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Avalanche Sign T.J. Galiardi to Entry-Level Contract
2008-05-13 21:33:00
The Avalanche have just announced their first roster move of the summer as they have signed T.J. Galiardi to an entry-level contract.If you follow Jori's blog you might have noticed she actually scooped the Avalanche website on this one. I unfortunately missed it amidst the post-season fervor. The tears must have blurred my vision.Galiardi appears to be an excellent prospect as he was 2nd in the WHL in rookie scoring (18g, 52a - 70pts in 72 games) and led all playoff scorers with 24 points in 16 games for the Calgary Hitmen.He appears to be quite a playmaking left-winger and if there's one thing teams need, it's a slick left winger.* He is rated #6 for Avalanche prospects by HockeysFuture with a 7.0C rating. And he played for Dartmouth so the team could be adding another Ivy Leaguer to go along with David Jones.*Disclaimer: Played left-wing through most of my "career" so may be biased towards the position.Related LinksNext season begins: Avs sign GaliardiGlobal Interview with T....
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Avalanche to Poach Coach from Red Wings?
2008-05-13 16:38:00
Could the Avalanche be trying to poach from the enemy? Terry Frei thinks it's a possibility and that Todd McLellan, the Red Wings assistant coach, could be a solid fit for the vacant head coaching position for the Avalanche.McLellan was snagged by Frei after the Wings morning skate Monday and asked if he would be interested in the Avalanche head coaching position. The response? "I would be very interested."And the match made in heaven didn't stop there as he followed up with these romantic words: "So I'd like to coach a high-tempo, fast, puck-possession type team."Now I'm very interested. McLellan is in charge of the Wings forwards including their powerplay so how could you not be intrigued?Read the whole piece from Frei as it really delved deep into McLellan's past including a stint in the WHL where he set foot on the ice against our very own Joe Sakic.EDIT: I'd love to hear from the folks who feel Tony Granato would be the best option. I'm not a big fan of Granato steppi...
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Patrick Roy to Coach the Colorado Avalanche?
2008-05-11 17:54:00
The speculation began even before Quenneville was let go. With Patrick Roy having begun a coaching career, everyone wondered if Roy would ever coach the Colorado Avalanche .Now that Quenneville is gone, the speculation starts in earnest as the two most common names being bandied about are renowned 3-time Jack Adams award winning and Stanley Cup winning coach Pat Burns along with one of the most famous - or infamous - goaltenders of all time, Patrick Roy.But not only did St. Patrick grow infamous as a goaltender with a penchant for the dramatic and the ability to get in players heads, he has grown infamous behind the bench of the Quebec Remparts.In his first year coaching the Remparts, Roy led the team to a Memorial Cup championship. It was only the 7th time that a rookie coach has won the Memorial Cup. I was in Quebec the day the team paraded down the streets and you could feel a sense of aura around the team and Patrick. It's an aura that seems to follow him around like a shadow.H...
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Joel Quenneville Parts Ways with Colorado Avalanche
2008-05-09 20:16:00
After all that work I did this morning - and after telling myself to just wait because a decision was imminent - the decision has been made: Joel Quenneville will not return as the head coach of the Avalanche .I like the mutual decision as it appears to mean Q is willing to realize he wasn't bringing the necessary methodology to the table. Is Quenneville's departure a positive step? ( surveys)
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Should Q Stay or Should He Go?
2008-05-09 19:40:00
Though the NHL playoffs continue, us Avalanche fans are relegated to starting our off-season banter on who should stay and who should go. Front and center in that discussion is our venerable coach Joel Quenneville.Since as early as last season fans have been calling for Quenneville's head:"He juggles lines too much!""He won't stick with a goaltender!""He sits on leads!""He wears bad ties!"For months those cries were heard and unheeded. At one point, fans who felt Q should go were called chuckleheads who didn't understand hockey. But even as the Avalanche snuck into the playoffs amidst injuries, many peoples still felt Quenneville was the wrong coach for the team.Then the Avalanche dispatched of the Minnesota Wild in a series where Quenneville appeared to outcoach an excellent coach in Jacques Lemaire. You started to wonder if maybe we'd been too hard on Quenneville. Then the Detroit Red Wings rolled in, swept the Avalanche out of the second round for the second time in Avs las...
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Avalanche Over, What Next?
2008-05-02 16:57:00
I threw my notes on the game out last night so no point recapping. Just look at the score and you'll know all you need to know.So where do we go from here? Well, I don't know about anyone else but I still want to see who will win the Stanley Cup. And not only that, the World Hockey Championships get under way this afternoon. Can you believe Selanne joined the Finnish team? Amazing what an extra 5 months rest will do for someone who was thinking of retiring.So I think I'll be using those as a way to get over the complete beatdown that was handed to the Avalanche by a team with a gloating, mocking fan base. I don't know if I'll watch any Red Wings games though. You know, to avoid the nightmares.But what about Forsberg retiring? And is Sakic going to play again? Will Foote come back? Will the team re-sign Theodore? Is Budaj the answer?I've got thoughts on all those subjects but I think I'll wait until the season is fully over to expand on them.One thing I'd like to note i...

Avalanche Swept by Red Wings
2008-05-02 05:15:00
(Credit)The game wasn't even half over and I was already writing a "recap" post. The Wings torched the Avalanche 8-2 to end Colorado's season. But not Joe Sakic's career. He will be back next season.CoachingHow is it possible that up to this point, TJ Hensick and David Jones had the least ice-time of the Avalanche forwards? Just ridiculous. Those two were the only players left that had any jump to their step and their asses are planted on the bench. Inexcusable.GoaltendingTheodore made big saves against the Wild. He did not make any saves against the Wings. Blame the defence as much as you want but Theodore was not good enough this series.2-on-1's are tough but it looked like Theodore was flowing through mud on the two that beat him today. And that first goal? There's the backbreaking goal I was talking about the other day. It just came one day later than I thought it would.DefenseIll-advised pinches, lazy turnovers, non-existent outlet passes. The quality of play was...

RSS Awareness Day
2008-05-02 00:35:00
I'm going to use this space to promote technology for a moment rather than hockey. So if your mind is so far into preparation for tonight's game, read no further and I apologize for breaking you out of the zone.I did not realize this but today is RSS awareness day. "What is RSS?", you might ask. "Awesome!" would be my response.RSS is a great way to keep tabs on your favorite websites without needing to visit the site every hour to see if there's anything new. It helps give the notion of users being "pushed" data over the Web which is in stark contrast to the long standing need for users to "pull" their data in. Oddly enough, it appears that only 5% of Web users take advantage of this technology.If you use Firefox or IE7, your browser has native support for subscribing to feeds. Just watch for the orange RSS icon in the address bar of your browser.I personally don't like the built in support - mostly because your date is then tied to one browser and machine combo - so I use Goog...
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Playoff Gameday: Avalanche vs Red Wings - Game 4
2008-05-01 23:14:00
Could this be it for the Avalanche team and fans this season? Will tonight's game end in the agony of a sweep at the hands of the team's "bitter rivals", the Detroit Red Wings ?I will boldy say "No!"I was off most of the afternoon giving a talk at the U of S to get high school students interested in the tech world - and believe me there's lots to be interested in - which left me a bit behind on my actual work.So I don't think I'll be saying much other than:Stastny - outSmyth - outWolski - outForsberg - outSvatos - outClark - outIs there anyone left to suit up?And finally, I will not allow myself to believe this is Joe Sakic's final year.So this isn't much in terms of a preview from me. Fortunately the Avalanche fan base are blessed with a great group of bloggers who have put out some amazing posts today which should keep you reading until game time. And not only amazing posts, but some pretty clever titles.So I'll encourage everyone to check out their words and make sure to ...
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Joel Quenneville Not a Jack Adams Finalist
2008-05-01 03:37:00
The Jack Adams finalists are out and our very own coach Q did not make the shortlist.So the Capitals remarkable resurgence under Boudreau, the Habs meteoric rise to the top and the Red Wings pesky ability to keep winning the Presidents Trophy was all it took to put them above a coach who - amongst injuries mind you - had his team literally limp into the playoffs?Shocking.
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Red Wings Take 3-0 Series Lead Against Avalanche
2008-04-30 06:27:00
(Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)Well that's the season folks. The only question remaining is whether the Avalanche will go out with a bang or a whimper.For now, I'm going to go whimper into my pillow and will recap in the morning.UPDATE: I whimpered too long and woke up late. So here's a few quick notes and hopefully I'll find time for a recap at lunch.UPDATE 2: It looks like I won't get time today to do a full recap so following the notes below, I've put up my raw game notes, swearing and all.Edited Notes- Hlinka was out, Forsberg was in- Forsberg was almost out again after the first period but gutted it out- caught the first 10 minutes on RDS...my French is non-existent these days- once Dallas was over, I was treated to ol' Pierre McGuire- Foote and Sauer were broken up with Foote-Leo and Salei-Sauer- Sauer doesn't shift from backwards to forward quickly enough and that's why he tends to get victimized by forwards on the outside- Hensick drew in and played a whale of a gam...
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Playoff Gameday: Avalanche vs Red Wings - Game 3
2008-04-29 19:54:00
UPDATE: Jib has had enough and wants to get everyone fired up and I must admit, the excessive use of profanity energized the shit out of me! Let's hope the whole team reads his blog so they can get riled up for this game too.If you want to talk about must win siutations, tonight's game can be part of the dictionary entry. If the Avalanche lose today, it's season over.Yes, people will quote the miracle of 3-0 comebacks but the odds would not be in the Avalanche's favor.Hell, I wouldn't even call it odds. I would call it the likelihood of God being an Avalanche fan because it would take divine intervention to take 4 straight from the Wings at this point.Smyth out?To make matters worse, it is being reported that Ryan Smyth will miss this game. Maintenance day my ass, coach Q. If there's one thing I hate about the playoffs, it's the ridiculous injury updates.Forsberg in?Peter Forsberg skated in practice and is likely to play. But I'll believe it when I see him out for his fir...
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Jose Theodore to Start Game 3 for Avalanche
2008-04-28 22:17:00
UPDATE: Another pasted blog comment below.I said this earlier on A2Y and I'll just repeat it verbatim here as I don't have the time to formulate any more thoughts on the topic.I think starting Theodore is going to blow up in JQ’s face. All it’s going to take is an early goal by the Wings to completely deflate the Avalanche .If Budaj was in net and an early goal was scored, it’s easy to write off as jitters and push it out of your mind. With Theodore, his psyche and the team’s confidence in him seem to be at the point just before the straw breaks its back.If Theodore does end up coming through and playing out of his mind - which he’ll need to for the Avs to win - JQ will look like a genius but I’ll still assume he just got lucky winkIt’s mildly ironic that most Avs fans pissed and moaned - myself included - when Q would swap goaltenders willy-nilly through his tenure with the Avalanche and now we’re pissing and moaning that he won’t do that. However it’s two co...
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Red Wings Hammer Avalanche in Game 2
2008-04-26 23:36:00
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)Ouch. Double ouch. Triple ouch. Hell, it was a quadruple ouch. It was a virtual carbon copy of Thursday's game as Detroit shelled Jose Theodore for 4 goals and chased him from the net in a 5-1 win this afternoon.The only difference is that this time, the 4 goals didn't all come in until midway through the second period and Theodore managed to stop 16 shots as opposed to 12. Everything else from the first 30 minutes Thursday carried forward for a full 60 minutes today. The Wings never let up on the gas and the Avalanche only managed a few solid shifts with sustained pressure and looked resigned to losing the game.Goaltending controversyNow we have a true goaltending controversy no matter what Quenneville says in the post-game press conference. Two games straight Jose Theodore has been nailed for 4 goals and yanked with Budaj stepping in and letting in only 1 goal on 40 shots.The team could have helped out more but Theodore looked less-than...
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Playoff Gameday: Avalanche vs Red Wings - Game 2
2008-04-26 17:07:00
This is going to be a brief preview and then I'm going to jump on a soapbox so buckle up.Lineup, injuries and game timePeter Forsberg is questionable, Wojtek Wolski is out for the series, and Jose Theodore will likely start.Jaroslav Hlinka should find himself in the lineup regardless if Forsberg is in or not. If Forsberg stays out, Q will likely keep McCormick in.The game starts at 2:30pm ET and this is a game the Avalanche need to win. If they can split the series at Joe Lemon arena, they take home ice advantage in the series and get to come back home to a raucous Pepsi Center where we'll find out what real fans are made of.True fansI spent a good deal of time yesterday over at A2Y "conversing" with the Red Wings fans who frequent that site. Mostly because it was a cold, dreary Friday but I guess I also felt like killing a brain cell or two.Anyways, through the course of the discussions I was accused of not being a "true fan" because I stated that I would continue to watch hoc...
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Colorado Avalanche Injury and Roster Updates - April 25
2008-04-25 20:55:00
I just finished watching the media conference with Joel Quenneville following Colorado 's afternoon practice and it was a little comme ci, comme ça for me. A bit of good, a bit of bad and a bit of "You've got to be f'n kidding me."Let's start with that last one and work our way up.Wojtek Wolski out for seriesWojtek Wolski is "out indefinitely" and likely won't be back for the series. That is a huge blow for the Avalanche as Wolski forms part of the top trio and was playing very well in the playoffs.He was in his groove and playing a solid puck possesion game while opening up lots of space for his linemates. He chalked up 2 goals and 3 assists in the 6 1/4 games he played so his production will certainly be missed.Peter Forsberg day-to-dayPeter Forsberg is still listed as day-to-day and is questionable for the game tomorrow. I don't have to expand upon Forsberg's boost to this lineup other than to say the Avalanche are 12-3 with him in the lineup and 2-6-1 without him (since M...
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Watch Colorado Avalanche Press Conference Online
2008-04-25 20:33:00
In a further sign that the NHL is finally "getting it" with regard to new media, fans can catch the post-practice media conference with our very own Joel Quenneville live, online and in living color. It starts at 3:00pm EDT, 1:00pm MT (about 20 minutes away as of the time of this writing)The post-game press conference last night was also aired live online and it looks like this will become a regular thing. They need to use a better method than their website to get that information out (ie. Twitter) but this is still a win.The loss here is that they haven't archived anything in almost a week on the Avalanche TV section. So if you miss the live showing, you're screwed. One step forward, a half step back. But I'll still take it.Related LinksWatch the Colorado Avalanche Press Conference Live
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Avalanche Play 30 Minutes, Lose to Red Wings
2008-04-25 03:58:00
(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)You cannot play 30 minutes against the Detroit Red Wings and expect to win the hockey game.Unfortunately that's what Jose Theodore and the Colorado Avalanche tried to do tonight.Strike first, strike un-oftenAlthough the Avalanche got on the board first, it felt like it was only a matter of time before the Wings broke out. And break out they did. The Wings went on to score 4 straight goals as they chased Jose Theodore from the net.The team was confused, disoriented and appeared shocked that they were involved in a hockey game. It was hard to watch and I found myself turning away from the tv, giving my head a little shake, turning back and hoping that things had changed.Theodore takes his pads and goes homeTheodore ended up heading back to the hotel in street clothes and was reported as having the flu. I hope so because he did not look very good tonight. Sure, the Avalanche weren't helping at all but he just didn't seem to be in his groove at all.Given th...
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Playoff Gameday: Avalanche @ Red Wings
2008-04-24 16:19:00
UPDATE: Peter Forsberg is out. Ouch. I don't even have to expand on how much that hurts.I'll just a do a quick link roundup for now. I haven't even read through everything let alone set aside time to write anything!Avalanche LinksDenver Post Avalanche-Red Wings MatchupJose Theodore through the yearsGood in goal, great goaltending runs (psst, Roy was a rookie in '86)Goal standard for Avs goalieUphill battle for Avs5 questions with Adam FooteRMN Avalanche ReportAvalanche goalie adamant he shouldn't be likened to Patrick RoyRed Wings LinksWings-Colorado rivalry is backBlood feud is getting a renewalOn the Wings Blog Series PreviewOh, there will be blood (and maybe a hug from a lovable kitten?)
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Semi-finals Series Preview: Avalanche vs Red Wings
2008-04-24 00:48:00
Break out your copy of Tomb Raider, slip on the Doc Martens and crank up the Pearl Jam. That's right, it's retro time!The Colorado Avalanche are set to face the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Semi -finals in the NHL playoffs. And predictably we've been subjected to many lame quips - such as the one above - due to the history between these two clubs.And if you don't know the history, you might want to pick up Adrian Dater's book Blood Feud. And I'd also hope that you're a new fan to the game otherwise I'd ask what rock you've been under for the last few years.History is just that...or is it?However those days are long past and I much prefer to look to the future than to look to the past. I mean really, what does the series history between these teams mean to this series? Not a hell of a lot in my eyes.Joe Sakic, however, begs to differ:“I know the guys who were around for that time, we’re definitely excited. We can feel it. You know the buzz around the wh...
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Avalanche to Renew Rivalry with Red Wings
2008-04-23 06:36:00
The San Jose Sharks polished off the Calgary Flames setting the stage for the Western Conference Semi-Finals.Detroit (1) vs Colorado (6)San Jose (2) vs Dallas (5)I'll follow up with a series preview later in the week.
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Avalanche Knock Out Wild in Game Six
2008-04-20 06:19:00
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)The 6th-seeded Colorado Avalanche took down the 3rd-seeded Minnesota Wild with a 2-1 win tonight at a lively Pepsi Center to advance to the Western Conference Semi-Finals.In a game that often had me standing in anticipation, Jose Theodore was excellent, the Colorado defense was solid and the game plan was well executed.RecapAfter scoring the first goal - again - the Avalanche continued to pressure the Wild in a furious back-and-forth battle. The Wild tied it just 34 seconds into the second period but that did nothing to deflate the team.The Avalanche kept pushing - and being pushed - and were rewarded at the 12:20 mark as David Jones drew two defensemen to him behind the net. He then fed a wide open Ryan Smyth - the backup MVP of this series - who made no mistake potting it up high on Backstrom.The Avalanche didn't sit back on the lead until the final 5 minutes. They kept playing their game and awaited the inevitable final onslaught from the Wild.With ...
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Game 6 Preview: Avalanche vs Wild
2008-04-19 16:37:00
(Scott A. Schneider/Getty Images)Closing time, open all the doors and let you out into the world, closing time turn all of the lights up... Yes, I'll admit I still have that song stuck in my head after all these years. Thankfully it means at least a little something today.The Avalanche are back home after stealing a win in Minnesota and have a chance to close out the series on home ice.It's a chance they won't take lightly.As soon as the final horn sounded on Thursday, the Avalanche players were looking ahead to game 6. There was no laughter or high-fives over what transpired. No time to reflect on why they were dominated so badly. It was time to start focusing on the next game."They're a great team, so I'm going to have to be ready for the next one," Theodore said afterward. "They're going to come as hard, I'm sure, because they're just a hard-working team. We're going to have to be ready as a team."For a goaltender who single-handedly held his team in the game long en...
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Avalanche Take 3-2 Series Lead
2008-04-18 05:35:00
(AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)The Jose Theodore's put in a great performance tonight and walked out of St. Paul with a 3-2 win and a 3-2 series lead.After last night's performance, there is a mandatory 2-game reprieve before complaining that Theodore gets paid too much and doesn't steal enough games.With a 38-save effort last night, you might as well start calling him Billy the Kid. Did Billy the Kid steal things? I know he was an outlaw and I assume outlaws steal things.Anyways, if he keeps performing like this for the rest of the playoffs, it's a pretty safe bet that the Avalanche will try to re-sign him over the summer. But please, nothing crazy.Overlapping double-headers saved my lifeI was off at a fundraising event, one which actually had good food, so I had the ol' PVR set to tape the game. I expected to miss most of the first period due to the overlap with the Caps-Flyers game. What I did not expect was for that game to go into double-OT causing me to miss about 40 minutes o...
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Wild Cry Like Little Bitches
2008-04-16 19:48:00
Usually I don't do "provocative" pieces. I like to watch the game, cheer my team on, get disgusted when the other team acts like a bunch of schoolgirls and keep a sense of fairness and calmness in my commentary.But after reading a few articles from Minnesota media this morning, I couldn't help but get a bit agitated.That entire team is crying like a bunch of little babies who had their soothers taken away from them.In a StarTribune article, Derek Boogaard accused Cody McLeod of not playing with respect. Well, granted McLeod had issues earlier this year - and all the Avs bloggers condemned it - but he's been nothing more than a pest this series. And an effective pest apparently.Said Boogaard:"I'm going to laugh when the instigator [penalty] is out this summer because I'm pretty sure [McLeod's] ... going to be a lot more quiet next year," Boogaard said. "[The way he plays] is not hockey. That's not the way it's supposed to be played. It's supposed to be played with respect...
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Avalanche Stay Perfect at Home; Defeat Wild 3-1
2007-10-29 01:33:00
Let's play a game of good news/bad news.Good news: The Avs won at home again. Bad news: I'm still not feeling well so won't have a good writeup. Good news: I'm in Denver on Thursday for the Penguins game.Bad news: When I'm at live games I don't spend much time analyzing so it might be a sparse and lovey-dovey post when I can get one up ;)
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Avalanche Toast Flames 3-2 in OT
2007-10-27 06:15:00
I'm not feeling terribly well so this is going to be pretty quick.First PeriodSakic scores on a great feed by Wolski from behind the net to make it 1-0.Theodore makes a good save on a Tanguay break.Tanguay gets another break, catches Theodore a bit off-center and buries it far side. Sauer was caught playing far too aggressively.Second PeriodThe Flame s strike early as Lombardi takes advantage of his speed and Jeff Finger's carelessness to strip Finger and put the puck past Theodore.Third PeriodI grow weary of the Sportsnet announcers saying you need to go high on Theodore. You need to go high on most goaltenders in the league so just shut up.Just as a Tanguay penalty is about to expire, Svatos pokes home a rebound to tie the game. Good, dirty goal. I love it.OvertimeSakic and Smyth coast in on a 2-on-1. Sakic feeds a saucer to Smyth and he buries it.Odds and Ends- Sakic got his 1600th career point (100 against the Flames)- Quenneville got his 400th winRelated LinksTSN Recap
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Leopold Out Two Months
2007-10-26 19:49:00
Jordan Leopold will require surgery on his injured wrist and will be out for at least 2 months. Sigh.On the plus side, we should see Finger in the lineup for those 2 months and get a few more glimpses at Cumiskey.
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Game Preview: Avalanche vs Flames
2007-10-26 17:32:00
(Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)It's that time of the week again. Time to kick some Calgary Flame s butt. The Avalanche (5-4-0) continue their 4-game roadtrip in Calgary (5-3-2) tonight following a 3-day layoff since their 4-2 win against Edmonton on Tuesday. Colorado won the last meeting between these two in a shootout after rallying from a 4-goal deficit. Let's hope, for the sake of all fans sanity, they don't wait until 4 goals in to pick up the pace.The Flames are coming off a big come-from-behind win of their own. They were down 3-0 against the Wild, the stingiest defensive team in the league, when they broke through and scored 5 unanswered goals to win the game.There were a couple interesting news stories leading up to the game today. I didn't get a chance to cover them individually as most of my time over the last few days has been spent sick on the couch so here they are.Starting GoaltenderJose Theodore gets the nod in goal tonight for...some reason. I can only guess...
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Avalanche Slide by Oilers; Win 4-2
2007-10-24 04:15:00
(AP Photo/John Ulan)Well, the ovation Ryan Smyth received was classy and sustained but not terribly boisterous. After the video tribute, the fans cheered for about 30 seconds and from that point on, Smyth was the enemy. During the tribute and ovation, Smyth and his wife were both leaking some strange, salty discharge from their eye area.The RPM line of Smyth, Stastny and Svatos was the starting lineup. I guess Q wanted Smyth to get his jitters out early. Smyth started getting the Pronger treatment, though much more subdued. I've got no problems at all with the way the Oilers fans and management treated Smyth tonight. And I'm sure that means the world to all of them.First PeriodThe Avalanche got a powerplay opportunity early but couldn't really do much. They gave up the usual 2-on-1 opportunity which thankfully didn't lead to a goal. Svatos had a breakaway chance but was denied going five-hole by Roloson.At 9:44, the Avalanche got on the board first. Arnason and Lappy bro...
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