Mile High HockeyMile High HockeyA blog and fan community dedicated to the Colorado Avalanche, Mile High Hockey is a part of the SportsBlogs Nation network. Articles
Game 63: Oilers 3, Avalanche 2
2008-02-25 15:04:00 It seems as though we'll just have to get used to the Avalanche blowing leads for no reason. Despite the growing pile of evidence that it's a horrible strategy, the team insists on giving up all offensive effort once a one- or two-goal lead is established. Once again, it failed to produce a win and the Oilers scored three unanswered goals to win 3-2 in Edmonton. Is there any other team in the league with less heart than the Colorado Avalanche? Captain Joe Sakic's return from injury seemed to spark the Avs immediately, but the effect was short-lived. Oilers-killer Tyler Arnason scored super early in the first period and Ben Guite followed at the halfway mark (assisted by new linemate Sakic), but the Avs quit playing in the second period and were out-shot 8-3. I'll just let Adrian Dater's recap paint the picture: After skating to a fast 2-0 lead, the Avs apparently thought that would be enough against the Oilers and had the play taken to them ... More About: Game
Game 63: Avalanche At Oilers, Preview And Open Thread
2008-02-24 23:35:00 One would think that the Avalanche would have no problem beating the weaker Oilers tonight. The Avs are still on the road, where they've played fairly well as of late (compared to their last few home games, which were atrocious), and the Paul Stastny is back in the lineup and scoring again (1g against Phoenix on Friday). But this is the Colorado Avalanche we're talking about, and anything goes. They're just as likely to lose 2-1 as they are to win 6-3. Regardless, there are just 19 games left to play after tonight, and every match up, especially against division rivals, is critical. Jose Theodore will be in goal again. Joe Sakic has a very small 50/50 chance of playing tonight, but it's more likely that we'll see his he could return in the next Avs game on Tuesday against Calgary. I'm unsure if Jeff Finger will be back after missing one game with an apparent hand injury. Let's hope. The game starts at 6:00 PM Mountain time, 8:00 PM Easte... More About: Preview , Open , Game , Thread
Game 62: Avalanche 3, Coyotes 2 (SO)
2008-02-23 13:27:00 photo courtesy of Roy Dabner/AP Is it possible to criticize the shootout for being too individualistic when it goes twelve rounds and involves more than half of each team's lineup? The Colorado Avalanche beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 in a shootout after blowing a one-goal lead with just two seconds left in the third period. They got pretty lucky, considering how well Coyotes backup goalie Mikeal Tellqvist played the entire game, and how much pressure his team was able to apply throughout the third period. But the Avs won on the back of their own netminder Jose Theodore, who had a superb game overall. The game was scoreless half-way through the first period when Scott Parker got called for tripping, which is pretty much all he did in the game. Just a minute later, Karlis Skrastins completely lost his mind and grabbed Joel Perrault's stick like he'd never played hockey before and got called for it. The subsequent 5-on-3 lasted all of ten seconds, wh... More About: Game
Game 62: Avalanche At Coyotes, Preview And Open Thread
2008-02-22 19:00:00 There are a few teams in the NHL that the Colorado Avalanche just can't seem to beat anymore. One is Detroit. Another is Anaheim. And, surprising enough, one is the Phoenix Coyotes. The Avs are 0-1-2 against the 'Yotes this season, and tonight's final matchup is inarguably the most important---the teams are tied with 66 points and share the ninth spot in the Western Conference. Ilya Bryzgalov has anchored Wayne Gretzky's merry band of rookies and cast-offs, who could make the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Beating the Avs tonight would certainly help their cause. The Avs, on the other hand, are looking to extend their five-game losing streak in hopes of missing the playoffs for the second straight season. Paul Stastny, who will likely return to the lineup for the first time since his appendix (and then his groin) betrayed him just before the All Star break, will look to emulate his new teammate Ryan Smyth, who has been totall... More About: Preview , Open , Game , Thread
The Importance Of Scoring On The Rebound...Ladies
2008-02-22 16:27:00 Everybody's had a bad breakup in their life. If you haven't, you've either never left your mother's basement (where you blog, of course) or you got suckered into marrying the very first person you ever dated. For those of us who've suffered the indignity of being dumped, we know, more than anything, that you have to score quickly on the rebound in order to stay in the game. It's no different in hockey. Nothing is sweeter than picking up a big, fat, juicy rebound off a now-out-of-position goalie and batting the sucker home. Bang, goal. Suck it. Ryan Smyth and Chris Drury have built their entire careers on this practice. Because he is a dork without rival, The Forechecker has directed his well-honed statistical nerdery toward the frequency of rebound shots in the NHL so far this season. And what did he find? The Colorado Avalanche lead the league in rebound shots, with 135 in 61 games. That's 14 more than the second-place Rangers ha... More About: Ladies
A Better Way To Pick A Starting Goalie
2008-02-21 17:39:00 With Peter Budaj getting the start in net last night for no good reason other than he must have stopped sleeping with Coach Q's wife, some of us may have wondered if a win against the Ducks would have propelled him back into the "starter" role---whatever that means. Since Jose Theodore had been performing decently but still not winning, it stood to reason that maybe Q was tired of Theo (or Theo was just tired) and it was time for a change. Well, with Budaj's loss you have to assume that Theodore will be right back in net against the Coyotes tomorrow night. But instead of all this back and forth, guessing and waiting and whatnot, isn't there a better way to decide who should play in net than Coach Q's adultery-fueled dart board experiments? The geniuses (savants?) at The Pensblog have a much better idea. The Penguins are struggling with which goalie they should go with---the previous-starter-now-back-from-injury Marc Andre Fleury or the amazing-out-of-nowhere Ty Co... More About: Pick
Game 61: Ducks 3, Avalanche 2 (SO)
2008-02-21 14:48:00 Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines. "S-O-L" means a lot more than just "Shoot Out Loss" to the Colorado Avalanche these days. It also means shit out of luck, which is what they're going to be if they don't get their crap together and start winning games again. The playoffs, I'm sad to say, are becoming a distant memory to this franchise. Last night, the Avalanche once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, giving up a 1-goal lead in the third period and losing 3-2 to the Anaheim Ducks in a shootout. Though it was the fifth straight loss for the Avs, at least this time they salvaged a point out of it. That's something. I'm not even sure it's worth mentioning again that trying to hold a one-goal lead by abandoning the offensive attack is a horrible strategy that almost never works. How many leads do the Avs have to blow? How many close games do they have to lose in the third period or in overtime for them to ge... More About: Game
Game 61: Avalanche At Ducks, Preview And Open Thread
2008-02-20 19:27:00 In Isaac Asimov's Foundation series of novels, a vast, galaxy-spanning empire begins to fall apart. At first it's barely even noticeable. Only a few futurist mathematicians (called psychohistorians) even notice the tiny scraps of evidence that indicate something is wrong. The empire itself doesn't notice, not until the conflicts on its borders become more than just mildly bothersome and whole star systems begin to fall out of control. Recognizing that the entropy is too big to prevent, a man named Hari Seldon and his followers set off to a distant, isolated corner of the galaxy to establish what effectively amounts to a giant backup disk---a "Foundation" that will maintain the legacy of the original empire after the inevitable collapse is complete. Just as predicted the empire eventually dies and the long process of rebuilding must begin. The Avalanche franchise is that empire, fraying and falling apart at the seems, unable to adjust to the change... More About: Preview , Open , Game , Thread
Mike's Miscellany™ Vol. III
2008-02-20 17:10:00 I'm still in a pretty foul mood when it comes to anything hockey related, especially Avalanche 'hockey' related, but I intend to soldier on. I will NOT, however, be watching tonight's game against the 'Still Pretty-Damn Mighty' Ducks. I have to think of the children after all. Kukla has a linky to a story mentioning that Francois Giguere was in shadowy conversations with Toronto's front office. Most of the rumor mill has Andropov as the only guy likely to move due to no-trade clauses, but NT clauses can be waived pretty easily, so there's just as much likelihood that they were discussing something else. The Forechecker has ANOTHER quality post, this time pointing out the link between horrible faceoff percentages and special teams. Not surprisingly, most of Colorado's numbers are highlighted in red. Speaking of horrible powerplays, with the Blues going 3-for-7 against the Kings and then 3-for-6 against the 'Hawks, your 2007-2008 Colorado Avalan... More About: Trade , Miscellany
Dater Priming For A Sequel?
2008-02-20 16:57:00 Denver Post beat writer Adrian Dater wrote a pretty good book about the old Red Wings/Avalanche rivalry called Blood Feud. I assume everyone has already read it by now or is currently reading it. If not, shame on you. With the onslaught of whining that erupted from Emptytown after Nick Lidstrom got pwn3d by Lappy on Monday, you had to expect that Dater would chime in. Oh, he has, and it looks like he's trying to rekindle a flame that could drive his book career for years: Last I checked, Lidstrom did not have a special blue jersey, which would signify he couldn’t be hit. Last I saw him on the ice, in fact, he had a red and white sweater on, just like anyone else on his team. Last I checked, Lidstrom had his head down along the boards - the first thing kids are taught not to do when they start playing hockey. So, the facts are this: Lidstrom had no blue jersey and was doing something no player should do - all the while pinching into the Colorado zone, trying to... More About: Sequel
Documenting The Phadouchery
2008-02-20 16:03:00 Colorado doesn't play Calgary again until next Tuesday, February 26th, but I just couldn't wait to point out, once again, that Dion Phaneuf is a lousy hockey player and a poopy human being. Over at the Battle of California, they have a play-by-play of every hit he took (with video!) during a game against the Kings last Saturday, including one in which Jeff Giuliano (5 foot 9) crushed Phadouche and made him look stupid. Any embarrassment suffered by that tool really warms my heart. If the Avs don't win any other games this season, at least let them win the last three scheduled against the Flame-Outs.
A Reminder
2008-02-20 12:38:00 If you kids can't play nice, please don't waste your time posting comments to this blog. I appreciate everyone's incredible participation, and I'm glad that my posts inspire such an outpouring of opinion, but having to police the comment threads every single second looking for insults and put-downs is getting oooooolllllllldd. I'll say it again. If you don't like what someone has posted, or think someone else is an idiot, ignore them. It's not really that hard. Remember what they say about arguing on the Internet... Let's practice some calm and some restraint---and that goes for everyone. Love, Your Blog Daddy More About: Reminder
Weekend Warriors
2008-02-19 21:38:00 Folks, I have great news. I have the solution to get the Avalanche into the playoffs and it doesn't involve firing the coach or trading all our players. My solution? Just play all our games on the weekend. The Avalanche are 7-3 on Saturday and 7-3 on Sunday. Their 14-6 weekend record is a huge improvement over their 16-19-5 weekday record. And the 28 points they've captured on those two games accounts for 43% of the teams' total. I don't really know why the team plays better on the weekend (maybe they are big Loverboy fans?), but it seems pretty clear that they do. On Saturday and Sunday, the team has outscored their opponents 74-51. They score 3.7 goals a game and allow just 2.6. On the weekday? They've been outpaced 91-115 (2.2/g vs 2.8/g). That's a huge swing offensively. Are our scorers getting fired up by Saturday morning cartoons? Whatever it is, the Avs have 8 more weekend games left and I hope they keep on doing what they're doing for those games. One more bit of g... More About: Weekend , Warriors
The Chopping Block: These Players Need To Go
2008-02-19 16:23:00 Last night's appalling loss to the Red Wings---the fourth in the row for the team---revealed, for all to see, that the Colorado Avalanche needs a serious overhaul like yesterday. First of all, Coach Joel Quenneville and his assistants Tony Granato and Jacques Cloutier should be fired today. Gone, all of them. Goalie coach Jeff Hackett gets to stay, because his work with Jose Theodore has transformed the former has-been to a force between the pipes. Whatever Hackett has done has worked very well, and he should be commended. In fact, his success with both Theodore and Budaj is all the more amazing considering how far Q has gone to ruin both of them. Now, as for the players, the following should be traded, cut, sent to the minors or swapped for a right-handed pitcher from the Yomiuri Giants. Immediately. Tyler Arnason He's useless in the faceoff circle, he's useless on defense and he only scores in spurts every ten games. He's outlasted his welcome... More About: Players , Block
Sell, Sell, Sell
2008-02-19 15:10:00 Last night was the final straw. I can't watch any more of this crap brand of hockey that masquerades as the Colorado Avalanche. The last few games have shown me something about this team. That thing? They aren't ready to return to the playoffs. Nothing I've seen in the last few games has given me any hope that there is the ability or desire to right the ship. As Thomas said in the open thread for last night's game, everybody is standing around waiting for the style of hockey they've been playing to start winning games, when all evidence points to it not happening. My theory is that the players gave up over a month-and-a-half ago when the last of the Three Essess went down. Only the energetic play of the call-ups and Theo's Holy Grail-level quest to earn a paycheck next season kept the secret from getting out. Jibbles has a great post about this too. I'll second everything he says. The lack of commitment starts with the coaching... More About: Sell
Game 60: Red Wings 4, Avalanche 0
2008-02-19 14:39:00 For a second I wondered if Ian Laperriere's crushing hit on Nicklas Lidstrom (and Lidstrom's subsequent exit due to injury) would spark the waning rivalry between the Avalanche and the Red Wings . But then I realized that you can't have a rivalry if one team never beats the other. After losing 4-0 last night, the Avs finished this season's series against Detroit with the same score: 4-0. Zero wins against a team they used to frustrate and infuriate on a regular basis just a few years ago. The game last night was a sad, sorry affair, much like the season as a whole has started to become. The Red Wings went up 2-0 on two fairly lucky bounces and shots in the first period, but the Avs at least tied them for shots and seemed at least partially interested in playing hockey. After the first, though, it was all downhill. All the life drained out of the team and they coasted through the rest of regulation barely making an impact at all. They wer... More About: Game
Breaking: Foppa Says Never Mind
2008-02-18 21:40:00 Peter Forsberg has decided not to try a return to the NHL this season (hat tip to Bob in Boulder), citing his obliterated ankles as the reason. It seems the human Barbaro just can't find a skate that fits. At least that saves us all the inevitable d'oh! moment when he signs a $3 million contract to play 20 games and goes down in the second one he plays---out for the season. We could have had to suffer through that. Peter, I hope you the best, and maybe you'll get to come back next year. Just remember that we all love you. ADDENDUM: I never knew that Foppa wore a hearing aid. Anyone know anything about that? More About: Mind , Breaking
Game 60: Red Wings At Avalanche, Preview And Open Thread
2008-02-18 19:15:00 [graphic will be up later] Well, the good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that they should have no trouble ending their six-game losing streak tonight against the Avalanche . They're no doubt crazy motivated to win right now, playing against an old rival and struggling to regain the momentum that has carried them through the season up until just recently. Of course, six straight losses means they still only have 15 for the whole season, but you know they're tired of seeing that "L" in the box scores. The Avs, on the other hand, are starting to embrace the L. Or, I should say, "Commit To The L." No team looks more committed to losing right now than Colorado, with the exception of the Flyers, of course. Funny that those two teams are supposed to be the top two choices of Peter Forsberg, who is now rumored to be interested in playing for Minnesota. If his ankle doesn't explode (it will), his superb two-way play would fit right in with th... More About: Preview , Open , Game
Game 59: Blackhawks 2, Avalanche 1
2008-02-18 15:23:00 Okay, we get it, you won. Knock it off already. Sad. That's all I have to say about the Avalanche . If you want a full recap, check out the AP or ITCS. I can't bring myself to do one of my own. UPDATE: Dater's recap at the Post is pretty good, and addresses what most of us here have already noticed before about the Avs' defense. Skrastins, this time, fully withstanding: "We didn't handle the puck a lot." When they did, Quenneville said, "we made some direct passes from our stick to their stick, with not a lot of pressure." Quenneville was probably thinking of Karlis Skrastins' umpteenth giveaway of the kind he made Sunday on the game-winning goal. Skrastins had the puck with time during a Blackhawks flurry, but instead of a safe clearout or pass to a teammate, he put it right back to the Blackhawks at the point. A few seconds later, the puck was behind Avs goalie Jose Theodore, after Martin Havlat shot it into the right side of the net t... More About: Game
Game 59: Avalanche At Blackhawks, Preview And Open Thread
2008-02-17 14:23:00 And just like that, the Avalanche are out of the playoffs again. Vancouver beat Edmonton last night moved up one spot in both the Northwest Division and the Western Conference, one point ahead of Colorado in both. With the Avs barely clinging to their playoff hopes, each game becomes critically important to win. Yes, you could say each game was a "must-win," if so inclined. Unfortunately for the Avs, they face the Chicago Blackhawks today, who have found it much easier to "Commit To The Indian" since ace rookie Jonathan Toews returned to the lineup last week. The 'Hawks have won their past two games by outscoring their opponents (Columbus and Nashville) 13-3. Great. Jose Theodore will return to the net today for the Avs after getting pulled against St. Louis on Thursday. Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny are both skating now, but won't play in either today's game nor tomorrow's in Detroit. Ryan Smyth will have to lead the team all by himself. The... More About: Preview , Open , Game
Maybe You Can Quantify Defense After All
2008-02-15 18:54:00 Most of us would agree that it's pretty tough to quantify how well a defenseman plays, especially a stay-at-home, defense-only kind of player. Plus/minus has been shown time and time again to mean more or less nothing in the grand scheme of things. Well, James Mirtle, Bloggologist, has given it a try. He calls it the "Rod Langway Award" after the last defenseman to win the Norris Trophy with fewer than 50 points. His methodology can be found here. He ranks the top 20 defensive defensmen in the league so far this season. The top five are Henrik Tallinder, Nicklas Lidstrom, Adam Foote, Chris Pronger and Derek Morris. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, there isn't an Avalanche d-man anywhere to be found in his top 20. But it's not all bad, because he lists the bottom ten and there aren't any Avalanche players there, either. Dion Phaneuf is in the bottom ten, but no Colorado boys. I'd like to know where the Avs who qualify for the ra... More About: Defense
Kiszla On Q
2008-02-15 18:01:00 Mark Kiszla of the Post has added his two cents to the Coach Q love-fest that has finally started to subside, though it came with the price tag of two important games lost to Western Conference rivals. It's not exactly a hug fest, but it's no tough love, either. Disclaimer: I think most of what Mark Kiszla writes is absolute crap. So if I seem a little harsh on him, it's because I don't like his writing. Is time running out on Colorado coach Joel Quenneville? His contract with the team expires this year. Yes. And his expiring contract means the team won't have to fire him. While Quenneville has held the Avs together through uneven goaltending and frustrating injuries, he also has watched home-ice advantage melt away to the point where Colorado could slip up and miss the playoffs. What planet do these people live on? "...Held the Avs together through uneven goaltending?" Coach Q created the uneven goaltending. He has two perfectly capable ...
Game 58: Blues 4, Avalanche 1
2008-02-15 14:44:00 It appears that Manny Legace's Avalanche mind control powers are back in full effect. 40 shots, 39 stops. That's ridiculous. At least Peter Budaj played very well in relief of Jose Theodore, something he failed to do last time he was brought in to replace the starter. I trust Theodore can shake off this one bad night and be ready to go against Chicago (who've outscored their last two opponents 13-3) on Sunday. If he can't, he's a baby. I'm not even going to waste my time talking about the rest of the players or the game in general. The quicker this pants-crapping is a memory, the better. More About: Blues , Game
Game 58: Blues At Avalanche, Preview And Open Thread
2008-02-14 20:46:00 Man, Mile High Hockey's been on post overload all day. Good lord, I must be bored. Anyway, let's do this. The St. Louis Blues have been sucking something awful lately, even if you include the win against Los Angeles the other day. All that momentum they had at the start of the year is gone, pretty much. Now they're just running on fumes and Paul Kariya's nightmares about Scott Stevens. You know he still thinks about it all the time. Ouch. The Avalanche , on the other hand, are running on prescription pain killers, which might explain why they tend to fall asleep halfway through the second period of almost every game they play. The whole team is hurt and full of Vicodin. I'm excited about Ryan Smyth returning to the lineup tonight after a six week absence due to a broken ankle, but not because I want to see him play or think he'll contribute to the team. I'm excited to see what new injury he'll no doubt suffer tonight. Skrast... More About: Preview , Open , Game
Drinkin' the Coach Q Kool Aid
2008-02-14 19:59:00 I guess ESPN columnists and Versus announcers aren't the only people starting to convince themselves that Avalanche Coach Joel Quenneville is somehow not just a good coach, but a great one. In Dater's latest mail bag (yes, I really want to type "male bag," but Adrian seems like a nice guy, so I won't), a fan writes: What gives? I've been an Avs fan since I thought they should be named the Grizzlies (before the Grizz moved to Utah), and I have yet seen an Avs coach do more with so little as Coach Q does. Why no love in Denver? Bloggers and posts here and elsewhere are always calling for his head! What do you say? So much with so little? Maybe a lot of people just kind of missed the first half of the season. I understand, since the only teams that get any publicity anymore are Pittsburgh, Washington, Ottawa and Detroit. Anyway, Dater responds: Expectations were much higher, with Ryan Smyth and Scott Hannan, but they were horrible on the road the first half... More About: Kool , Kool-Aid
Win Big...Or Don't Win At All
2008-02-14 16:50:00 Back on January 12th and 13th, the Avalanche won two tight back-to-back games in the southeast, with a 5-4 come-from-behind win in Carolina followed the next night by a 4-3 shootout victory against the Florida Panthers. Since that weekend, the Avs have not won a single game by a one-goal margin. Over the last twelve games, Colorado has a nicely symmetrical 6 wins and 6 losses. Here are the scores for the last six Avalanche wins: 3-0 3-1 6-3 6-4 3-1 6-2 Average margin of victory: 2.7 goals And, for the last six losses (* denotes an OT or SO loss): 2-1 4-3* 2-0 3-2 4-0 2-1* Average margin of defeat: 1.7 goals. As you can see, it's pretty much feast or famine for our dudes in the burgundy uniprons. In several of the recent losses, the team seemed hellbent on either sitting on a 1-goal lead or - even worse - trying to take a tie game to overtime. The Anaheim game was a great example of that. Here's a hint: it doesn't work. This team seems to have better luck keeping pressure o...
What's Bad For The Clark Is Good For The Skrastins
2008-02-14 15:48:00 So Brett Clark, love him or hate him, won't be back in the Avalanche lineup for a while. That leaves a spot open for somebody to fill. Since Karlis Skrastins isn't doing anything at the moment (he's been a healthy scratch off and on all season), who better to take up the slack? Says the Post: The loss of Clark creates an opportunity for veteran Karlis Skrastins, who has been a healthy scratch in recent games. Skrastins set an NHL record for consecutive games played by a defenseman last season, but lost his regular job when Kurt Sauer returned from injury. When you get benched for a guy who's still probably dealing with post-concussion syndrome, you know you're not exactly making a big impact on the team. But, Skrastins said he never got down over the demotion. "Whether I play or don't play, I just try to approach each game the same way," Skrastins said. "It's too bad for Clark. If I (take) his place, then I'll just play hard and do my best." ... More About: Good
Slow News Day = YouTubery
2008-02-11 19:55:00 Things have been going pretty well over the last few games, and, despite the lingering absences of the Three Esses, there's not really much to complain about. To supplement the lack of interesting Avalanche-related news, I've decided to share with you one of my favorite pastimes: reading the comments posted to videos on YouTube. There is no other repository of human knowledge and creativity more vast or diverse. For example, take this video clip of Bob Probert's ridiculous cheap shot on Peter Forsberg, which resulted in a courageous (if out-matched) Adam Foote response and a game misconduct: Pretty straightforward. But what makes the video really worthwhile are the comments posted to it. For example, one genius (probably a Wings fan or one of the two Blackhawks diehards left in Chicago) has this to say about Foppa: May be "hard as rock"but is a china doll. How many games he missed the last ten years?He's a pussy who lost his only fight ever....to ... More About: News , Slow
Game 56: Avalanche 6, Canucks 2
2008-02-10 13:34:00 You know, the Avalanche are supposed to be suffering from the loss of Paul Stastny, Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth to injury. They're supposed to be struggling offensively. They're not supposed to be winning games against good Western Conference teams. Somehow, the Avs are getting it done. Tyler Arnason, Marek Svatos and Wojtek Wolski each had three-point nights as the Avalanche crushed the Vancouver Canucks 6-2 at General Motors Place, and chased Roberto Luongo at the end of the second period after the robotic super-goalie allowed five goals on 22 shots. The Colorado offense was firing on all cylinders. Guys who should have been scoring in bunches all year but didn't, are finally doing so. Milan Hejduk had two goals. Arnason, long the whipping-boy of this blog, added a goal and two assists of his own. Even Andrew Brunette and Jaroslav Hlinka had two-assist nights. Just about everybody expected to score points on a regular basis did last nig... More About: Game
Game 56: Avalanche At Canucks, Preview And Open Thread
More articles from this author:2008-02-09 23:33:00 As has become custom for the Avalanche this season, their previous injury reports are never quite as accurate as they could be. After more than a week of "Stastny will be back on Saturday against the Canucks ," it seems that he actually won't be. The team considers him "questionable" for the game and he's still on the injured reserve. Pending a miracle, he won't play tonight. Jose Theodore will play, however, as his back seems fine after his dominant win against the Sharks earlier in the week. If his play continues to be as amazing as it has been, the Avs won't miss Stastny as much as they could. As far as the importance of this game, it's---I'm unafraid to say---a must-win. A win tonight could spring the Avalanche back into first place in the Northwest Division and stall Vancouver's ascent at the same time. A loss could mean the Avs would be battling for the last Western Conference playoff spot. Again. The game starts at 8:00 PM Mo... More About: Preview , Open , Game 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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