The Colorado Avalanche lost in Dallas Thursday night 4 – 2. Raise your hand if you’re surprised. No, really. Don’t be shy….oh, no one? Alrighty then.

The Good:

• Brian Elliott made a few decent saves.
• Matt Duchene really does have some sick moves.
• Philippe Dupuis got some love from the Altitude broadcast boys before the game, then earned it with his hard work throughout the game (he even got an assist!). Too bad his mini-breakaway was foiled by a skilled poke check.
• Tiny, pocket-sized Olver scored a tiny, pocket-sized goal.
• Not one single person on the ice missed Hunwick. Well, maybe the guys in Stars’ sweaters.
  In the second period the Avs managed to score while holding Dallas scoreless. They won at least that part of the game!

That’s pretty much it. Oh, nope, I forgot…

BRANDON YIP SCORED!!!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, #18 still plays for the Avalanche. Tonight he remembered that fact, and decided to do something about it. Yay! (I knew there was a place he walked…)

Sorry, shameless The Who shout out. I’m better now.

The Bad:

• The Avs didn’t play well enough to spoil Dallas’ playoff hopes.
• Lake Erie Monsters call-up Shawn Belle made some pretty glaring mistakes, but I’m still wary of being too critical given his position on the depth chart.
• The Dallas Stars outshot the Colorado Avalanche Light 37 – 23.
• Ryan O’Byrne collected TWO delay of game penalties when he dumped the puck over the glass. Both came at very inopportune times, and one led to a Stars PPG. Dude should quit the gym.
• The Avs lost, which is never fun.

These two teams will see each other again Friday night in the second of a back-to-back, home-and-home series. Maybe home ice will be kind to the Avs and the game will have a slightly better outcome.

Yeah, I know it’s a longshot. But I’m an Avalanche fan; I’m nothing if not optimistic.

Thursday night the Colorado Avalanche welcome the Nashville Predators to the Pepsi Center for the last time this season.

I’m sure Avalanche fans will all join me in issuing a simultaneous “it’s about time.”

Nashville has roundly dominated Colorado so far this season. As they currently hold a playoff spot by a mere two points, you can bet they will come to the Pepsi Center determined to score on the Avs as often as Finch hoped to score with Stifler’s mom. (Any guesses as to which movie I watched last night? Anyone?) » Continue reading “Smashville Looks To Complete Season Domination of Colorado”

In spite of an early look of dominance, the Colorado Avalanche ultimately fell to the Anaheim Ducks and the greatness of Teemu Selanne 5 – 4.

First Period:

At 3:34, the unthinkable happened. Milan Hejduk sent a beauty of a pass to Ryan O’Reilly on an Avalanche power play and O’Reilly put it in the back of the Ducks’ net. The Avs opened the game with a 1 – 0 lead.

Not even two minutes later Hejduk made another brilliant pass, but this time Matt Duchene was the recipient. He made an absolutely gorgeous move to get around Ryan Getzlaf and made the score 2 -0. The Avalanche managed to keep the Ducks scoreless through the first.

Let me say that again: the Avs led 2 – 0 at the end of the first period.

» Continue reading “Selanne Leads Ducks’ Domination Of Avs”

Or, even better, a distraction in a fire in a barrel. The Colorado Avalanche conclude their short-lived SoCal road trip in Anaheim Monday night against the Ducks.

The Ducks currently hold 7th in the west by one measly point over Chicago, and Calgary and Dallas are 2 and 3 points away respectively. This logjam means Anaheim really, really needs the two points from a win. Luckily they are playing the Avs, who gave two points to Toronto and the Kings in the past week.

Well, Toronto had to earn them. The Kings sacrificed Anze Kopitar for them. At least the points didn’t come cheap. » Continue reading “Avs May Need A Distraction To Beat Ducks In Anaheim”

Saturday afternoon the L.A. Kings will look to complete their 2010-11 domination of the Colorado Avalanche at the Staples Center.

In the interest of full disclosure, I really like the Kings. I will also readily admit that I have been heavily influenced by friends of mine, who drew my attention to Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty. Maybe they were smart enough to take advantage of my weakness for USA boys and defensemen…then again the friends are hockey players themselves, so maybe it was an accident.

I kid, I kid.

Regardless, I am excited to see this game. The Avalanche have been looking a little more lively lately, winning two of their last three and giving the Maple Leafs a decent run for the game. The Kings are 5th in the West with 90 points, but need to solidly put Colorado in their place to put some distance between them and the teams nipping at their heels. It could be a fun game. » Continue reading “An Ode To Two Teams I Love As Kings Welcome Avs”

Cameron Gaunce in a last-minute call up defended teammate Mark Olver against Mike Komisarek in Thursday night's game. (Photo by JessicaAvsFan.)

After winning their previous two games in a shootout, the Colorado Avalanche lost in regulation to the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 4 – 3. But the story of the game was the first period hit by Mike Komisarek on teeny tiny Mark Olver, and call up Cameron Gaunce taking on the slightly grumpy Komisarek immediately afterward. The secondary story was the Avs playing better than I anticipated.

First Period:

There has been much hand-wringing in Colorado this season because the generally terrible defense allows so many short handed goals (11, according to hockey-reference.com). Well finally during a Cody McLeod roughing penalty Daniel Winnik added a SHG tally to the Avalanche “for” column. He had help from EJ and McClement, and for a brief shining 4.5 minutes the Avs led the Maple Leafs 1 – 0.

About three minutes after the goal Jonas Holos made a pass up ice to Mark Olver in spite of Mike Komisarek being lined up on Olver about 8 steps away. Olver turned and ducked a bit to get the pass and Komisarek lined him up. Olver literally bounced off Komisarek like a rag doll and crawled off the ice but didn’t make it to the bench. Cameron Gaunce, who was just called up from Lake Erie, stood up for his teammate and took on Komisarek. For more on my opinions on the matter, skip ahead to the analysis section. » Continue reading “Wow What A Hit…Oh There Was A Game, Too”

Thursday night the Colorado Avalanche will face the Toronto Maple Leafs on the ice at the Pepsi Center. This game preview is going to be a little bit different for a few reasons. First, these two teams only see each other once a year, so there is precious little past to summarize. Second, the Leafs only come to Denver every other year, so this game provides a rare opportunity to see the dynasty team. Third, I’m bored and want to try something new. Fourth and most importantly, I’m on Spring Break and was able to attend both the Avalanche and Maple Leaf team practices on Wednesday and have pictures and videos to share.

So, let’s get to it, shall we? First, the necessities.

Keep an eye on goalie James Reimer, forward Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak, and defenseman Luke Schenn.

Yes, I’m aware that the list above is entirely composed of Toronto players. I see it like this: as much as I love the Avalanche, I’m thrilled to death to get to watch Toronto. It’s always fun to see an eastern team; the different style, new faces, new names. Especially during a year when the Avs often lack inspiration, the opportunity to see the Leafs play is exciting. Almost as exciting as watching the Bruins a few months back.

So, I could tell you to watch Duchene try to keep his streak alive, or Hejduk weave the kind of magic he always does when on the ice. I could say to watch for Dupuis since he’s no longer sick and hopefully will get to play. But realistically, I’m going to be watching the Leafs unless the Avs light the lamp so often I can’t help but watch them. » Continue reading “But…They’re So BIG…Maple Leafs Visit Avalanche”

Milan Hejduk gets the shootout winner for the Avs in his 900th game. (Photo by @JessicaAvsFan.)

Two wins in a row. Two. That makes a streak, correct? So the Colorado Avalanche are on a two game winning streak after Milan Hejduk’s shootout goal and Brian Elliott’s superb late play led them to a 5 – 4 victory over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets.

There are many adjectives to describe this. I’ll go with the one the Pepsi Center audio team played following Mark Olver Matt Duchene’s goal: “Sweet.”

First Period:

Honestly, the Avs weren’t particularly impressive at the beginning of the first. There wasn’t a lot of pep in their step and they looked a little…wait for it…lethargic. Two minutes in Rick Nash was allowed to skate unchallenged wherever he desired, which happened to be right in front of the net. He put an easy one on a nice little backhand past Elliott to give the Blue Jackets the early lead. Luckily for the Avs Ryan O’Reilly doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit and put a wrister past Steve Mason off a Matt Hunwick disruption, Kevin Porter pass and his own rebound six minutes into the period. The rest of the period was pretty uneventful, except for Columbus’ Antoine Vermette being penalized for “playing with a broken stick,” which amused me to no end. Sadly the Avs didn’t do anything on the power play and the period ended at a 1 – 1 tie. » Continue reading “Avalanche Refuse To Fall Apart, Best CBJ In Shootout”

No, this ending was no product of a cold-medicine flooded brain. Saturday night the Avalanche snapped their 10 game losing streak when call up Ryan Stoa scored his first NHL shootout goal against Edmonton Oiler’s Nikolai Khabibulin. The final score was 3 – 2 Avs.

First Period:

Eleven seconds after the game began EJ took on Ryan Jones in what appeared to be almost an accidental fight. It was kind of lame, and Jones pretty much dominated. Luckily Matt Duchene continued his resurrection and scored a goal much prettier than  EJ’s fight to make the score 1 – 0.

» Continue reading “Avalanche Top Oilers in 4 Round SO, This Time For Real”

The Colorado Avalanche go into Edmonton with 60 points in 70 games. The Oilers meet them with 55 points in 71 games. The difference? Since February 1 the Avs have gained 4 points, whereas the Oilers have gained 17. The Avs are also on a 10 game slide, while the Oilers have *only* lost their last five. Oh, and the Oil’s last win came against the Avs on March 5.

Well this should be a fun game. (Note: I first typed that as “gun game.” Freudian slip of the fingers?)

Series Record: Avalanche 1, Oilers 3.

In the four games to date, Edmonton has outscored Colorado 16 – 8 in spite of being outshot 137 to 121. The two most recent games have ended with a final score of 5 – 1, both in favor of the Oilers. Avalanche goalie Brian Elliott took the loss on both games, though he was pulled after allowing four goals in the second. » Continue reading “Battle For the Basement: Avs Take On Oilers Saturday Night”