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WCQ Game 2: Avalanche At Wild, Preview And Open Thread
2008-04-11 17:51:00
Another early start to the game thread because there's nothing else to talk about today except tonight's matchup. Sure, things fell the Avs' way in Game 1, but don't think for a second---even with the mounting injuries faced by the Wild ---that Minnesota is out of it.  If anything, getting humbled in front of their own crowd is only going to make them play harder.  Nobody wants to go home early from the playoffs. Mark Parrish is out, but Martin Skoula will play with a sore leg and Chris Simon will likely be in, so the Avs will have to keep their heads up at all times because he's the dirtiest player in the league.  Forsberg needs to stay light on his skates because he'll be dodging two-handers all night long.  Even Forsberg shadow Brent Burns is not above cheap play, and neither is the rest of his team.  The good news is, Burns had to play 30 minutes in game 1, and if he has to do it again tonight, he'll be toast.   Foppa wasn't happy with his...
More About: Preview , Open , Avalanche

Last Word On The Officials In Game 1
2008-04-10 21:40:00
Greg at Deadspin posted this photo today: That's David Jones getting the crap cross-checked out of him by Martin Skoula, you know, right before the refs waved off the goal because Jones' foot touched it.  Well, I checked the NHL rule book and sure enough, cross-checking is illegal.  Skoula was not called for a penalty. Again, I know it's lame to bellyache about poor officiating, but this crap is pretty ridiculous.  Seriously, if it's this bad again in game 2, I just might have to do something about it.  Which means I'll probably just shake my fist at the television and cuss a lot, but I swear I'll do it real hard! UPDATE: Looks like bad karma has a quick turnaround.
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WCQ Game 1: Avalanche 3, Wild 2 (OT)
2008-04-10 15:48:00
photos courtesy of Tom Olmscheid/AP Joe Sakic.  Great clutch player, or the greatest clutch player? After his team blew a two-goal lead in the third period, captain and patron saint Super Joe scored eleven minutes into overtime to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a huge win over the Wild in the first round, 3-2. The goal, a backhand garbage shot, was the eighth playoff overtime goal of his career and extended his league record.  When you're on a list ahead of guys like Maurice Richard and Glenn Anderson, you know you're the clutchest mofo on the planet.  Chris who? But Super Joe's heroics wouldn't have been necessary had the Avs held on to the lead they established in the second period.  Kurt Sauer got things started with a tip in from the slot with help from Sakic and Wojtek "Suck My Ass, Q" Wolski just a minute and a half into the middle frame.  Sauer's celebration was less surprise and more "how you like them apples?"  Priceless. Ryan Smyth f...
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WCQ Game 1: Avalanche At Wild, Preview Omnibus And Open Thread
2008-04-09 16:38:00
Let's get this going early, shall we?  The game tonight doesn't start until 7:00 PM Mountain time, but the anticipation, anxiousness, and sheer joy of the postseason started a week ago, at least for me.  It's time to get crazy. Anything less than the Stanley Cup is a failure. First of all, let me get this out of the way.  The Wild are a boring team.  They play a boring system of defense-first trapping.  Sure, you could argue that the Avs play a similar style and scored a similar number of goals as the Wild this season, but I don't care.  That doesn't make the Wild exciting.  It makes the Avs boring, too. I stand by what I wrote in my cameo appearance on The Pensblog yesterday: Watching the Minnesota Wild play hockey is like watching the New Jersey Devils play hockey. Sleep-inducing. At least the Devils have some great history and three spots on the side of the Stanley Cup. The Wild, not so much. The Avalanche have history, too, but they...
More About: Preview , Open , Game

Similarities
2008-04-08 23:18:00
Kind of buried in Mike Russo's blog entry on Ian Laperriere yesterday was an interesting little blurb. Russo was responding to a lot of groans from the Avosphere about the Wild's boring game: The Wild and Avs play essentially the same system when they don’t have the puck. Almost identical in fact, so much so that when we were in Edmonton a few weeks ago, coach Craig MacTavish basically said he didn’t watch any video of the Wild because the Oilers had just played the Avalanche, so his players were prepared for the Minnesota system. I think Russo's right. I've never really "gotten" complaints about the Wild's game, and I actually like to watch the Wild play. Part of that is due to their stellar broadcast team, and part of that is because I like tight hockey games. I know I'm not in the majority, of course. Like it or not, though, these teams have some similarities. Both won exactly 44 games this year. And check out the goal totals. Colorado scored 224 to the Wil...

Mike Haynes To Miss Playoffs
2008-04-08 22:51:00
Everyone here at Mile High Hockey wishes Altitude play-by-play announcer Mike Haynes a successful surgery and a speedy recovery. Get better soon, Mike.  Our thoughts are with you. John Kelly, former "Voice of The Avalanche" and current announcer for the St. Louis Blues, will be filling in for Haynes during the playoffs.
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Avalanche Season Recap Part II: Who's In Your Five?
2008-04-08 21:22:00
I could do player-by-player report cards, or some other detailed, highly quantitative analysis of individual performances this year.  But I'm not going to do that, because other people (see: Draft Dodger and Shane, maybe Jibble) will likely do that. No, instead I'm just going to pick the five players from the Avalanche who most impressed me this season.  Their statistical output plays into my choices, of course, but I also considered a number of intangibles that probably wouldn't make many scouting reports. So, without further ado, the following are the top five Avalanche players of the regular season: Paul Stastny Son of Stastny had a great rookie season, but even with a ruptured appendix his sophomore year was better.  71 points in 66 games.  The only other player to score more than 70 points in less than 70 total games was Sidney Crosby.  Sure, Stastny was inconsistent at times and lost a lot of games to injury, but the team would be nothing without ...
More About: Season , Recap , Part

The Rabble Rouser: An Interview With Adrian Dater
2008-04-08 16:02:00
Adrian Dater, Avalanche beat writer for the Denver Post, has recently caused some minor controversy in the hockey blog world with some very candid, critical comments about Todd Bertuzzi, Dion Phaneuf and (most recently) Derek Boogaard on his blog All Things Avs.  With the  Avs and Wild ready to face off in the first round of the playoffs, I figured now would be a great time to ask Adrian a few questions about the team and his blog. My questions are in bold, his answers in blockquotes. Sum up the regular season.  From your perspective, what theme or incident had the biggest impact on the team's performance this year?  Considering everything, did they underachieve or overachieve? As simple and easy as the answer seems, I think it was the trade deadline that turned things around. Forsberg obviously has been great of late, but I think the Foote and Salei additions have meant even more. After they lost Brett Clark, they were lost in their own zone for a while. Th...
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Canucks Fans Aren't All Bad
2008-04-07 23:44:00
I really have to tip my hat to Alanah at Canucks And Beyond.  Very nice work. Sorry your team missed the playoffs.  Don't blame Roberto's kid.
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Game 82: Wild At Avalanche, Open Thread
2008-04-06 17:21:00
Very busy today, so no time for a preview, but this game is purely for playoff position.  A win (or an OT loss) for the Avs moves them above Calgary into second place in the division and sixth place in the West.  A loss means a seventh seed and a first-round matchup against the Sharks. Game starts at 1:00 PM Mountain time, 3:00 PM Eastern. ESPN preview.
More About: Open , Wild , Avalanche , Thread

Flame-Outs Fail As Usual, Wild Clinch Division
2008-04-04 15:50:00
photo courtesy of A.J. Olmscheid/AP Consistent with Calgary tradition, the Flame s are slouching their way into the playoffs again.  In a game that could have ultimately meant a shot at the Northwest Division title, the Flame-Outs choked hard and lost to the Wild , giving Minnesota its very first regular season banner.  The highlight of the night was Brent Burns' beating of Dion Phadouche, who deserved every punch he took.  Phaneuf looked to have the fight won early on, but Burns got his arm free and landed a great series of right hands before tossing the baby to the ice. Now, as long as Calgary loses their final game of the season, the Avs will secure second place in the division---which isn't that bad considering how mediocre most of their season was.   Vancouver crapped the proverbial bed again, losing 2-1 to the Oilers, who were without key players including Ales Hemsky.  Great work, 'Nucks.  Enjoy the golf course. Strangely, though, ESPN didn...
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Avs vs The Rest In The West
2008-04-03 21:13:00
The list of teams the Avalanche may face in the first round is currently at six (Detroit, San Jose, Minnesota, Anaheim, Dallas and Calgary). Although several of the matchups are a remote possibility at best, it's still a bit to early to start planning for the first round series. So, I thought I'd take a quick look at how we fared against the 9 other teams still with a mathematical chance at making the postseason in the West . Detroit: The Avalanche were a woeful 0-4 against the Wings and were outscored 11-2. The 2 came in one game - the first meeting; the last 3 games were all Detroit shutouts. The Avs were 0-11 on the PP while the Wings were 2-13 (15.4%). The Avs were an amazingly bad 39.8% in faceoffs against (80-121). San Jose: The Avs were 2-2 against the Sharks, with each team going 1-1 in their own building. The Avs outscored San Jose 13-9, mostly due to a 6-goal outburst way back on October 7th. We were 4-17 (23.5%) on the PP while the Sharks were 4-19 (21.1%). Once again,...
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The Playoffs: How To Keep Your Cool
2008-04-03 18:48:00
I constantly marvel at how Bill (IwoCPO) and his disciples at Abel To Yzerman can be so pompous and full of themselves throughout every regular season, but come playoff time they collapse into wavering puddles of stress and nervousness as they anxiously await the impending and unavoidable collapse of the Red Wings in the post-season.   First round or third, it doesn't matter.  They know that the Wings will hit the wall and they agonize over every little sign that something has started to go wrong. His latest post (and the comments) is just one example of this peculiar phenomenon. Here at Mile High Hockey, we Avalanche fans have it a little easier.  Sure, we're still used to our team making the playoffs and reaching at least the second round every time, but last year's debacle and this year's near-miss have jaded us a bit.  Some of us are probably just satisfied that the team clinched a spot at all.  Some of us maybe even wish they hadn't because it pr...
More About: Cool , Playoffs

Post-Clincher Snippets
2008-04-02 21:12:00
Because I'm still reveling in the Avs' once-automatic securing of a playoff spot, I'll add just one more little post today.  Just a couple of interesting things. In case you didn't already hate the Calgary Flame-Outs as much as I do, here's another chance.  Their fans are cave men and the city's going to shit. Greg at Deadspin (and Fanhouse and like a billion other blogs), offered this great recap of the Avs' huge win over Vancouver last night: But sir, nobody worries about upsetting Vancouver. And that's because Canucks don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Colorado is known to do that. I'd suggest a new strategy, R2: Let the Wolski win. I wouldn't call this an official prediction, but rather a conclusion drawn from empirical evidence: If Peter Forsberg is healthy, Colorado will win the Western Conference.
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More Stuff You Don't Want To Read About
2008-04-02 20:36:00
Okay, don't get mad at me.  I'm giving you a choice here. If you want to read more about the ever-evolving relationship between pro sports, the Old Media (television and print journalism) and the New Media (anything on the Internet, pretty much), then please click through. If you don't want to read more about that, and pretty much hate me for daring to discuss anything other than how awesome Peter Forsberg is (seriously, 11 points in 8 games!), then just skip it and don't click through. I'm giving you the choice.  Don't get all bent out of shape. Okay, now we're alone. Uniwatch linked to a really interesting article about the developing battle between Major League Baseball and the traditional journalistic outlets that cover the teams.  MLB is worried that since print outlets now have web sites and their own watered-down, board room-approved versions of blogs, and MLB has online content of their own, that they're now in direct competition with the very peo...
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Game 81: Avalanche 4, Canucks 2
2008-04-02 16:17:00
PLAYOFFS?  PLAYOFFS?!! photo courtesy of Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press Follow the formula: the Avs give up cheap goals to the Canucks to start the game, and start the second period with a scoring deficit.  Then Jose Theodore goes into Pimp Cane mode and the Avs come alive.  They then score several unanswered goals and win the game.  The Avs followed this formula on March 26th and they followed it again last night. The result?  THE PLAYOFFS! Honestly, it would have seemed unthinkable five or six years ago for an Avalanche blog to make a big deal out of making the playoffs.  But with last season's disappointment and this season's ridiculousness (goalie carousels, injuries, bad coaching), it's a wonder the Avs didn't finish last place in the West. But they didn't.  Last night the Avs clinched a playoff spot by beating the Canucks 4-2, a win that included an awesome breakaway goal by Peter Forsberg, his first since returning to the NHL at t...
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Game 81: Avalanche At Canucks, Oh My God This Is Important
2008-04-01 20:48:00
Sorry about the title of this post, I got a little caught up in the excitement. First of all, Forsberg is reportedly "probable," according to this article by Terry Frei about why Coach Q hates Ryan Smyth.  John-Michael Liles apparently hurt his beautiful, modelesque groin muscle near the end of the game against the Wild on Sunday, but he is also supposedly good to go tonight.  Don't bet money on anything the Avalanche organization says.  Ever. The Avs have played well against Vancouver this season, and they've chased Roberto Luongo twice so far.  Hopefully he doesn't play a full game again. Now, what are the playoff implications of tonight's matchup?  First of all, if the Avs win tonight, they clinch a spot in the playoffs.  But that's not the only result of winning.  Remember that the Avalanche can still win the Northwest Division as long as they beat Vancouver tonight and Minnesota on April 6th.  Oh, and as long as Minnesota doesn't...
More About: Game , Canucks

Quenneville Fired!
2008-04-01 17:17:00
The RMN and DP are reporting that Joel Quenneville has been fired by the Colorado Avalanche. Francois Giguere noted Quenneville's valuable contributions to the team in his prior tenure as an assistant coach and the last few seasons as head coach.  He also acknowledged that while injuries played a role in the team's struggles this season, the inconsistency exhibited when the lineup was healthy, coupled with the feelings that Quenneville's message wasn't getting through to many of the veteran players, led to the decision to go in another direction as the team is trying to sew up a playoff birth after having missed the post-season last year. "At the end of the day, we felt that he had lost the room," Giguere noted.   When asked about the impact on the club's chances of winning the Stanley Cup this season, he said, "As an organization committed to winning, we have to do everything to reach that end." He then dropped another bombshell that nobody expected:   "We ...
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Francois Giguere is Okay I Guess
2008-03-31 20:46:00
Ken Campbell at the Hockey News ranks the general managers: Francois Giguere, Colorado Giguere inherited a franchise on the decline more than a year ago and while he hasn’t exactly vaulted it back into contender status, he has done an admirable job of righting things in Colorado. Despite his inexperience, he showed a certain amount of veteran savvy last summer when he identified Ryan Smyth and Scott Hannan as the two unrestricted free agents he wanted and proceeded to go out and get them. Getting Forsberg and Adam Foote at the deadline were easy moves given their history with the Avs. Giving Brett Clark a $2-million raise and making him a $3.5-million-a-year defenseman was the mother of all head-scratchers. Hat tip to Kukla.
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Game 80: Wild 3, Avalanche 2 (OT)
2008-03-31 16:09:00
You'd think a big loss like the Avs suffered against the Wild yesterday would change the face of the division and the playoff race, but it didn't.  Minnesota still hasn't clinched the Northwest Division title, and Calgary's loss against Vancouver makes it harder for the Flames to pull it off. Nothing has changed. The Avs can still win the Northwest Division title. The Avs can still finish fourth in the division. The Avs can start the Western Conference playoffs in the third seed. The Avs can miss the playoffs entirely. If the Avs win their final two games, and the Wild and the Flames lose the rest of theirs, the Avs will win the division through a tie-breaker with the Wild (Colorado would have more wins).  But, if the Avs lose the next two games, there's a very strong possibility that they will be out of the playoffs entirely.  "Down to the wire" doesn't even cover this insanity. As for the game, what a heartbreaker.  The Avs got off to their custo...
More About: Avalanche , Game

Game 79: Avalanche 5, Oilers 4 (SO)
2008-03-29 13:26:00
photo courtesy of David Zalubowski/AP One day, Joe Sakic is going to retire from professional hockey, and for Avalanche fans and team members, that's going to be a tough day.  The ageless wonder proved his overwhelming value to the franchise once again with a ridiculously clutch goal with 5.9 seconds left in the game to send the Avalanche to overtime with the Edmonton Oilers. The Avs would eventually go 3-for-3 on the shootout and grab the full two points for one of the biggest wins of the season, beating the Oilers 5-4. The win moves the Avs into a tie with Calgary in points, and seventh place overall in the Western Conference.  If the Avs can stay there, their first round opponent will likely be the San Jose Sharks instead of the Detroit Red Wings.  But, Colorado hasn't clinched a spot yet, because Nashville (newly eighth place) and Vancouver (now in ninth), can still mathematically surpass the Avs and kick them out.  As long as the Avs win at least one mo...
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Game 79: Oilers At Avalanche, Preview And Open Thread
2008-03-28 22:07:00
Has it been a long season or what? Tonight the Avalanche and the Oilers face each other for the eighth and final time this year.  Colorado has so far dominated the series, but they can't rest on their laurels.  Edmonton still has an outside chance to make the playoffs, and beating the Avs would go a long way to helping them achieve that goal. A win for the Avs tonight would guarantee that the Oilers couldn't steal a playoff spot from them.  Nashville still could, but not the Oilers. Adam Foote is set to return---again---from a hip injury that has made him miss the last few games.  Hopefully it's fully healed this time.  Unfortunately, the hip injury bug has been passed to poor Jordan Leopold, who will miss tonight's game but not much longer, according to the team---for whatever that's worth.  Jose Theodore will be in net. The game starts at 7:00 PM Mountain time, 9:00 Eastern. ESPN preview.
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Statistical Awareness
2008-03-28 16:57:00
                                                        A recent Hockey News article laments the rise of statistics in hockey.  I don't know how Draft Dodger or Joe feel about this subject, but I for one enjoy actual, informative statistical analysis.  To be fair, the ludicrous examples given in the article aren't the kind I'm talking about.  Tweaks to how +/- is considered, the number of blocked shots in penalty killing situations, face-off percentages in different zones and different situations, penalty +/-, etc. are all informative, valid stats, in my opinion. If nothing else, they serve to stimulate conversation and argument on the intrawebs, which is the real reason most of us are here anyway. Some of my favorite stats sites this season (besides the gregarious DD's work on this lovely corner of cyber-space) have been: ...
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Try To Keep It On The Ground, Show Off
2008-03-27 21:23:00
I've finally found it, the real cause of Peter Forsberg's long-term ankle and foot problems. The long-term effects of such acrobatics must be devastating on the joints.  Not to mention on the ability to score goals on some random dude in front of a wooden net in the middle of Sweden.
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Game 78: Avalanche 6, Canucks 3
2008-03-27 14:33:00
Sometimes it's okay to change up an offensive line combination.  When one player is clearly having a very bad game (Ryan Smyth), and another looks really good (Peter Forsberg), it's okay to switch them up.  This shouldn't become habit, of course, but sometimes it's an effective way to jump start the offense. Last night was one of those times.  After struggling early on---and then pretty much throughout the rest of the game---Ryan Smyth was pulled from his usual spot on the second line with Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk.  He was replaced by Forsberg, who, despite playing less than 15 minutes, went on to tally three assists.  Hejduk had two goals and an assist, while Son of Stastny had a goal and two assists. Those nine total points drove the Avalanche to a dominant 6-3 win over the Canucks , who pulled ace goalie Roberto Luongo in the middle of the second period. Unfortunately, knowing Coach Q, two things will probably happen.  Either Ryan Smyth wi...
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Game 78: Canucks At Avalanche, Preview And Open Thread
2008-03-26 20:25:00
For those of you living in a cave, this game is important.  Critical.  Win-or-die-trying critical.  A win tonight moves the Avs out of eighth place in the West and into seventh, and a much better position playoff-wise.  Sure, the San Jose Sharks are freakin' mean as hell, but the Avs beat them twice this year already and I honestly believe they could beat them again.  Maybe.  The Wings?  Eh, not so much. Beating Vancouver tonight is one of those "four point games" against a divisional foe they'll only face one more time this season.  The Avs lead the series 4-2 so far, and could really make a statement by drubbing a team I think is probably the weakest overall of any of the Northwest Division right now. A loss tonight makes it that much easier for Nashville (or Edmonton!) to catch them and steal the final playoff seed. All this said, I'm still on the fence about making the playoffs.  The win against Calgary changes nothing.  Co...
More About: Preview , Open , Avalanche , Game , Canucks

Roys Will Be Roys (Wah Wah Wah)
2008-03-26 15:02:00
It's been a few days, and the story is starting to fade, but I figured I'd post a quick summary of what the Denver hockey writers have said about the whole Patrick Roy/Jonathan Roy brawl. The Rocky Mountain News only ran the AP story on the Roys being suspended, and no other commentary that I could find.  It's pretty cut-and-dry: Goalie Jonathon [sic] Roy was suspended seven games for barreling into Bobby Nadeau and repeatedly hitting him. The suspensions were effective immediately and could go into next regular season. The elder Roy, who was on the bench, denied playing any role in the melee, although he appeared to urge on his son with a wave. That we know.   At the Denver Post, it was a bit more personal, with both Terry Frei and Adrian Dater offering their own perspectives on the incident.  Frei cites his experience with junior hockey, and doesn't approve of teenagers fighting or of Patrick Roy's participation in the whole mess: It's this simple: Th...

Saving Kittens
2008-03-25 20:08:00
I like kittens. Our own kitten, Lucky, has some issues (such as knocking water glasses off the kitchen counter), but she's still cool. I hate to see good kittens go to waste which is why our kitten killing power play futility has been a season long annoyance. The Avs PP, of course, has been dreadful all season long. The low point of the season was the 13.0% the team had back on January 12th. They floundered around a bit before climbing to 14.7% on February 9th (that was around the time of the TJ Hensick mini-outburst). From that game, the Avs PP dropped steadily again, reaching 13.1% - effectively the 2nd lowest point of the season - on March 9th against the Stars. Since then, though, the PP has been surprisingly effective - 7 for 31, or a 22.5% success rate - and the team's PP has climbed all the way up to 14%. That's good news for fans of fluffy bundles of love. Hockey fans know just how important special teams' play is to a team's success. But I had no idea just how big a...
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Pests, Punks and Being Phadouche
2008-03-25 18:31:00
I really have to hand it to Adrian Dater this season.  His blog All Things Avs (though it's more of an online journal, which is different than a blog) has been quite the Blender Of Feces.  His latest spoon in the toilet is this post, in which he calls Dion Phaneuf "a punk" for his dirty tricks on the ice and his tendency to go running for cover when somebody tries to call him on it. Dater didn't just stop there, though, he dragged Detroit into it by comparing Phadouche to Pistons pest-of-the-past Bill Laimbeer, one of the most infamous dirty players in NBA history.  In the days before defense was banned completely from professional basketball, Laimbeer's elbows made Chris Pronger's look pillowy in comparison.  Cheap shots after the whistle, clutching and grabbing for no reason, quick jabs into the back and head, you name it, Laimbeer did it.  And he ran his big mouth the whole time. He was so annoying even Larry Bird tried to kick his ass once. Well, ...
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Game 77: Avalanche 2, Flames 0
2008-03-25 14:40:00
photo courtesy of Jack Dempsey/AP After the Edmonton game, and the wary reports from Sunday's practice, you would have thought Jose Theodore was all washed up---again.  Not so.  Theo tallied his third shutout of the year as the Avalanche blanked Calgary 2-0 at the Pepsi Center.  Theodore made 23 saves, including a couple of great ones on Craig Conroy and Alex Tanguay, to secure the critical win for his team. Theo had some help, too.  The Avalanche defense was remarkably sound, and all the blueliners had really solid games.  John-Michael Liles was all over the ice, making key checks and mucking up the passing lanes, Jeff Finger and Kurt Sauer were gritty and physical, Jordan Leopold seemed confident despite just returning from a concussion, and Scott Hannan was all over the Flames.  He led the team in ice time and prevented the Flame-Outs from setting up any screens all night long.  He even got involved in the near-constant pushing and shoving ma...
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