Mothers have very difficult jobs which are thankless 364 days a year. Today is the one day we set aside, in an attempt to make up for the other 364 when we are too busy being self-engrossed, to show our mothers exactly how much they mean to us.

This means presents. Beautiful, wonderful, expensive presents.

Until now. This year, if you are short on presents, merely print out this lovely bouquet and present it to your mother.

And if you are a mother, consider this my gift to you.

Happy Mother’s Day…enjoy the view!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hockey fans must chirp. It’s a part of the game and a part of being a fan. Before the game, Aerys Sports’ Blues writer Ann  Warner (You’re My Boys, Blues!) and I traded quips:

I needn’t have worried. Not even a little.

» Continue reading “Sugar, We’re Going Down Swinging”

David Van der Gulik, call up from the Lake Erie Monsters, made a good showing and notched an assist against the Predators Saturday night. (Photo by JessicaAvsFan.)

In a surprising turn of events, the Colorado Avalanche did not tuck tail and run at the first sign of trouble. Rather they held themselves together, showed some hustle, and fought for a win. They had to settle for two goals and their best performance in weeks against a playoff contender.

Not a bad night for the struggling team.

First Period:

The Avs looked a little disjointed to start. This is understandable given back to back games and new linemates as David Van der Gulik and Mark Olver replaced injured Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk. Four minutes into the period Martin Erat got the puck off a Colorado-won face off and fired on Peter Budaj. When it didn’t go in he chased the rebound and put another shot on net. Joel Ward got the rebound and shot again. Finally Shea Weber ended up with the puck on his stick and was the one to sneak it past Budaj. Not giving up on a scoring chance until the whistle is blown usually pays off, and it worked again for Nashville later in the period. After a takeaway Blake Geoffrion took a shot, then Kevin Klein, then Matt Halischuk finally drove it home. The Avs managed to kill three Nashville power plays but failed to convert on two of their own. The period would end with the Predators on top 2 – 0. » Continue reading “Avalanche refuse to quit in 4 – 2 loss to Predators”

Ryan Getzlaf led the Ducks in their 6 - 2 win over the Avs Friday night. (Photo by Resolute.)

Friday night the Avs played a pretty solid first period and then spent the last two rolling over and playing dead. By the end of the third period I wanted to poke them with a stick to see if they would even twitch. The final score was 6 – 2 Ducks.

First Period:

This was relatively fun to watch. Both sides were animated and played spirited hockey. Yes, the Avs played hockey. It wasn’t terrific hockey (they failed to convert on three power plays and destroyed their own 5 on 3 chance), but it was hockey. Cody McLeod and Brad Winchester went at it mid-ice a little more than halfway through, which got the crowd (and the Avs) going a bit. Finally at 19:16 Ryan O’Reilly, caught on ice with Philippe Dupuis, was fed the puck from Ryan Wilson and Ryan O’Byrne and put a hard-working shot past Dan Ellis to end the period 1 – 0 Avs.

Second Period:

The Avalanche weren’t quite as excited to start play during the second period. Anaheim won the battle for the puck, took it down to the Avs’ zone, and didn’t stop playing until Sakku Koivu put the puck past Brian Elliott 34 seconds into the period. Three minutes later Ryan Getzlaf scored on a power play. A few plays later Stastny beat Getzlaf on a face off, leading to a David Jones goal to tie the score at 2 apiece. The tie lasted 30 seconds before being destroyed by a Corey Perry wrist shot. Dan Sexton added another very painful goal after O’Reilly shot wide of the net and the Ducks took the puck back down ice on a breakaway and scored. The period ended at 4 – 2 Ducks, and the Avs lost Milan Hejduk to a shoulder injury. » Continue reading “Ducks fly together while Avs flail together in 6 – 2 game”

Friday night the Anaheim Ducks come to the Pepsi Center looking to continue their domination of the Colorado Avalanche. Meawhile, the Avs will be looking to make something of a statement about their skill as players, cohesiveness as a unit, and dedication to each other.

Avs fans will just be looking for signs of life…from the team not quacking. » Continue reading “Ducks come to Pepsi Center for the last time this season”

Ryan O'Reilly was credited with the lone Avs' goal in the 5 - 1 home loss Saturday night. (Photo by CM Sonka.)

Saturday night, in the second of two home games against the last-place Edmonton Oilers, the Avs again lost 5 – 1. This desperately begs the question: in spite of being 6 points ahead of the Oilers in the standings, if you lose the season series by an overall score of 16 – 8, aren’t you the worst team in the division, regardless of the actual standings?

In my view, yes. The Avalanche are the worst team in the West, and by the end of the season the standings will reflect this. If not for the Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders, the Avs might finish at the bottom of the league. (I shouldn’t speak so soon…there’s still time.)

First Period:

The Avs had two power plays that they could not convert into goals. The Oilers had three power plays, two of which they turned into points on the board. Sam Gagne from Andrew Cogliano and Omark and Ryan Jones from Gagne and Tom Gilbert gave their team an early 2 – 0 lead, and the game winning goal (Jones) came 9:17 into the first. Edmonton outshot Colorado 14 – 6. » Continue reading “Avs lose 5-1 to the Oilers, worst team in the West despite standings”

Kevin Porter scored the Avs' first goal in the 3-2 loss to the Ducks Sunday night. (Photo by CM Sonka.)

In spite of coming out strong and dominating a big, physical team early, Colorado allowed old habits come back to bite them in a 3-2 loss to Anaheim Sunday night.

First Period:

The Avs finally started the game on time…fans were happy, and I’m sure Coach Sacco was thrilled (though sad he had to find a new line for the post game press conference). The energetic first shift even generated a shot on goal for the Avs. In the first half of the period David Koci fought George Parros to a draw, Cody McLeod fought Sheldon Brookbank (advantage Brookbank), Cameron Gaunce and Jarko Ruutu tussled behind the net, and Gaunce fought Luca Sbisa after Sbisa’s hit on Milan Hejduk. 36 minutes of penalties were called in the first 20 minutes of play.

Whew.

12 minutes into the period the Avs’ fast play put the puck in the Ducks’ zone. Matt Duchene outskated his defender and made a sweet little pass to Kevin Porter, who put it past Dan Ellis in net for the Ducks. The period would end at 1-0 Avs. » Continue reading “Avs dominate first period but lose 3-2 to Ducks after letdown”

Ryan O'Byrne taking Taylor Hall's skate to the face Wednesday night in Denver. (Photo screen capture from YouTube video, click to watch.)

Clearly, this was not the debut new Avs Erik Johnson and Jay McClement envisioned. It was an even bigger disaster for new goalie Brian Elliott, who stopped 26 of 31 shots in the Avalanche 5-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

First Period:

The period didn’t start out too terribly. Both teams were obviously energetic, skating hard and hitting hard. The whole attitude of the game changed when Taylor Hall found himself behind the Avs’ net between Ryan O’Byrne and Matt Duchene. Hall tried to jump over their sticks but didn’t quite clear them. As he went head over heels, Hall’s skate caught O’Byrne on the left side of his face. In spite of bleeding all over the ice O’Byrne managed to finish his shift before heading for the training room. The laceration was bad enough to warrant a trip to the ER so he was done for the game.

Not too much later the ice crew again found use for their little de-bloody-ing axes: to chip Cody McLeod’s blood off center ice after he took a stick to the face. No call came, but the refs were watching when Kevin Porter raised his stick a few minutes later. Dustin Penner scored on the resulting power play. Erik Johnson and Matt Hunwick both had mental lapses on this goal and really should’ve helped their new goalie out. After one period the score was 1-0 Oilers. » Continue reading “Avs get bloodied by Oilers 5-1 at home”

Sharks made Avs look like they were standing still during the 4-0 post trade debacle Saturday night. (Photo by OhMySwede.)

With all the trade news for the Avs in the last couple days, it was easy to forget that they actually had a game to play Saturday night in San Jose. Newcomers Erik Johnson and Jay McClement had to suffer many, many long hours on flights to go from Buffalo to St. Louis to San Jose in time for the game Saturday night. In a way it’s a shame they hurried, as the Avs welcomed their new boys by being shut out 4-0 by the San Jose Sharks.

First Period:

The Avs didn’t come out quite as lethargically as they have in the past. Erik Johnson put a decent shot on net. Kevin Porter had a monster hit in a corner. Budaj made a few saves. The boys looked to be holding it together. Then Devin Setoguchi put one past Budaj 6 minutes into the period with good, old fashioned hard work. This kid is a great player, and he definitely showed it on this goal. The Avs had a power play opportunity about 12 minutes in, but they failed to convert. (Johnson had a strong shot on goal and the puck was in the Sharks’ zone most of the time, so that’s an improvement.)

Almost immediately O’Byrne went to the box, resulting in a Sharks power play. Devin Setoguchi scored his second goal of the night making the score 2-0. On the heels of this power play Budaj cleared the puck over the glass, earning a delay of game penalty which Porter served. Unfortunately on the resulting power play the Sharks’ Logan Couture sent the puck to Ryan Clowe, who made the score at 3-0.

Obviously, this period was not the kind of hockey Avalanche fans were hoping for in the wake of the trades. » Continue reading “Avs follow busy trade week with 4-0 loss to San Jose”

Philippe Dupuis had the only Avs' goal against Columbus Friday night. (Photo by @JessicaAvsFan)

In somewhat of a surprise, the Avs’ best period was their first. There was definitely excitement in the air as new addition Peter Forsberg started as a winger on a line with center Matt Duchene and winger Milan Hejduk. Forsberg started a little slow, but he still has as firm a grip on the game as ever. He moved faster and got more physical as the game went on.

First Period:

This was exciting to watch in a way Avalanche games haven’t been recently. They skated fast, mostly kept their feet moving, played some decent defense in front of Budaj, and weren’t afraid to be physical with the opposing Blue Jackets. Pretty early on Cody McLeod and Jared Boll got into it; McLeod dislodged Boll’s helmet but then lost his footing. Almost 16 minutes into the first period Philippe Dupuis’ consistent heads up play and hard work paid off. He intercepted a lame pass from Umberger and was instantly skating fast the other way to create one of the only breakaways the Avs have had in the past month or so. He didn’t panic against Mathieu Garon and with great timing went top shelf for the Avs’ only goal of the game.

Atta boy, Dupuis. » Continue reading “Spark is there, but no gunpowder as Avs fall 3-1 in Columbus”