by Colin Donohue

As I wrote in an earlier post, Justin has this NBA thing on lock. So I’ll try to focus some of my attention on NHL matters. I know hockey isn’t necessarily the sport of choice for many of our readers, but I’m banking on the fact that some folks out there, however small a group, may have some passing interest in the game involving a circular puck and a sheet of ice. For my money, nothing’s like playoff hockey, specifically, because your heart turns with every goal that’s scored. You never know if that one goal is going to make the difference, so you’re always caught in rapt attention for 60 minutes. It’s exhilarating and stressful and just plain ol’ fun all at once. I bring this up because this year I didn’t get the NHL Center Ice package through digital cable, which, for me, means I won’t get to watch the Washington Capitals play on a close-to-nightly basis. Of the 82 games the played last year, I probably viewed 75. It was fantastic. (Alyssa probably wouldn’t agree with that statement.) Well, this year, the NHL package was no dice because Alyssa and I are spending our money, instead, on buying a home. I would say in the final calculus of NHL Center Ice vs. house, the proper outcome is the house. Still, that doesn’t mean a small part of me clamors for my nightly dosage of sweet skating, speed shooting, hard hitting hockey.

You have to understand, I’m a Capitals fan, which means the team I root for suits up probably the best player in the entire world–Alex Ovechkin. I’m a fan of the Redskins, Capitals, Wizards and Orioles, so I’ve experienced hard times and watched nobodies play every kind of professional sport. It’s rare when any of my teams ever field an internationally elite talent. The Caps do in Ovechkin, 24. In hockey, a player’s prime happens early and it ends quickly. Ovechkin probably has another three years of being a dynamo, freak of nature player. He’ll be a productive, elite NHL player for many more years, of course. But if we’re talking about the small window when a player can establish himself as the best, well, Ovechkin in its view right now. If he’s ever going to score 75+ goals, it’s going to have to happen within the next couple of years. He was on pace, too, having scored 14 goals and totaling 23 points in just 14 games. But he’s missed the last two because of injury and he could be out another week still. Despite missing from game action, the two-time Hart Trophy winner still leads the league in goals and is second in points.

But because I don’t get the league pass, I miss all the amazing stuff he can do. Look at this goal against Phoenix, arguably his most famous tally:

Or how about this goal against the Montreal Canadiens last year:

I’ll miss a lot of those fabulous in-season goals. At least I’ll still get the playoffs, where I’ll be treated to goals like these:

Anyway, here are five snap judgments of the young NHL season:

1. The Penguins, Capitals, Devils, Rangers and Flyers are the class of the Eastern Conference. The Sharks, Kings,  Flames and, yes, Blackhawks are the class of the Western Conference. The EC picture is much clearer at this point in the season. It’s easy to see who the dominant teams will be. The Penguins and Caps are tops with 24 points, and both are coping despite injuries to big-name players. The West is a little muddled because the ‘Hawks are not playing up to their potential yet (goaltending issues) and because the Avalanche are making a surprise early run. I think Colorado falters more as the season progresses, and I think you’re left with the Sharks and Blackhawks.
2. Speaking of those Avalance, what’s going on there? Colorado is a young team with loads of potential and talent. And right now, they’ve accumulated 26 points, tied with San Jose for most in the league. They’ve got 12 regulation wins, and while their defense is solid, if not spectacular, their offense is lighting up opponents behind the young Paul Stastny (14 helpers) and Wojtek Wolski (eight goals). This team may fall off a little bit, but they’re stacked with an immense amount of young talent. This is a team of the future.
3. And on the other end of the spectrum sit the Carolina Hurricanes. They are the dregs of the NHL, having won two games  and having netted just seven points. Sure, Eric Staal’s been out, but this team usually relies on its grit, intelligence, sound positioning and strong goaltending to win games. They’ve really gotten nothing going offensively, and on the blueline, they’ve been shoddy, which has left Cam Ward alone on an island. The ‘Canes usually come on late in the season, but they’ve really dug a hole. They’re 17 points behind the Caps in the Southeast already, and Ward is going to be out for a month. Yes, it’s early. But the Hurricanes are done. Time to think about the 2010-2011 season.
4. The Phoenix Coyotes are a heartwarming story. The franchise may not survive in Phoenix after this season. There’s no telling if they’ll be relocated or contracted entirely from the league. But they’re sitting at sixth in the Western Conference, and you have to hope they squeak into the playoffs. Give the franchise one last shot in the arm before it’s torn asunder.
5. I’m still sticking with my preseason Stanley Cup pick: Caps beat Blackhawks. Washington has looked suspect defensively still (no surprise), and Chicago is off to a slow start. But I haven’t seen anything yet to force me to rethink my prediction.

So, as for some more of my homerism, I have to post this video from former Redskins and Hall of Fame running back John Riggins, who lights into the Redskins, or more specifically head coach Jim Zorn, owner Dan Snyder and GM Vinny Cerrato. The Skins are the joke of the NFL right now because of Snyder’s awful ownership and leadership. Perhaps that’s a discussion for another day. And if you want to read about all the protests Skins fans are considering, travel on over to the D.C. Sports Bog on the Washington Post Web site. But if you want a quick summary of what’s going wrong with the Skins, watch Riggo:

I’m not one to just needlessly bellyache and whine about the dead crowd, or the low attendance. This is a solutions-oriented blog. So, what will it take to turn the Avalanche attendance problems around? Obviously, I’m going to leave out winning and lowering ticket prices, because they are givens.

Alumni Nights

I like to give credit where it’s due. This is something the Avalanche marketing department actually got right. Bring back the fan favorites, make them feel like it’s 1996 or 2001 all over again.

Improve the “Guys Night Out” Promotion

This sounds like a winner, but it’s lacking pretty badly. Tickets, beer and a lousy T-Shirt? This doesn’t make me want to come out, this makes me want to find somewhere else to go. However, it’s a great start. Why not make it a four pack. Four tickets, four T-Shirts, and concessions discounts, not just beer. If not concessions discounts, then why not a free pizza and free beer?

“Us Against the World” Campaign

I take this cue from the University of South Carolina. On the jumbotron, they had video of Lee Corso disrespecting the Gamecocks. “They’ll never beat Georgia.” Boom, highlights of them beating Georgia…”They’ll never beat Tennessee”, Highlights of them beating Tennessee.

Are you meaning to tell me, the Avalanche can’t market this hot start. Throw up quotes on how the Avs were just going to be cellar dwellers the entire season. Show them beating the Wings, beating the Sharks, Canucks, and Bruins. At the end, Avalanche Hockey: US AGAINST THE WORLD! That’s how you can draw people in, and get them passionate.

Promote Duchene and O’Rilley

The NHL is all about promoting the young guns. Look at this team…Paul Stastny, Ryan O’Rilley, Matt Duchene, Kyle Quincey…are you telling me you couldn’t market these guys? O”Rilley is the NHL’s best kept secret, Duchene is still being raved about by the entire NHL. Quincey is one of the top young D men in the league, and everyone knows how good Paul Stastny is.  Come on, marketing geniuses, get off your asses and do something with these guys already!!!

These are just a few of the non-obvious solutions to improve attendance in Avalanche-land. Obviously, the team has to put the bitter taste of last season behind them, and win, before they can see attendance skyrocket again. Yet, something has to be done during the transition to make them the darlings of Denver again.

Could Craig Anderson join Paul Stastny on team USA? If he keeps up his hot start, it’s possible. Anderson, who was not invited to Team USA Camp, has been named the #1 star of the month of October by the NHL, which is leading to speculation that Anderson could replace Bruins goalie Tim Thomas on the Olympic Roster.

Speaking to the Denver Post, Team USA management Jim Johnson said Anderson has “certainly played his way into the picture.”

Anderson (10-3-2 2.11 2 SO) has played all but two minutes of the Avalanche’s incredible start this season. Out of all starters this season, Anderson is tied with Team USA and Buffalo Sabres starter Ryan Miller for the top save percentage, fifth in the NHL in Goals Against Average, and second behind Coyotes starter Ilya Bryzgalov (who’s making a play to become the starter for team Russia) in shutouts.

Time will only tell if Andy can make the team, but one thing is for certain, the competition to backup Ryan Miller is going to be intense. Jonathan Quick, Tim Thomas and Craig Anderson will all vie for that spot.

Here we go. The Infamous One decided to make an ass out of himself again by doing this. What can we expect from the third worst team in the NHL last season, will the kids be alright, can we make the playoffs?

The 2009-10 Schedule

Now, let’s meet the team

On to the breakdown…

Forwards

This is where the rebuild starts…up front. While the first line looks to be a cast of Avalanche familiars (Wolsky/Stastny/Hedjuk), the second line seems to be where we see all the action. Number three overall pick Matt Duchene will center this line, and the question is, who will be on his wing. Obviously, Marek Svatos will be on one side, but who will the Avs ask to step up and protect them? Will it be Darcy Tucker, who says he’s ready to bounce back from last year’s craptastic season? What about Cody McLeod, who has come on in the preseason? Then, it’s off to the bottom six. David Koci seems to be the man who will fill the enforcer role, but who can stick with the team this year? How much of Ryan O’Riley will we actually see?

Average age: 24

Average height: 6′1″

Average weight: 203 pounds

Defense

This could be a huge problem for the Avs. Tons of potential UFAs, including the captain, Adam Foote. What will their future hold? How will Adam Foote stand up to the pressure of following Joe Sakic as captain of the Avalanche? Can Scott Hannan actually stay out of the box long enough for the Avs to have a sustained five on five attack? Will JM Liles finally step up, and quarterback this power play? What about Kyle Quincey, is he the real deal? Can Tom Pressing stay off the IR long enough to make an impact?

Average Age: 29.75

Average Height: 6′

Average Weight: 203 pounds

Goaltending

The Avalanche’s biggest problem last season, and since Patrick Roy retired has been consistent goaltending. David Aebischer, Peter Budaj, Jose Theodore, and Andrew Raycroft have all seen significant time since #33 went into the rafters, and none of them have been the answer. In comes Craig Anderson. Highly touted as one of the best young goalies in the NHL…oh, here’s where I mention the catch. Anderson has never been a number one goalie in the NHL. He saw tons of time last year when Thomas Volkoun went down, but is he the every day guy? Will Joe Sacco and company ride him for a while, or will the platoon, playing the hot hand?

Average age: 27.5

Average Height: 6′1.5″

Average weight: 190 pounds

Coaching

For the third time in four years, the Avalanche feel it’s time for a change behind the bench. Former Lake Erie head man Joe Sacco takes over for Tony G. who was let go in the massive reorganizing of the off-season. Also coming along on the Avs express is Adam Deadmarsh and Sylvain Lefebvre. What new schemes will the Avalanche employ this season? Can they make the proper adjustments? With more of a disciplinarian, can they get everything turned around?

Now, with all the questions that need to be asked out of the way, what are the keys to the Avalanche making a run at a playoff spot?

- Goaltending, goaltending, goaltending.

Avs now have a legit number one goalie, can he live up to the task. This, more than anything, is what has to be answered quickly.

- The Fountain of Youth

Colorado’s defense is old, at least the top four. Foote is 38, Salei is 34, and Brett Clark is 32. The main point is, if the Avs are in contention for a playoff spot in March and April, will they be in good enough shape for a grind?

- Learning on the quickstep

Colorado will have to get their nubile forwards ready to go, and in mid-season form quickly. Guys like O’Riley and Duchene are going to have to get it together, and learn the NHL game quickly. If not, the Avs’ season is likely over in December

- Step it up!

Hedjuk has to regain form, Svatos and Wolski are going to be asked to carry the load even more now. Can they do it? That’s the question, and the main key to the whole season.

- Watch the IR

Injuries killed the Avs last year. Sakic and Stastny both missed over half the season, and it had an adverse effect on the team. The Avs have to stay healthy in order to compete.

…and finally, but MOST IMPORTANTLY…

- Make the special teams, SPECIAL.

Teams were not scared to take penalties on the Avs last year, as they were near the bottom of the league on the power play. More importantly, they were near the bottom on the penalty kill. This has to make a quick turnaround. It was the reason the Avs picked up Kyle Quincey (PP) and Tom Pressing (PK).

THE PREDICTION…

Remember the old adage, you have to learn to crawl before you can walk. The Avalanche seem to be in the crawling stages right now. Welcome to a flat out rebuild.

Best case scenario: Everything clicks together and the Avs fight it out for a low seed (7 tops).

Most likely scenario: Colorado will miss the playoffs, and end up with a top 6 pick in next year’s draft. I don’t think they are the worst team in their division, that’s Edmonton. However, they aren’t much better on paper than about 12th or 13th in the conference.

Matt’s prediction: Colorado finishes 12th in the Western Conference, 26th in the NHL.

Wow, has it been an interesting few weeks for the Avalanche! Here are responses to a few emails I have received about all the goings-on. Going on a road trip so I’m heading out to stock up on booze & film, but I’ll have more next week about Laperriere, Koci, and Craig Anderson.

Pauly from Arvada asks…Now that Joe Sakic has retired, who will be the next team captain? Paul Stastny should be the next captain, but there is a slim chance Hejduk or Foote gets a one year stint with the “C”.. We also lost Ian Laperriere, one of our three assistant captains…and I’m speculating that Wolski or Liles will get the “A” that Lappy left behind. I’d say I miss Joe already…but he was barely around last year to remember. We’ll always have the glory he gave us – especially in 95-96, and there is no doubt he was as classy as they come.

Jeff from Highlands Ranch asks…What should I think about the Avalanche Draft? Jeff, you should think that it was a pretty good draft! They got Matt Duchene, the second best scoring center available, and might have picked up a steal with Ryan O’Reilly in the second round. Word is that Duchene has played better when it matters than the first pick John Tavares has…and that O’Reilly is a strongman with a team commitment and the ability to play both offense and defense. We had 5 other picks – all defense or goalies – led by Stefan Elliot, a gritty defensemen. But hey, this is hockey and these kids ARE kids, so we won’t even see most of these players for a year or more.

Rick from Aurora asks…Who are these no-names we traded Ryan Smyth for – and why? We got two defensemen – Kyle Quincey, Tom Preissing and a 5th round draft pick for Smyth. These new guys are young, and are supposed to be the kind of offensive defensemen that might make the big contracts of Hannon and Liles dispensable. IF they work out…Preissing played for Colorado College and was a Hobey Baker finalist, while Quincey scored 38 points last season. Look Rick, they may be no-names but we need the cap space and Ryan takes up a lot – $6.5 million to be exact. He was just OK his first year…and pretty decent last year…but we should be in full-on rebuilding mode now, and ditching Smyth’s salary was the right thing to do.

Soooo the playoffs are officially over. We got a little ahead of ourselves by posting the contributions for the New York Islanders (from Dominik at Light House Hockey) and the Tampa Bay Lightning (from Raw Charge), but now that it’s appropriate we’re moving on to a team that used to never be in this position. That would be the Colorado Avalanche.

For the Avs, we asked David of Mile High Hockey to provide perspective on the Colorado Sakics. In case you haven’t been following things, it appears the Avs cleaned house … well, except for canning the one guy they really should have (Pierre Lacroix). As you will see from the MHH folks, it’s not really a time of high morale for the Avs.

But don’t be too negative, Colorado fans. They might actually do well with their third pick and that Paul Stastny fellow looks like a keeper (albeit a kind of expensive one).

ANYWAY, enjoy David’s contributions and be sure to follow the rapidly changing Avalanche franchise at Mile High Hockey. Thanks David!

1. So most (if not all) of the hype goes into the Tavares-Hedman debate. Do you feel like the Avs pulled the shortest straw in the draft lottery?

MHH: Honestly, no. The eight fans that the Avalanche have left are quite excited about Matt Duchene. We’ve sold ourselves so well on him that we’ve actually become a little delusional; there would be some pangs of disappointment if we went #2, sticking us with Tavares or Hedman.

2. With all the front office upheaval going on in Colorado, how confident are you that the Avalanche will be able to make the right choice with the #3 pick?

MHH: I’m terrified, frankly. I’m not all that worried that the Avalanche will screw up our first top-5 pick in 17 years. I am extremely worried that the Avalanche will trade the pick for some overprice, over-the-hill veteran.

3. Describe some of your favorite Avs’ (and/or Nordiques?) draft memories. Is there a pick that stands out as the best one they’ve made? Are there any steals that come to mind?

I can’t say that I have any specific draft memories that stand out. Joe Sakic at 15th overall has to stand out as as their best pick. I would love to type that Marek Svatos was a nice steal as a 7th round draft pick, but since Henrik Zetterberg was also a 7th round pick, I’ll keep it to myself.

4. On the other end of the fence, describe some of the lowest moments for the Avs (and/or Nordiques). Which decisions stick out as some of their worst in the draft? Which picks/overlooked players do you think the Avalanche regret the most?

I still remember the string of curse words flowing from me when I saw that the Avalanche had traded Alex Tanguay for Jordan Leopold. In retrospect, it wasn’t that bad of a trade for the Avs – they also got a couple of 2nd rounders, and Tanguay has faded – but it was still tough to see him go. Speaking of Tanguay, the Avalanche have had just one other 1st round pick (Wolski) make it in the NHL since Tanguay was drafted in 1998, so the list of picks the Avalanche regret the most is very, very long.

5. Feel free to add whatever else you’d like about the Avalanche and the NHL draft. How do you feel about the future of the team?

I don’t feel very good about the future. The Avalanche have drafted decently in recent years which has helped replenish a system bled dry by poor drafts and some questionable trades by Pierre Lacroix. But the jury is still out on whether or not the Avalanche have the right system to develop all the talent they’ve been acquiring, as a lot of players seem kind of stuck at “almost there”. And, oh by the way, Lacroix figures to be less subtle with his front office puppet show and should begin depleting said talent with flashy trades any day now.

-Alaina Scarano-Isbouts

Greg Sherman.  Joe Sacco.  Sylvain Lefebvre.  There have been a lot of new names thrown around the front office of the Colorado Avalanche.  But one thing is for certain: the message is loud and clear.  There is no turning back now.

Pierre Lacroix is getting this franchise ready for the post-Joe-Sakic era.  While Sakic still hasn’t made a decision on whether or not he will be returning to the Avs for a 21st season with the franchise, the team seems to be moving on ahead of him.  Sakic missed most of the 08-09 season with multiple injuries, participating in only 15 games and notching just 12 points.  Sakic has worn the “C” on his sweater proudly for 19 years, but in the last few off seasons has taken longer and longer to commit to another year on the ice, each year signing only a one-year contract.

Sakic was part of what was known in Colorado as the “dream team,” along with Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote.  These team assistant captains, all who came to Denver as part of the Quebec Nordiques package, led the Avs to two different Stanley Cup champions as well as multiple division and conference titles.  And then came the rain on the parade, the NHL lockout — and when the game returned with a newfound salary cap, there simply wasn’t room for the entire captain roster.  So Foote and Forsberg left.

Things changed.  The Avs slipped slowly down the standings and scoring dipped.  Tony Granato was replaced by Joel Quenneville.  Jose Theodore came on board instead of David Aebischer.  But still, Avs fans pined for the glory days and the dream team.  We had all tried to move on — and failed.  Denver even got to re-live the best years of the Avs briefly when Foote and Forsberg returned in time for the 2008 post season.

Us Avalanche fans aren’t big really big on the whole moving on thing.  We’ve tried.  We’ve failed.  It was hard to let go of Patrick Roy, really hard.  And just as hard to let go of Forsberg — both times he left.  Even our coaches don’t want to leave — Granato went from head coach to assistant coach back to head coach before being canned earlier in the week.  Change just isn’t our thing.

Until now.  Apparently this whole President-Obama-change-is-easy mentality has caught on to Pierre Lacroix, who has decided that people other than French Canadiens can run the team.  Six were fired earlier in the week (I mean, they even fired the video guy!), and this new guy that no one really saw coming in as GM, this Sherman or whatever his name is, brings in two coaches who have never coached in the NHL before.  They are rookies.  Interesting, considering our new-found position as #3 in the draft pick scenario.  Soon we’ll be getting a rookie of our own.

Our new GM said something very interesting this week when he introduced Sacco and Lefebvre: “Joe and Sylvain are familiar with our personnel, especially our young players within the system, and each played a role in implementing the organization’s vision with these players.”  That’s the sound of the future, kids.  It’s the sound of change.  Sherman is sending not-so-subtle signs that the new era of Colorado Avalanche hockey begins now, and this is one that is going to be forced to find talent within the system — just as Detroit and Chicago have successfully done before us.  And in just a few more weeks, we will have yet another rookie to add to our line up — the #3 draft pick of our choosing.

Now, I’m not suggesting I don’t want any rookies on our team.  God knows we have had fantastic luck with youngsters.  For the love of Gordie Howe we have Paul Stastny and Marek Svatos, we’ve had John-Michael Liles since the beginning, even Milan Hejduk was a young Av, TJ Hensick and the brilliant Peter Budaj.  But what I am suggesting is that this is the beginning of the post-Sakic era, of a new kind of Avalanche franchise.  Sherman is getting the fans ready for the inevitable: Sakic will not be around forever, and the days of resurrecting old heroes are past.

As my fellow TAS writer Drew observed weeks ago, the Avalanche were living in the past. Well no more.  We have been catapulted in to the future, even if we weren’t ready to move on just yet.

Well folks, the end of the season is upon us, and the reason for the season is about to start, so what better time then now to look back on all the significant events that have transpired through 2008-2009 in the NHL.

Injuries Galore:

There are injuries every season, but has any season seen an IR list like this year? It started small with Erik Johnson of the Blues hurting his knee by getting his foot stuck between the brake and accelerator of a golf cart during spring training. The knee required surgery and he was out for the season. Then Burnaby Joe Sakic ended up hurting his back big time, missing a significant chunk of the season. And then, with his return on the horizon, he gets his hand stuck in a snow blower, requiring surgery to repair it. Sakic is hoping to play the last three games this season. I had believed that this would be his last season. I think now he’ll come back, he wants to end it on a full season. But the Avs trouble didn’t end there, their young star Paul Stastny ended up getting injured not once… but twice! The first time missing more then 20 games, the second time… well he’s still out. Mike Richards, he of post-season glory and expensive off-season contract, ended up breaking his wrist early in the season and missing a lot of games. Then, in his long anticipated first game back… he broke his other wrist, out for the rest of the season.

In the goalie category the league lost it’s two best goaltenders long term to injury. Martin Brodeur tore a tendon in his elbow and lost 16 weeks to injury, the longest period of time he’s been out in his career. On the other coast Roberto Luongo suffered a pulled groin muscle, and after reaggravating it a few weeks later trying to come back early, ended up missing more then two months. Will it hurt his Vezina chances? Maybe. And then Ryan Miller goes down at the most inopportune time, leaving Buffalo without a solid netminder, and out of the playoffs. And I think we’re all done talking about DiPietro and his injury problems. How’s that fifteen year contract going Long Island?

In the Sharks category… who hasn’t been injured? Their entire D-corps has been out at one point or another, their starting goaltender went down… hell, I’m surprised HP Pavillion hasn’t been placed on the IR. The worst of it has been happening recently. That’s what we call a case of BAD TIMING.

Record Breakers:

Brodeur came back into the spotlight by winning his 552 game, breaking Patrick Roy’s all-time record. I’m sure New Jersey was expecting to celebrate that earlier in the year, they should be glad they got to celebrate it at all. In Washington Mike Green managed not to just break the team goal scoring record for consecutive games… he managed to break the league record (for defensemen). Green is a phenomenal offensive player… will it be enough to garner him a Norris Trophy? Also in Washington, Alexander Ovechkin became the first player to score 50 goals three times in a Capitals uniform, further justifying his “Greatest-Player-In-The-Game” status.

Melrose, we hardly knew ye:

In the most celebrated coaching hire in decades (at least, if you work for ESPN), Barry Melrose started the year behind the bench in Tampa Bay. After trying to prove to both the fans and the players that old school, hard-working hockey is better then flash-and-dash hockey for about a week, he was fired and allowed to go back to hockey analysis where he really shines. Meanwhile new coach Rick Tocchet has managed to keep them in the Tavares hunt, apparently to management’s great satisfaction.

The trade that wasn’t:

For a year… A YEAR… all I heard about was how the Panthers were going to trade Jeremy Bouwmeester. Oh how the excitement built up as the trade deadline came close. Oh how the fans of teams in the hunt held their breath trying to imagine Bouwmeester on their blueline. What’s that? The Florida held onto him for their playoff run? And now they aren’t even in the top eight with only a few games left to play? And they’re going to lose him for nothing in the offseason? Way to go Florida… way to go.

Toronto institutes a “No Stanley Cup Ever” program:

Brian Burke, fresh off riding another GM’s players into the Stanley Cup, left Anaheim and moved over to Toronto where he immediately began to trade off players. The thing about Burke is, he hates prospects. Just ask Vancouver where his handy work left them hard pressed for the kind of young talent most other teams have in their line ups. Unfortunately for both Burke and Toronto, there isn’t a Stanley Cup winning team already in place for him to leech off of. You know what, as long as he can build a decent US Olympic team I’ll forgive him anything… not sure Leafs fans will though.

Wait a minute… penguins can’t fly!:

Oh, how much joy I had when I thought the Penguins were going to miss the post-season. Alas, you just can’t stop a team with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, no matter how much the rest of the team might try. Still, it is better for the league to have this team in the playoffs. Just please please please not another Stanley Cup appearance… I don’t think my delicate constitution could take that.

To celebrate, or not to celebrate:

Don Cherry stuck yet another foot in his mouth (how many does he have in there now… fourteen?) when he started complaining about Ovechkin’s exciting, over the top goal celebrations, and lauding Crosby’s stoic “Oh, did I just score? How intriguing.” nothing celebrations.  We all get that you enjoy things that blend into the background quietly Mr Cherry, especially your clothing (want some more examples). Look Grapes, anyone who watches Ovechkin score a goal… or a linemate for that matter, and doesn’t get excited for the game of hockey is either dead or a xenophobic loud mouth. And to think, because he’s on the CBC, Canadian citizens pay his salary.

Well, there’s been plenty more including a great Winter Classic, some incredible rookie sensations, a few veteran comebacks, and even a fight or two. But there is one event that we should not, ever, let slip past our notice this season.

Colleen Howe, Mrs Hockey, passed away at the age of 76. They say behind every good man is a great woman, and never was it more true then in this case. Mrs Hockey not only supported her husband emotionally, she supported him professionally too, acting as his manager. She was instrumental in getting hockey players the kinds of competitive contracts they have today. When she began as Gordie’s manager he was the third highest player on the team, despite being by far the best. Thanks to the negotiating skills of Colleen, the Red Wings were forced to give him the raise he deserved. She’s been honoured more times then I can list, and her death is likely the reason that the Hockey Hall of Fame will, from now on, be allowing women to be honoured. The passing of Mrs Howe is a sad and tragic event for anyone who loves hockey, and so it is with great regret that I make it the final moment of note this season.

Here are a few facts that will make you hate life as an Avs fan right now:

• Last night’s 2-7 loss to Anaheim secured our fate outside of the playoffs for the 2nd time in 3 years
• The Avs have now given up 15 goals in their last 2 home games
• Neither one of our goalies could stop any pucks last night, making the situation for a goalie even more dire
• Stastny is out “2-4 weeks” with a broken foot.  When was the last time you ever saw anyone come back after 2 weeks with a broken foot? 
• Ruslan Salei left the game with an injured knee last night; no word yet on his status
• Each passing day is one more day closer to the 09-10 season that Joe Sakic hasn’t committed to returning
• Cody McCormick will not be signing autographs at Conoco today (in case anyone was actually going to that)
• The Avs have never been this far back in the Western Conference this late in the season
• Last night was the fifth game the Avs lost in a row — and this is the 3rd time the Avs have reached that number this season
• As of last night, the Avs were ranked 25th in the league in fan attendance, bringing in an average of 15,595 fans per home game
• The Avs only have $13 million to sign 10 players (plus a goalie, plus Sakic) in the off-season

But do not despair, Avs fans.  Although those facts might be enough to make you whine more than Jeremy Roenick, there are some good tidbits as well.  Facts to dry your tears:

• Milan Hejduk told the Post he definitely wants to play one more year — and that year will be in Denver
• Sakic is skating more in practice each day, which doesn’t mean he will return to save our season — but it does heighten the possibility of a healthy off-season so he could start another year with the Avs
• Stan Kroenke attended last night’s game against Anaheim, throwing out the word “rebuild” a few times — there’s a chance he’ll finally rid us of Francois Giguere
• Head jerkoff of the NHL, Gary Bettman, was at the game last night and said that although he knows the Avs are having their worst year since moving to Denver, he isn’t worried about the Colorado market
• Pierre Lacroix was also at the game, looking miserable, which makes it even more likely he will turn to Giguere for an explanation
• The Powers That Be will likely get us a new coach, and there are some coaches with amazing abilities out there looking for jobs
• The Avs will most likely be getting one of the top 5 draft pics

Keep your head up, Avs fans.  While the door is closed for this season, there are windows a-plenty open for next season.

Martin Brodeur’s recent record breaking performance has led me to think about the records sitting on the other side of the puck. The list of all-time points leaders is topped by two significant names; Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. Gretzky tops the list by nearly 1000 points with 2857 points in just 1487 games. For those of you counting that’s nearly two points a game for an entire career. Messier comes in a distant second with 1887 points in 1756 games. The current player closest to that number is Joe Sakic with 1641, and he’s a year at most till retirement.

So who can give Gretzky a scare? Which player playing today is going to supplant the Great One on the point throne? The answer, or course, is no one. Gretzky scored over 200 points four times, only one other person (Mario Lemiuex) has even come within one point of getting there. But someone could certainly take a run at Messier’s coveted number two. So let’s check the line-up.

Sidney Crosby:

He’s 21 and he has 384 points. If the Penguins can keep him surrounded with players who can turn his passes into goals, or give him the feeds he needs to score, then it’s unlikely that the torrent pace of points will stop. The one thing Crosby needs to worry about is his health. He’s had some injury problems, and if those problems turn into an annual occurrence it will severely stunt his numbers. However, modern medicine being what it is, it’s likely that even with injuries he is capable of a long career, so don’t expect 200 points in a year, but do expect him to be knocking at the 2000 point door at the end of his career.

Evgeni Malkin:

22 years old and he is knocking on Crosby’s door with 288 points. This is his best season however and he is handily beating “The Kid” in the points department, and I’m thinking that’s going to be the way of things as long as these two are playing together. Two reasons: 1) he stays healthier, and 2) he’s a better goal scorer. Both of these players seem to feed best off each other, whether it’s on the same line, or competing within the team. If the Penguins can’t hang on to them both (and I see no way they can) it may mean a significant drop-off in points. The other thing I see in Malkin’s future is a trip home. Europeans tend to have shorter North American careers, and with Russian money being almost as good as American money these days there’s nothing much to stop him from playing at home for the same wage.

Paul Stastny:

This wunderkind was having an awesome career until injuries dragged him and point partner Joe Sakic through the mud. Still, with genes like this (his father Peter ended his career with 1239 of his own points), he’ll certainly make a run at the points record. He’s 23 and his career is poised for the upswing, making his 185 current points a small percentage of his eventual total.

Marian Gaborik:

Ha ha, just kidding. If he even manages 800 games in this league I’ll be surprised.

Alexander Ovechkin:

He’s a little older then Crosby, and his point totals are barely more at 399, but Ovechkin seems to me to be the biggest challenger to Messier’s numbers for three reasons: 1)He stays healthy, 2) he keeps getting better every year, and 3) he’s done it with absolutely no supporting staff. Crosby at various points has had Mario Lemieux, Ryan Malone, Marian Hossa, and Evgeni Malkin to raise his game. Ovechkin has had Mike Green, Alexander Semin, and Sergei Federov who are all good to great to used to be great players, but not nearly on the level of talent Crosby has had to work with. The other thing about Ovechkin is he loves playing in the NHL. He loves American media, he loves American culture, and he would love nothing more then to win the American championship. He’ll be in the league for a long time, and if at any time Washington manages to get another star for him to play with he may even skirt the 200 point mark (not really, but he’s certainly capable of 70+ goals which hasn’t happened in far too long).

Of course, the real threat to Messier’s numbers, maybe even Gretzky’s numbers, was Bobby Orr. Orr had 915 points in only 650 games. That is almost a thousand less games then Gretzky played, and a lot of those games were being played while he suffered from horrendous knee injuries.  His knees kicked him out of the game at the young age of 30, and in those final three years he scored only 45 points in only 36 games. That means that from the age of 18 to the age of 26 he scored 871 points in 624 games, or 1.4 points per game. Messier’s was 1.07, Gretzky’s was 1.92. However, Orr’s best years were ahead of him. If not for his knee we may be talking about Orr’s record tonight instead of Gretzky’s. Also, he was +124 one year… that’s the most insane number I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

The Colorado Avalanche outplayed another borderline playoff team and won in OT for the 2nd game in a row. This time it was the Oilers in Edmonton. The Avs were badly outplayed in the first 5 minutes and gave up a goal when Budaj gave up a bad rebound and Clark kicked the puck in. But after a Chris Stewart fight, the Avs began to take the game over. They took the lead with 2 PP goals from Tucker and Stansty. The Oilers got a late goal in the 3rd from Souray on a screened shot but the Avs got the winner from Liles just :42 into the OT. Highlights.

Brett Clark – Did it look like he was trying to kick that puck in to anyone else?

The Avs finally put an end to their six game losing streak by beating the Blackhawks in Chicago 5-1. In a game that was eerily similar to their last win over Washington, the Avs went into someone else’s barn and took advantage of a young team who may or may not have taken them for granted. Chicago may also have been a little tired, they played yesterday afternoon in Boston.

The Avs built a 2-0 lead during the first period and was the better club for nearly all 60 minutes. Chicago did make it interesting with a Toews PP goal in the 2nd to make it 2-1, but Hejduk answered later in the period with a perfect shot off the inside of the far post to make it 3-1. Chicago never recovered.

What impressed me:
5 on 5 play – The Avs outscored Chicago 5-0 during even strength play.

Chris Stewart – Scored his first NHL game winning goal and continues to play strong. Unlike Hensick, there is no doubt he belongs in the NHL.

Cody McComrick – Two fights, 22 PIM. Took on Chicago tough guy Ben Eager and then went after Dustin Byfuglien after he ran Footer.

Tyler Arnason – No seriously, 3 assists and was the 1st star of the game. (Don’t worry – he still sucks.)

What didn’t impress me:
The explanation of Clark’s disallowed goal – It didn’t count because it touched his leg? Who? Clark or Niemi? And if kicking isn’t involved, since when does that matter??!

Paul Stastny – He’s still rusty. No points and a + / – of 0 in a game where he team won by four goals. He also had a great chance in the first when he was one and one with Chicago goalie Niemi and was stopped.

Ruslan Salei – The stats don’t really back me up on this one, he did have an assist on the first goal and was a plus 3, but he just seemed to me that he wasn’t quite playing with the same intensity as the rest of the team.

Notes:
Cody McLeod did not play – he has a shoulder injury, McNab said he’ll be out about a week.
Blackhawk fans booed the team at the start of both intermissions.

Next game: Tuesday at home against Atlanta – 7PM.

The game of the night happens to feature the two last place teams in the Western and Eastern conference – the Colorado Avalanche vs the New York Islanders. This game will be on Versus as well as TSN, here in Canada. Statistically, this could possibly be the worst game ever to be nationally televised. Fellow WordPress member and legendary blogger, Puck the Media, seems to think so as well.

However, this is not about how bad the game will be, it is about the ping pong balls. I actually think the game will be pretty good. These two teams will try their best to lose this game, which means no defense, more open play and good scoring chance. Picture an All-Star game with no all-stars. Ha. That’s not a bad tagline for this game. I just updated the title of this blog.

The Islanders may have an edge because they are Guerin-less and they don’t seem to care because they have been terrible for so long. On the other hand, the Avalanche still have some pride lingering from their glory days in the 90’s, so they are still playing to uphold that reputation.

If anything, this game will feature two teams that have not been on national TV nor will they for a while. Every team deserves to have some recognition. In a day in age when hokey is struggling in more and more cities in the US, having two teams other than the Rangers and Penguins on Versus or NBC is not always a bad for promoting the game. I mean, who wants to see Lundqvist and Crosby every weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing a showdown between Joey McDonald and Ian Laperriere.

Seriously, both of these teams boast some really good young talent. For the Avs, Paul Stastny and Woytek Wolski are the absolute future of the franchise. Without these two to build around, the Avs are lost. The Islanders boast younger talent in Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo, who are two of the rising baby stars of the NHL. It will be good for them to finally get some face time with the rest of North America.

One more note: Tonight is also the return of Ryan Smyth to Long Island. Yeah, remember, he played there once. Will Islander pride BOOO the return of Ryan Smyth for leaving the Isle after playing there for a month and a half 2 years ago before splitting for Colorado? Just another thing to watch for. Or not.

Probably not a full Live Game Blog tonight because I know I won’t feel like watching the whole game. I’ll make some updates periodically during the game.

Since we can’t get to everything that happens over the course of a single week in Denver sports, the weekend is a time to play catch-up with everything that might have gone under the radar. In honor of the peaks that dot our state’s landscape – and because there will be fourteen points per article – we’ll call it “The Weekend Fourteener.” Enjoy.

1. I’ve racked my brain for the last 24 hours trying to figure out why, exactly, the new Denver Broncos front office is looking to trade Jay Cutler, and I can’t come up with anything that makes sense. Three years in to his career, Cutler’s been to the Pro Bowl and appears to be on a career path that could place him with the elite QBs in the league by the time his prime hits. That’s not good enough for new GM Brian Xanders and coach Josh McDaniels, apparently, who were all set to ship him to Tampa Bay in a three-way deal that would have brought Matt Cassell to Denver. That deal fell through, but the message it sent couldn’t be clearer: Cutler isn’t a McDaniels type-of guy. Now, it depends on which source you’d like to believe, but the prevailing wisdom is that Cutler’s pissed and now wants to be traded. There’s no way to get around it: the relationship between the new coach and his best player has been damaged, perhaps irreparably, before minicamp can even begin. The prediction here is that, for the Broncos, this will get worse before it gets better.

2. Three free agent signings thus far for the Broncos, none of which inspires a great deal of confidence. Brian Dawkins is John Lynch redux: they might be able to squeeze another good year or two out of him, and he’s certainly an upgrade from the dreck the team had at safety last season, but fans expecting vintage ‘Hawk’ will be disappointed. The Donkeys also brought in two running backs, but there’s not a viable starting option among them. JJ Arrington will help the kick return game at least, but Arrington hasn’t looked like anything more than a third running back in his career. And if Correll Buckhalter is the answer, the question must be “How can we make our running back core even more injury prone than it was last year?”

3. The last four games for the Denver Nuggets have been, for lack of a better term, confusing. The Nugs began the week with a 38-point beatdown at the hands of the Celtics, and then followed up by nearly blowing a fourth-quarter lead at home against Atlanta. On Friday night, the Nugs turned up the defensive intensity for the first time in a while and were rewarded with a 90-79 win over the Lakers, a stunning result considering LA’s domination in recent matchups against Denver. Then, on Sunday night, a terrible road loss to Indiana. The Nuggets have to regain the consistent effort, particularly defensively, that they showed back in the season’s first three months, otherwise any current mention of the Nuggets as a playoff threat alongside the likes of Los Angeles and San Antonio is going to seem sadly laughable in retrospect come May.

4. Hey, didn’t you used to be the Colorado Avalanche, one of the proudest and most successful franchises in the NHL? Two hideous road losses in Atlanta and New York by the combined score of 10-1 have sunk the Avs further into the depths of the Western Conference basement. They’ve clearly quit on head coach Tony Granato, and not even the return of Paul Stastny has helped them look any more like a cohesive offensive unit.

5. Nothing matters less than spring training results, but I’d sure like to see the Rockies win one of those Cactus League games soon.

6. Here’s a little YouTube action for you – the broadcast introduction to the last second-round playoff game that the Nuggets played, back in 1994 against the Utah Jazz. It’s posted mostly for the sheer awesomeness of the NBA on NBC theme.

7. Of all the things that have happened this season for the Nuggets, the emergence of Chris Anderson as a viable back-up big man – as in, not only is he not killing the team when he’s on the floor, but he’s contributing defensively as a Marcus Camby-like presence on the blocks while adding some crucial offensive rebounding – has been among the coolest. It’s impossible not to enjoy the whole Birdman experience.

8. On the flip side, there’s the exposure of Anthony Carter of somebody who contributes nothing offensively and badly hurts the team when better players try to take him one-on-one (Joe Johnson just destroyed him in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night).

9. No stat line was more welcome through the first week of spring training than the two perfect innings twirled by Franklin Morales against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday afternoon. If Morales can regain some of the luster that earned him top prospect status coming into 2008, he provides the highest ceiling of any of the back-of-the-rotation candidates the Rockies have.

10. Denver sports blog you need to be reading of the week: The indispensible Purple Row, home to all things Rockies.

11. Link of the week: Rick Reilly’s uplifting story about a child who got to fulfill a lifelong dream by meeting John Elway.

12. The Rockies have already been bitten by the injury bug this spring, with Jeff Baker, Ian Stewart, and Brad Hawpe all missing time with various maladies. There isn’t much for either of these players to be concerned about as far as competition for a roster spot, but in regards to Stewart, I’m wondering if a return to AAA for regular at-bats wouldn’t be a better idea than having him only play twice a week until the inevitable Garrett Atkins trade.

13. Remember Todd Lichti?

14. And finally, goodbye to the Rocky Mountain News. Friday was one of the saddest days in Denver history, as the longest-running paper in the city’s history shut its doors for good. The Rocky had the best sports section in the city when it folded – Tracy Ringolsby and Jack Etkin on the Rockies, Jeff Legwold on the Broncos, and Chris Tomasson on the Nuggets were better than their Post counterparts, and Dave Krieger was the premier columnist. Thankfully, Krieger has already started over at the Post, where he’ll put Woody Paige and Mike Kiszla to shame on a weekly basis, and Ringolsby will appear on pre and post-game coverage of Rockies games on FSN Rocky Mountain. But I have a feeling that the coverage of our local teams won’t feel as complete without two papers competing against each other.

Ce vendredi 13 a donné de la chance au Canadien de Montréal alors qu’ils affrontaient l’Avalanche au Pepsi Center à Denver.

Sans compter les lancers bloqués par les défenseur, Jaroslav Halak a bloqué a bloqué 46 lancers alors que le Canadien a remporté une victoire peu convainquante de 4 – 2 sur l’Avalanche.

Francis Bouillon et Patrice Brisebois ont marqué les deux premiers but du Canadien en première période pour une avance de 2-0 après le premier 20.

En deuxième Halak a littéralement été bombardé de 17 lancers pour ne céder qu’une seule fois.  Son vis à vis Peter Budaj a fait face à seulement quatre lancers.  C’est 2-1 Montréal après 40 minutes.

En 3e période, le Canadien sort aussi peu convainquant qu’en deuxième, en avantage numérique Tyler Arnason nivelle la marque 2-2.

Encore une fois Halak se fait bombarder de 19 lancers, il ne cedera aucun but.  à 17:44, Andrei Kostitsyn marque son 19e de la saison pour donner les devants au Canadien 3-2.

Ce sera le but de la victoire, Tom Kostopoulos d’un but chanceux assurera la victoire des siens en marquant dans un filet désert.

Il y a un deux gros points positifs dans cette victoire.

Premièrement, le Canadien a gagné.  Ça n’a pas été très propre mais ils ont gagné.  Contre la pire équipe de l’Ouest en plus mais +2 au classement.

Deuxième point positif, les défenseurs ont fait le travail tant à l’offensive qu’en défensive bloquant une bonne douzaine de lancers.

Parcontre les points négatifs sont nombreux.

Le Canadien a accordé 46 lancers contre la pire équipe de l’Ouest.  Si Joe Sakic et Paul Stastny sont en uniforme le match se termine 9-3.

Josh Gorges a joué un match pitoyable et sa pénalité en fin de rencontre aurait pu coûter un point au Canadien.

Je mentionne dans mon titre que les défenseurs ont sauvé la peau de Carbo et des vedettes qui sont Carey Price et Alex Kovalev.

Le #27, Alex Kovalev, est encore dans un profond coma.  Hier il a joué 14:09 pour aucun lancer au but.  Il était pourtant jumelé à Tom Kostopoulos et Saku Koivu, deux solides travailleurs sur la glace.

La peau de Carey Price est sauvé aussi parce que Jaroslav Halak a brillé hier, sans lui le Canadien est cuit.  Ainsi Carey Price n’aura pas à se faire humilier demain devant les siens à Vancouver (Price est natif de Anahim Lake, une municipalité à environ 800 km de Vancouver).  C’est évident qu’avec sa prestation d’hier, Halak mérite d’affronter les Canucks.

Les Canucks ne sont pas l’Avalanche, les joueurs du Canadien vont le réaliser assez rapidement.  Sundin, Sedin 1, Sedin 2, Berner, Wellwood et un gardien solide, très solide.

So back down we go again, hurtling towards the earth on the roller coaster known as the 2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche, easily the most schizophrenic team in the 14 years since hockey came back to the Mile High City.

The ride up was a fun one, three straight wins in which Andrew Raycroft looked like he should have the number 33 on his back instead of his number 1. Raycroft, who went from Calder Trophy winner to lucky to be in the league in a three-year span, has re-established himself in Denver and for the time being has wrestled the mantle of ‘starting goalie’ from the enigmatic Peter Budaj, and deservedly so based on his seven straight wins.

Andrew Raycroft has played well, but the Avalanche continue to play Jekyll-and-Hyde hockey. (AP Photo)

That streak, and the Avs’ modest win streak, came to an end at the hands of a team that owns this year’s Avs: the Columbus Blue Jackets. And if anything sums up the state of the Avalanche now relative to what it was in the glory days, it’s this: Columbus has throttled the Avs in three meetings this season, including the 4-3 decision on Tuesday night that was sparked by 3 goals in a two and a half minute span in the third period.

It used to be unthinkable for the Avs to ever lose to Columbus. Hockey royalty doesn’t bow to expansion serfdom like the Blue Jackets. But the Avalanche are so far removed from those days in which they fit into the former category that a neophyte hockey fan could be forgiven for not remembering the time when the Avs were not an opponent you looked forward to seeing on the schedule.

The Avalanche are on the outside looking in of the playoff picture in the Western Conference after tonight’s loss, tied with divisional foes Minnesota and Edmonton for ninth, one point behind Columbus for the eighth seed. With the season just past the halfway point and the Avalanche still hoping to get star centers Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny back in time to play meaningful games down the stretch, the goal for the time being is to tread water. Unfortunately, that seems to be about all the Avs are capable of.

It’s easy to blame injuries for the uninspiring body of work the Avs have put forward this year (45 pts), but it’s not easy to account for the streakiness other than to say the team’s too good to lose too often for too long, and not good enough to win often enough for long enough. The team’s entire offense right now revolves around the top line of Ryan Smyth (finally earning the big contract he got last year), Milan Hejduk (headed to the All-Star game because, hey, somebody on the team has to) and Wojtek Wolski (fitting in just fine at center). That’s all they’ve got. David Jones, Chris Stewart, and TJ Hensick are young players that have shown occasional flashes, but this team hasn’t been able to get more than one line hot for an extended period.

The defense is equally ‘meh’, with Adam Foote on the shelf and no real booming shooter on the point to help jump into the offense. Jordan Leopold, John-Michael Liles and Brett Clark are trying, and I like Ruslan Salei’s game, but this is a group that just isn’t getting any better (which is most disappointing in the case of Liles, who looked like a future All-Star early in his career but has stagnated). Raycroft’s resurgence in net is a good story, but how real it is will be borne out over the next few games as he tries to prove he deserves the number one job he’s temporarily earned.

Right now, the Avs are a confused mix of young and old, young players who are underachieving and veterans who should be returning their paychecks on the grounds that they haven’t earned a dime (Scott Hannan and Darcy Tucker, I’m looking at you). The result is a team that, should they be in the hunt upon the returns of Stastny and Sakic, could build up enough depth in the meantime to earn a 7 or 8 seed in the West. But that’s all they’re capable of – just another reminder that, sad as it is, the Avalanche are just another team now.

Red Wings forward Johan Franzen skates in on Avalanche goalie Andrew Raycroft during Colorado's 3-2 win on Monday at Joe Louis Arena. (JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/DFP)

By Christy Hammond

The Detroit Red Wings (20-6-4) suffered a 3-2 loss loss Monday night against the Colorado Avalanche (15-14-1). Including Monday’s game, 20 of Detroit’s 30 games this season have been decided by one just one goal.

Despite outshooting the Avs 36-27, the Wings’ potent offense was unable to overcome the team errors made throughout the game to avoid the loss. Once again, goaltender Chris Osgood allowed a goal on the first shot he faced, which was definitely not the ideal way to start the game. In fact, the first two Colorado goals came on their first four shots courtesy of Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny less than five minutes into the first period.

A big difference in the game was how the Avs made a concerted effort to get in the Detroit shooting lanes and try to stop shots before they reached goaltender Andrew Raycroft. In fact, Colorado blocked 16 shots while the Wings only blocked two in the contest.

Tomas Holmstrom finally got the Wings on the scoreboard 9:10 into the second period when he did what he does best – creating havoc in front of the opponent’s goalie and pouncing on a loose puck in the mad scramble in front of the net.

The deciding goal was a penalty shot by Jordan Leopold 1:51 into the final frame of action. The penalty shot came about when the puck was about to go over the Detroit goal line and defenseman Brett Lebda basically covered the puck with his hands in the crease to prevent it from crossing the goal line. That’s not allowed so a penalty shot was awarded, but I really can’t blame Lebs because the puck was for sure going in and a penalty shot goal is not guaranteed.

Detroit certainly poured it on offensively in the second and third periods with 29 of their 36 shots, but it was too late as the damage had already been done in the first period. Head coach Mike Babcock put Henrik Zetterberg, Marian Hossa, and Pavel Datsyuk all on one line and it was definitely the best offensive line for Detroit of the night. They were flying around the ice and even scored a goal in the third period to bring the Wings within a goal. 7:07 into the third, Zetterberg won a face-off against Stastny and Hossa quickly scooped up the puck and fired a shot before most fans could even register what had just happened.

The Wings’ next game is this Thursday against the top-ranked San Jose Sharks and should be a very competitive game to watch!

But you don’t have to wait until Thursday to see your favorite Red Wings as numerous players, GM Ken Holland, and head coach Mike Babcock will be around the area at different grocery stores ringing bells for the Salvation Army this Tuesday. You can stop by any of the locations listed below:

• Ken Holland and Mike Babcock: Hiller’s Market, 425 N. Center St., Northville, 3-5 p.m.T
• Kirk Maltby: Kroger, 20903 Harper Ave., Harper Woods, 5-7 p.m.
• Jiri Hudler and Brett Lebda: Kroger, 685 East Maple, Birmingham, 5-7 p.m.
• Valtteri Filppula and Niklas Kronwall: Kroger, 17447 Haggerty, Northville, 5-7 p.m.

Game:

The Stars returned home to face the Avalanche at the AAC. Both teams played without their captains, both looking to climb their way up closer to a playoff spot.

Having just been dealt a painful loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Stars brought their game faces to the night’s contest. Eriksson-Richards-Wilson acted as the starting lineup, with Robidas-Grossman on defense.

One end of the ice housed Marty Turco, who was tested not even a minute into the first period by Milan Hejduk. He made the save easily and with a limited amount of scrambling, setting a precedence for the rest of the game.

Doug Janik played as a fourth line forward, but during his first shift he exchanged hits with Chris Stewart. Though there’s no proof that Janik exited the ice worse for the wear, he did not get another shift for the entire game.

The first penalty of the game came at 7:09 when Ruslan Salei got a minor for tripping. It was followed by a lackluster Stars powerplay without any shots on goal.

The next power play (at 10:58, when Brent Clark got 2 for holding the stick) looked no better, also resulting in no shots on goal.

The final Avalanche penalty of the first game came at 16:48 when Daniel Tjarnqvist tripped Toby Petersen. Though the man advantage failed to produce once more, it did look better, with James Neal nearly cramming the puck past Budaj.

Turco made an excellent save on Paul Stastny at the end of the first, but an attempt to stop him from even getting a shot off, Stephane Robidas earned himself a hooking minor.

The first period ended 0-0, with the Stars outshooting the Avalanche 8-7.

Despite starting the second period on PK thanks to Robidas’ slip-up in the first, Dallas managed to build a bit of moment by successfully holding back the Avalanche.

Trevor Daley ate some of the momentum as he sat in the sin bin, having gotten called for interference at 3:38 – only two minutes after Robidas’ penalty expired. However, the Stars refused Colorado once again, leaving the PK unscathed.

A minute after returning to full strength, the Stars were on the assault again. As the puck cycled around the Avalanche’s zone, Matt Niskanen kept it from being cleared with a catch on the blue line and a pass to Mike Modano. Modano shot the puck, and Toby Petersen swept in to catch the feed and tip it in past Budaj.

Stars went up 1-0 at 7:57 with what would come to be their sole regulation goal.

Nicklas Grossman took the last penalty of the game at 11:25 in the second. Avalanche didn’t score, putting both teams at 0-for-3 for the night’s PPs.

The period ended 1-0 Stars, probably the first time all season that they held the opposition off the scoreboard for the first two periods.

Third period.

Both teams got ample scoring opportunities, but the game held at 1-0 for the majority of the period. Turco made some big saves, doing his best to steal a win for his apparently offensively-challenged teammates.

Turco came within 56 seconds of a shut out. Unfortunately, the Avalanche were not to be denied, and set up a killer play that resulted in a ridiculous amount of crease traffic and the puck flying over Turco’s shoulder. The goal was scored by Marek Svatos with assists from Stastny and Ryan Smyth.

As regulation ended and overtime loomed, we reflected on the records so far this season. The Stars had gone into 4 overtimes and lost all of them, including two shootout losses. Colorado had yet to lose in overtime and were on a shootout winning streak, having won all four of theirs this season and the last four from the season before.

Overtime passed with neither teams scoring, pushing the game into a fairly dreaded shootout.

First up for the Stars was Brad Richards, who went with a simple wrist shot that Budaj stopped.

First for the Avalanche was Wojtek Wolski, who also went with a wrister. His made it past Turco, putting shootout at 1-0 in their favor.

Next for Dallas was Fabian Brunnstrom, presumably awarded with his first shootout attempt for having a strong game that night. He tried a slow backhand that was also stopped.

With the game on the line and Svatos up next, Turco came up with a big save and kept the shootout at 1-0.

With the game still on the line, Tippett sent out Mike Ribeiro. He stood 1-2 on the shootout so far this season, having tried a creative between-the-legs move both times. This time, he threw off Budaj’s timing and popped the puck into the net with a simple but highly-effective wrist shot.

With the shootout now at 1-1 and Colorado sending out their last shooter, it was again in Turco’s hands. Hejduk did his best, but was also stopped by Turco, sending the SO into a fourth round.

Mike Modano was the fourth shooter for the Stars, and he also used a smart, simple move to beat Budaj. He eased up to the goaltender, flicking the puck past him with a smooth wrist shot that was oddly familiar. The puck went up, popped off Budaj’s glove, and went behind him into the net.

Turco, again with all the “game’s up to you” pressure, was left facing a determined Smyth, who had to score to push a fifth round. Smyth didn’t do so hot, Turco made a solid save, and the Stars won their first shootout of the season.

Notes:

• The three game stars, in order: Petersen, Svatos, Turco
• My three game stars, in order: Turco, Svatos, Modano
• The Stars are now at 10-12-4 and, with 24 points, no longer sit in the league’s cellar. That right belongs to the Atlanta Thrashers (8-14-3, 19 points).
• Marty Turco stopped 26 of 27 shots for a sparkling .962 sv%
• Mike Ribeiro is now 2/3 in this season’s shootouts, and Modano is 1/2.
• James Neal led the team in SOG (5), followed closely by Toby Petersen (4).
• Out of the 3 games in which Sean Avery has been suspended, the Stars have now won 2, backing up the best stretch of 10 games they’ve had this season (5-4-1)
• Matt Niskanen now has 3 points in the last four games. Toby Petersen is on a four-game four-point streak.
• Conclusion: It was a good win, coming despite all the injuries, drama, and barely-plugged roster holes. Still, the power play is a sore spot, having only produced twice in the last 37 chances. Toby Petersen is stepping up his game, but with Joel Lundqvist’s impending return, he could be seeing a lot more time on the wing. If Turco can continue to play well and the special teams righted, the Stars could very well claim their playoff spot before the year’s end.

SHR +/-:

Matt Niskanen: two for the assist and one for the redeeming game; +3
Mike Modano: two for the assist, two for the shootout goal, and one for outplaying people half his age; +5
Toby Petersen: three for the goal and one for an otherwise solid game; +4
James Neal: one for clocking an impressive 24:29 (second only to Ribeiro), one for leading in SOG, and one for checking someone so hard in the corner that he made the Ice Girls who were standing in the tunnel shriek; +3
Landon Wilson: one for leaving the bench to celebrate the win with his helmet on backwards; +1
Doug Janik: one concern point for being the only Star to deliver a hit in the first period and possibly getting hurt for it; +1
Marty Turco: three for being himself again through the entire game and one for the solid shootout; +4
Darryl Sydor: one for leading in blocked shots; +1
Mike Ribeiro: two for the shootout goal; +2
Fabian Brunnstrom: one for a solid game and one for leading in takeaways; +2

Off Ice +/-:

Mike Modano: one for stating he’d not be discussing Avery after 11:15am and two for sticking to it; +3

Frequent readers of the blog should be well-acquainted with John. John not only brings some life to the comment sections here, but as an avid Avalance fan, he is also the resident voice of the Western Conference. So I thought I’d post an actual Avs blog for John. Hopefully that will keep my Flyers blogs free of his Avalanche talk for once.

I caught the Versus feed of tonight’s Avalanche-Wild tilt, and what a game. Goals galore, special teams, up-tempo hockey, some scraps, big hits – this one had a little bit of everything.

On the Colorado side of things - That play where Ryan Smyth broke away and then drove to the net to create a scoring chance was perfection. He’s a major factor in why I rooted for the Oilers during the 2006 playoffs after Buffalo ousted my Flyers. What a joy to watch him play as a power forward without the clutch-and-grab style of the late 1990s.

And that Paul Stastny kid – I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a serious bid for the 2010 Men’s team. Although I don’t know whether he’s a Brian Burke-type guy. He has such wonderful vision with the puck, and what’s more impressive is that he manages to find open spaces when he doesn’t have the puck. That feel for the game combined with amazing talent is going to make Stastny an exciting guy to watch in the next few seasons.

It was nice to hear the announcers giving credit to Ian Laperriere, too. Being a Flyers fan, I love a good grinder who works hard on every shift. I haven’t watched a ton of Avs games since the lockout, but it seems like Laperriere is always giving 100% when he gets out there. We don’t appreciate these types of players enough.

On the Minnesota side of things – Marian Gaborik who? The kids are carrying things up in St. Paul, and can they play hockey!

Mikko Koivu has all the leadership qualities of his older brother, wrapped up in a defensively-responsible power forward package. I spend tons of time praising Mike Richards for bring it all in Philly, and I think Koivu rivals that capacity for dominance. He combines all the skill of Richards with all the size of a Jeff Carter. And it’s downright scary that he’s only going to keep improving.

Ridiculous is the only word I can summon for Brent Burns. There are other defensemen out there playing forward – think Ian White or Mark Streit. But Burns waltzes out there as a forward a looks like he belongs in the top 9, possibly even the top 6. He actually drove towards the net on his goal. You tell me how many defenseman, even offensively-minded guys like Mike Green or Sergei Gonchar, can boast that kind of instinct?

What really puts Minnesota over the top for me is Owen Nolan. How did Calgary let this guy go? He reminds me of Mike Knuble – the veteran who just continues delivering goal after goal after goal. Watch out for this guy if/when the playoffs roll around.