On the tenth day of Christmas the Avalanche gave to me 

Ten Hejduk goals

Nine combined points

Eight career wins

Seven new opponents

Six face offs won

Five Cody fights

Four little Monsters

Three hits from Malone

Two shootout goals

And a pain in my head and tummy.

Milan Hejduk is currently the third-highest goal scorer for the Colorado Avalanche, right behind Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene who are tied with 11 goals each. Right now Captain Hejduk has 9 goals.

Tonight the Tampa Bay Lightning play at the Pepsi Center. Last year the two teams combined for 11 goals, with Tampa narrowly edging the Avs 6 – 5. The Avs are defending a seven-game home winning streak. If all goes well, this will be another high-scoring affair – but with the Avalanche on top at the end of the night.

Milan Hejduk hasn’t scored a goal since December 2nd against the Blues. He is definitely due. My guess is that amidst the flurry of goals in tonight’s game, Hejduk will be able to put one home and bring his goal total to a cool 10.

On the ninth day of Christmas the Avalanche gave to me 

Nine combined points

Eight career wins

Seven new opponents

Six face offs won

Five Cody fights

Four little Monsters

Three hits from Malone

Two shootout goals

And a pain in my head and tummy.

The Avs won again!!! It’s always great to beat the Blues. It’s even more fun to beat them in spite of some scoring by Chris Stewart or Kevin Shattenkirk. And it’s most fun to beat them as the result of a balanced offensive display. On Wednesday night the Avs beat the Blues, Chris Stewart scored one of St. Louis’ two goals, and nine different Avalanche players had one point each.

If that’s not awesome, I don’t know what is.

Jay McClement, Cody McLeod, and Paul Stastny all put up goals while Stefan Elliott, Brad Malone, Matt Hunwick, Kevin Porter, Jan Hejda, and Shane O’Brien all put up assists. 12 of the 18 Avs on the ice at least had shots on the goal. I love that so many of the players were present offensively in this game. In spite of the fact that the Blues outshot them 39 – 22, the Avs managed to hold on to a 3 – 2 win in regulation.

And there was much rejoicing. Yay!

Hopefully the Avalanche will continue the offensive production and defensive prowess on Friday night, when the Lightning come to town. Until then, bask in the glow of yet another home win, Denver.

On the eighth day of Christmas the Avalanche gave to me 

Eight career wins

Seven new opponents

Six face offs won

Five Cody fights

Four little Monsters

Three hits from Malone

Two shootout goals

And a pain in my head and tummy.

Ok, so I really mean 238 career wins…but one of the digits is an eight, so I decided to run with it.

On Wednesday night the Colorado Avalanche took on the St. Louis Blues at the Pepsi Center. Paul Stastny and Cody McLeod both scored in the first period, but David Backes and old friend Chris Stewart scored in the second to tie it up. With six minutes left in the second Jay McClement scored the go ahead goal, allowing the Avs to win 3 – 2.

There were two major things that stood out about this game. First of all, it was the Avs’ seventh straight home win. Given their struggles at home earlier this season I am very excited about this statistic. The second highlight was that J.S. Giguere’s 238th career win came from this game. That is incredible. I mean, how many times can you say in your career that you have won? I mold young minds for a living and I know I haven’t “won” 238 times.

Congratulations to Giguere. That is a great milestone and I’m sure there are plenty more to come. Especially if the team keeps playing like they did tonight; the Avs are starting to look like a real live hockey team. It’s…a little confounding, but nice.

Keep it up, boys. The Tampa Bay Lightning come to town on Friday, and it sure would be nice to extend this winning streak.

On the seventh day of Christmas the Avalanche gave to me… 

Seven new opponents

Six face offs won

Five Cody fights

Four little Monsters

Three hits from Malone

Two shootout goals

And a pain in my head and tummy.

By now you all have heard about the new conferences for next season. The Avs are slated to be in the oh-so-originally named Conference A along with the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, L.A. Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver Canucks.

I am actually really excited about being in a conference with these seven teams. It makes complete sense for the Avs and the Coyotes to be lumped in with California, and if we are going to Cali then the Alberta teams may as well follow. (Vancouver is quite possibly farther West than any of the California teams, so maybe we are really all just joining them.)

The biggest reason for my excitement is that my second favorite team to watch is the L.A. Kings. I even have an “I <3 DD” shirt to proclaim my support for the terrific defenseman Drew Doughty. The thought of getting to play more meaningful games against them gives me hockey fan tingles.

Quick thoughts about the win against the Flyers on Monday night…when I got the text that Philly had tied it up in the last 20 seconds of the game my response was “of course. Of course that happened.” But kudos to the boys for keeping the overtime period scoreless and to all three Avalanche shooters for making their shots.

Also, the game should appear on HBO’s “24/7: Road to the Winter Classic” episode that airs tonight. Last year John Michael Liles got a little acclaim when he stopped a stick with his face against the Capitals and Ovi had this pearl of wisdom for the refs (it’s hockey, so there is some language):

It’s so much fun to be the cause of heartbreaking, dramatic losses for the Winter Classic teams.

On the sixth day of Christmas the Avalanche gave to me 

Six face offs won

Five Cody fights

Four little Monsters

Three hits from Malone

Two shootout goals

And a pain in my head and tummy.

After a little hiatus to travel and get enough sleep to remember my own name, the 12 Days of An Avalanche Christmas are back! Saturday night the Avs hosted the struggling Washington Capitals. While flipping through the stats looking for the number six to pop up anywhere I found something remarkable: the only number six all night was the number of face offs won by Mr. Jay McClement.

Congratulations, sir. You were not the most proficient (Paul Stastny won 16 and Ryan O’Reilly won 7). Neither were you the most flashy. But you did win exactly the right number to give me something to write about today, and for that, I salute you.

Tonight the Avs take on the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers have won an awful lot on the road lately. Last year they beat the Avs 4 – 2. It would really be terrific if the Avalanche could manage to get another win at home, setting up a small winning streak, if you will. The Flyers have some injuries so they are definitely vulnerable.

Come on, Avs…get another one at home. Give the crowd what they’re paying for. Oh, and if it’s not too much trouble, let the score add up to seven or something.

Thanks.

On the fifth day of Christmas the Avalanche gave to me… 

Five Cody fights

Four little Monsters

Three hits from Malone

Two shootout goals

And a pain in my head and tummy.

As dangerous as they are (perhaps because of this), I am a huge fan of hockey fights. Very few things get the players’ and fans’ blood pumping more effectively than a good fight. I know there are many who feel that, given the likelihood of injury and emotional byproducts, fighting should be removed from the game. While those arguments are certainly valid, as a fan I really enjoy watching them. The fighting was the third thing to attract me to the sport, behind the skating skills and hits.

What can I say? I appreciate the dual nature of the game. Knowing that an effortlessly elegant skater can get smooshed against the boards at any moment just enhances my enjoyment of each separate element.

Cody McLeod has a little bit of a reputation as a fighter. Thus far this season he has put up five fights. While I am ecstatic that he is willing to step up when necessary, I would be even happier if he could win them consistently. According to the fine people at hockeyfights.com, he has been the clear victor in only one of the five bouts.

Ouch.

McLeod’s first fight was a draw against Columbus Blue Jacket Derek Dorsett on October 12, 2011. Cody then took a few weeks off, allowing Ryan Wilson and Shane O’Brien do the fighting for him. On November 6 Cody decided to go against Tim Jackman of the Calgary Flames. He took another couple of weeks off, but David Jones’ willingness to fight seemed to propel him back into the festivities. On November 15 he lost to Arron Asham of the Penguins. On November 28 he finally won a fight when he went toe-to-toe with Krys Barch. Last but not least he took on San Jose Shark Brad Winchester on December 15.

I was fully planning to insert video into this post, but since the DIA free wifi sucks that will not be happening. Follow this link to see Cody’s fight card this season and click on the tiny TVs next to each entry to see video.

Thanks for your hard work, Cody. Keep it up. Just be happy you can’t be in the press box every night.

On the fourth day of Christmas the Avalanche gave to me….  

Four little Monsters

Three hits from Malone

Two shootout goals

And a pain in my head and tummy.

The Avs aren’t too badly beaten up, but they are certainly losing man hours to injury. Chuck Kobasew, Ryan Wilson, and Peter Mueller are all out with head injuries. Brandon Yip decided to go his own way and get some time off to nurse a groin injury.

…About 18 different dirty jokes went through my head at once. I narrowly avoided brain implosion. It’s ok, I’m better now.

Anyway, all these injuries (and the Kevin Porter suspension, just lifted today) left several holes in the squad. Four, to be exact. Four holes filled by Lake Erie Monsters. (Heh heh heh.) Here is a quick summary of what each young man has brought to the party:

• Defenseman Stefan Elliott was the first to be called up. In 10 games he has put up 5 points (including 3 goals), has stayed out of the box, and is a -1. While he clearly still has a lot to learn, Elliott has proven to be an energetic and hard-working member of our defense. Sadly the same can’t always be said of the “veterans” he plays alongside.
• Center Brad Malone has now played three games with the Avs. In his roughly 20 minutes of ice time he’s put one shot on goal and been on ice for one goal against. Malone has been somewhat invisible, which can be viewed in a positive way: no one expects these guys to be super studs immediately upon call-up, and at least Malone hasn’t been atrocious enough to garner loads of negative attention. (Yep, I can spin almost anything. It’s a gift.)
• Left wing David Van Der Gulik has been back on ice with the Avs for one game. He had a pretty decent game in San Jose, netting an assist in his 10 minutes of ice time. Last season in his 6 games he put up three points.
• Last but not least, center Evan Brophey was put on the ice for four minutes in Thursday night’s game against San Jose. Unfortunately he managed to be playing during one of the Sharks’ goals, so his stats with the big club are a tad sucky.

It’s always fun to watch the talent coming up through the Avalanche organization, especially when you get a chance to see them progress and improve. Stefan Elliott has certainly been impressive. Hopefully these kids will continue to get some exposure to the game at this heightened level, learn from it, and grow into the types of players the Avs will need in the future.

Or, you know, prove valuable enough to trade away for what pieces the Avs do require.

Keep up the good work, little Monsters. You continue to play hard…and I’ll continue to hope against hope that Patrick Bordeleau gets called up next.

Christmas wish, indeed.

On the third day of Christmas the Avalanche gave to me… 

Three hits from Malone,

Two shootout goals,

And a pain in my head and tummy.

Thursday night the Colorado Avalanche traveled to San Jose to take on the Sharks two days after the Avs beat them in a shootout at the Pepsi Center. I’ll be honest, I was a little worried about this game. I was anticipating a huge game from the (also huge) Sharks, who would surely have a lot to prove after losing to the “lowly” Avalanche. I was pleasantly surprised to see the Avs skating hard and consistently outworking the Sharks. It still wasn’t enough to win, sadly, and after three unanswered goals the Sharks came away with the W.

Yes, I know I could/should have used the “three unanswered goals” as today’s Christmas gift, but ending two consecutive lines with the same word sounded a little tacky. What can I say, I’m a slave to the music.

Brad Malone is one of the Lake Erie Monsters currently playing up with the Avs to fill in for injured players. In his third career NHL game he involved himself in the action by laying three hits on the Sharks. The Avs desperately needed players to step up and play a physical game, refusing to be pushed around by a much larger team. It was great to see this kid make his presence known in a game that mattered.

Three Avalanche players (besides Malone) caught my eye. Paul Stastny really brought the offense against the Sharks, scoring two of the Avs’ four goals. Another Avalanche standout was Daniel Winnik, who had a Gordie Howe hat trick (a goal, assist, and a fight) not only in one game but in one period. Ryan O’Reilly had another very solid game as well.

The last “three” that stood out to me was the third period, in which the San Jose Sharks scored three unanswered goals. I know I quoted this statistic in the first paragraph, but the symmetry of all three being scored in period three deserved another mention.

Stupid unanswered goals stemming from mental errors against a very good team.

The Avs are on their way back to Denver to prepare for the Washington Capitals, who come to town on Saturday night. The Capitals have obviously faced some challenges this season, which means the game is definitely winnable by the Avs. If you have ANY money left over after buying gifts and giving to charity and paying bills (please pay your bills first, people…Christmas by candlelight is only fun when it’s a choice rather than foisted upon you by the electric company), I suggest you buy a ticket and go watch the game in person.

Unless, of course, you’re a Caps fan. You should all get together and watch from some agreed upon sports bar far from the Pepsi Center.

Stay tuned for the fourth through twelfth days of Christmas…who knows what my brain will come up with. It’s always an adventure.

Special note: there was a reader request for “three brand new coaches.” As much as I support the idea of something shaking up the Avs and management demonstrating that the status quo is not acceptable, I wanted to stick to using actual “gifts” rather than wishes. Regardless, it made me smile so I wanted to include it and give credit where credit is due. So thanks, @BlueLineYeti, for the suggestion! You should all follow him and his awesome hockeyness.

On the second day of Christmas the Avalanche gave to me…  

Two shootout goals

And a pain in my head and tummy.

Wins via the shootout are becoming a staple around the Pepsi Center. I’m starting to wonder if the Colorado Avalanche are capable of winning in regulation.

It’s confounding, really. Clearly the Avs can score goals. Not only can they best goalies one-on-one in the shootout, but they have nights where it seems any given player can light the lamp. The problem is that they haven’t been able to score consistently. This season the Avs have had to score (on average) at least 3 goals to win games – a task to which the boys have not been equal most of the time.

Since January/February of this year wins have been tough to come by for the Avalanche. Anyone who doubts the rarity of a win merely needs to observe the standing ovation home wins continue to receive. As a fan I will never disparage anything that leads to a W, and the shootout goals by Milan Hejduk and Gabriel Landeskog against the Sharks certainly fall into this category. I’m thrilled the Avs played well enough to keep themselves in it until the end and even more thrilled that they came out on top.

I wouldn’t have complained, however, if they had managed to hold onto a lead and put the game away in regulation.

On the first day of Christmas, the Avalanche gave to me…

A pain in my head and tummy.

The Colorado Avalanche are, without a doubt, an erratic team. Tuesday night they won their fourth home game in a row by once more relying on the shootout. In the three road games last week, however, they looked like boys playing in their big brother’s hockey league. Those games were humiliating and painful to watch. Literally painful – I had a migraine following Tuesday’s 6 – 0 loss to Vancouver.

While this Tuesday’s game had a much happier ending it still managed to give me a slight case of nausea (which had nothing to do with an undigested bit of beef or blot of mustard). The Avs seem well nigh incapable of winning in regulation. Each win also seems to come against teams having an off-night. There have been precious few games this season in which the Colorado Avalanche have bested a good team playing up to their potential. The only one I’ve seen was the December 4 match against the Detroit Red Wings…and the Wings weren’t exactly themselves that night.

I say again: prolonged consideration of this Avalanche team leads to pain in the head and tummy.

The game against the Sharks definitely had it’s bright spots. Stefan Elliott is learning rapidly while playing up with the Avs, and it’s always fun to see a young kid celebrate early career goals. Daniel Winnik’s wraparound goal was a beauty. Milan Hejduk was money in the shootout, as (almost) always. And Gabriel Landeskog netting the game-winning shootout goal was terrific. The fact that the Avs gave up the lead TWICE and had to play overtime as well as a shootout to get the two points was somewhat less than terrific.

The Avs get another chance to best the Sharks on Thursday night in San Jose. It will be interesting to see which Sharks team – and which Avs team – shows up to play.

The Christmas season is in full swing. Look for the full 12 Days of Christmas, Avalanche style, coming at you between now and Christmas Day. If you have any suggestions please share them below or on Twitter!