty brutal night.

-The power play is so embarrassing right now.

Are you kidding me? Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Colorado Avalanche lost in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a ridiculous game. The Avs put forth their worst effort of the year. The Jackets may be last in the conference, but guess what Avs? You’re 13th. And you’re going to be 15th soon enough if you bring that sort of effort against Detroit and Chicago in the next three games.

During the first period and a half, it seemed as though both teams were pretty much asleep. Varlamov had to make one spectacular save, but otherwise, most of the play was tight. Two fights in the second (McLeod v Prout, Bordeleau v Stoll) led to the Avs waking up a little, and a high shot by Parenteau was shrugged into the net behind Bobrovsky. It seemed as though the Avs were coming on, and that they were going to come out flying in the third. Unfortunately, the Jackets were the only ones flying in the third. Two questionable penalties were called on Avalanche players, which led to the second lengthy five on three for the Blue Jackets in the game. Ryan O’Reilly attempted to deflect a pass from Vinny Prospal behind the net, but instead managed to shoot the puck past his own goaltender in Varlamov. In overtime, Artem Anisimov became the first Jacket to score against Varlamov in over 120 minutes. Parenteau was called for a penalty, and during the ensuing 4 on 3, Hunwick lost his stick. O’Byrne didn’t read the Columbus player or Varlamov’s position at all, and Anisimov sniped a shot over Varl’s shoulder.

At least the team got a point. 18-10 needs to be the record from here on out if the Avs are going to be in the playoffs.

Other Thoughts

-Ryan O’Reilly didn’t really stick out much (aside from his goal against Varls). I think his best play came in the first period, probably when his adrenaline was the highest.

-Poor Varlamov. Another solid game, yet another loss on his record.

-Coach Sacco pointed it out, and I agree: even though the officiating had a negative impact on the Avs, the team wouldn’t have been in that position if they had simply played better.

-Shane O’Brien was the best defenseman for the Avs tonight.

-Calvin Pickard backed up Varls tonight.

-Evidently Erik Johnson will practice tomorrow with contact, so that’s a good sign.

O’Byrne scored his first goal this season.Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Avs rebounded from a terrible first period to earn a much needed win on home ice.

» Continue reading “Avs Knock Down Flames”

Alright, this is just going to be a quick little post, because I have a lot of schoolwork to do.

-First, Varls will be starting tomorrow against the Flames. No real surprise, considering how good he looked yesterday.

-Erik Johnson skated for the first time today, before everyone else came out to practice. Still no timetable on his return, but I’m hopeful that this is a good sign and he’s feeling a bit better.

-Matt Duchene wasn’t at today’s optional practice, but he hasn’t been ruled out for the Flames game. My guess is, he doesn’t play tomorrow and is back the game after, just so that his injury doesn’t worsen.

-Tomorrow’s game against the Flames is important. The Avs have to win. I think they need to go 20-10 to make the playoffs here, and some of the most important teams to beat are those in your own division. The boys are at home, they beat the Flames 6-3 about a month ago, and they’re desperate for points. I’m looking forward to a good, hard-fought game. This isn’t a “two points or bust” game-this is a “two points is your only option game”.

Will he ever catch a break? Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

Holy crap, I am tired of titling posts “Avs Lose…”. And yet, here we are again, with another loss. Yes, the team earned a point. And yes, they played well. At this point though, Punic victories aren’t much consolation.

» Continue reading “Avs Lose In SO”

I’m going to go play in the snow with my dog and forget the pain of being a serious hockey fan.

This was one of those games that makes you lose all hope. Of course, I’m an optimistic person, so I’m sure I’ll be feeling better tomorrow, but for now I just want to throw something at the TV. The Los Angeles Kings scored four goals (one shorthanded) and the Avs were only able to score one on a 4 on 3 power play. Indulge me in a few rants, or stop reading here.

-Sacco should have pulled Varlamov. I think it’s just clear he wasn’t up to his usual self today. The third goal was particularly embarrassing, and the other three? Sure they came from strong shooters, but he shouldn’t have allowed them. Sacco also should have used a timeout at some point in the first, or after the third goal. Just ineffective coaching once more from the Avs head coach.

-GET SHANE O’BRIEN BACK IN THE LINEUP. Sacco obviously has some sort of weird beef with O’Brien. I don’t understand why they re-signed him to a three year deal if they’re just going to treat him this poorly. He’s a leader in the lockerroom, he has some good offensive jump, and he brings more energy than every other defensemen on the team. Greg Zanon is not a good player (it is absolutely mindboggling to me that he has played over 400 NHL games). Tyson Barrie and Stefan Elliott are both up and coming, but they aren’t playing any better than OB has this season, at least consistently. Ryan O’Byrne has looked pretty brutal from game five on. I want Shane O’Brien. Sure, he has the occasional turnover at the blueline, And sure, Ales Hemsky dangled him out of his pants in Edmonton. Guess what though? Players make mistakes. And O’Brien makes fewer mistakes than a lot of the players suiting up for the d-core right now.

-The whole Ryan O’Reilly thing. It’s just a bad situation overall, and I want something to happen. I don’t want them to give him up, but at this point, it seems very unlikely that any sort of agreement is going to come. Just make something happen, Avs management.

-Well, Landeskog looked good in his return. He was playing like himself, which is what the Avs wanted.

-See everyone tomorrow. Maybe the Avs can win.

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday-I’m sick and my cat has an ear infection, and so we spent yesterday sleeping and moaning together.

There wasn’t a lot of information to come out of Avs practice today. The team did say that they think Gabriel Landeskog will be able to start skating again soon. Hopefully they’re right, and his return, while not imminent, is forthcoming.

» Continue reading “How Can Avs Create Blueline Offense?”

How many losses can I use this picture and get away with it?

I’m not feeling well as it is, and the Avs certainly didn’t relieve any of my bleh-ness with their game tonight. The first few minutes started off well. They even (gasp!) had one stellar penalty kill. They weren’t able to capitalize on their own power play, and eventually, Edmonton broke through. The Oilers scored two power play goals before the end of the third. A third power play goal was scored in the second. (The Avs had a really poor second.) Then in the fourth, the Avs broke through. They continued pushing, but it was too late. Nail Yakupov added a fourth goal, an empty netter on the power play (Erik Johnson was in the box, but Sacco pulled Varlamov to put five players on the ice).

Special teams need to be better. There’s no way around it. The power play has only scored once (at home). And the penalty kill has only been successful for a full game during the two home games. The boys need to get it together in a hurry. And, for the love of Sakic, sign Ryan O’Reilly.

Other Thoughts

-Gabriel Landeskog missed tonight’s game with head/leg injuries. He’s out indefinitely. The Avs need him, but I don’t want him rushed back. Hopefully, his recovery goes well.

-Semyon Varlamov did make some good saves. I know he let in three goals but the first one, I think was Zanon’s fault (Zanon fell down in the crease and caused mayhem right when Varls was trying to grab the puck), the second, Jordan Eberle was allowed to walk into the zone and get an unchallenged shot off, and the third twisted in off of Shawn Horcoff’s skate.

-P.A. Parenteau earned his third goal, which was nice to see. Jamie McGinn finally broke onto the score sheet and assisted. (He’s been hitting posts and goalies like nobody’s business the past five games.)

-In the first period, the Avs only got three shots. They improved to 11 in the second, and 23 in the third. Dubnyk did step up during the third.

-Shane O’Brien made his season debut tonight. I thought he was the best defenseman for the Avs in the game. He replaced Hejda, which was kind of a weird choice.

-Brad Malone also made his season debut.

-The Avs were definitely given some suspect penalties, and there were plenty of non-calls on the Oilers. Oh well. C’est la vie.

There’s not a ton of Avs information to relay today. There was a practice this morning, and then the boys boarded a plane to San Jose. Greg Zanon also freaked out when someone tried to step on the Avs logo, and his beard reached out and attacked like Davy Jones tentacles in POTC.

» Continue reading “Avs Headed To The Shark Tank”