| Final - 2.8.2010 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis Blues
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
Colorado Avalanche
|
2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
Game 58 Recap: Avalanche 5 - Blues 2
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Feb 8, 2010 10:39 PM MST
in Game Recaps
22 comments
The Avalanche needed a win tonight to tie up the Vancouver Canucks on top of the Northwest Division and they didn't disappoint. While the Canucks still hold the tiebreaker over the Avs and retain that top spot, the Avalanche aren't giving up.
Tonight's game is kind of an odd one to describe. The Avalanche played well and yet got a little lucky to boot. Blues' starter Chris Mason was awful between the pipes (he's now allowed 9 goals on 37 shots against the Avs this year) and the Avalanche also benefited from some...well, interesting officiating.
Both Mason and Craig Anderson seemed a little off at the start of the game. Anderson gave up a long goal to Eric Brewer less than 4 minutes in; he immediately complained he was interfered with, but none of the replays captured David Backes in the crease. TJ Galiardi - playing center tonight in the absence of Radar O'Reilly - scored less than 30 seconds later on a pretty, but soft, goal. When Erik Johnson made it 2-1 just under the 8-minute mark, both goalies appeared to be on a fast-track to getting pulled. Anderson pulled it together, however, and didn't allow another one the rest of the way. Mason? Not so much.
Some of that questionable officiating helped the Avalanche out towards the end of the first. TJ Oshie was called for interference - the 2nd offensive zone interference call on the Blues in the period. It was a generous call for the Avalanche, especially when Brandon Yip was able to knock in a puck rolling in the crease on the ensuing powerplay. Although that tied the game, I felt that may have been a real momentum swinger. Instead of going into the first intermission down 2-1, the score was evened up setting the stage for a big 2nd period by the Avalanche.
Chris Stewart started the flurry at the 2:25 mark when he deflected Ryan Wilson's point shot past Mason for his 18th goal of the season. Paul Stastny, playing on a number of Oreo lines on the night (as in, the middle was the only good part), snuck a backhand shortside on Mason just 90 seconds later. Stastny had 7 shots despite playing with linemates like Chris Durno, Justin Mercier, Cody McLeod and Marek Svatos for large chunks of the game. Finally, Yip rifled one in off of Mason's arm just 2 and a half minutes after that. That essentially knocked Mason out of the game (Blues coach Davis Payne waited until after Chris Stewart engaged in an ill-advised fight with BJ Crombeen on the next faceoff). Former UNH Wildcat Ty Conklin played terrific in relief, but the damage was done.
The Avalanche caught another big break later in the period when Oshie appeared to cut the lead to 5-3 with still almost half of the game to play. Instead, the goal was waved off and Oshie was sent to the box for a hook as he battled Hannan to the puck. That was, in my opinion, a terrible call. Even worse, TJ Oshie did not gain possession of the puck after his penalty - it was actually Hannan who fired that into the net (inadvertently).
From there, the game was played relatively evenly and neither team was able to change the score, giving the Avalanche a big 5-2 win and sending the Blues to their 3rd straight loss.
The win was nearly a costly one for the Avalanche. Craig Anderson took a shot off his collarbone at one point and dropped immediately to the ice. He was down for a considerable amount of time, but ultimately shook it off and stayed in the game. Meanwhile, Adam Foote missed a large chunk of the 1st period with an unknown issue, but returned in the 2nd. Wojtek Wolski skated off gingerly after taking a puck to the foot and Brett Clark got stung badly by two separate blocks, but both appeared to be okay. David Koci may not have been so fortunate - he hurt his hand in an early fight with DJ King and did not return to the game.
All in all, a great game by the Avalanche. Yes, they caught some luck on this one, but also played solid hockey for the 2nd game in a row. The Avs have 3 games left before the Olympic break, with two of them against two teams just above them in the standings. Winnable games? If they can keep playing like this...absolutely.
22 comments | 0 recs |
Game 58 Live Thread: Blues at Avalanche
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Feb 8, 2010 6:30 PM MST
in Game Threads
1150 comments
1150 comments | 0 recs |
Game 58 Preview: Blues at Avalanche
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Feb 8, 2010 6:00 AM MST
in Game Previews
432 comments
 |
 |
 |
| St Louis Blues |
7:30 MT / 9:30 ET / 2:30 GMT |
Colorado Avalanche |
| 25-24-9 | February 8th, 2010 |
32-19-6 |
| 59 pts |
Pepsi Center |
70 pts |
| 13th in West |
Denver, CO |
6th in West |
So, is it all gravy now? The Avalanche have surpassed their 2008-2009 point total - the first NHL team this year to do so. We have officially improved on last season. Matt Duchene is every bit as good as we hoped he'd be, and some many of the other Renegades are having bust out seasons. We've found two vital elements that we've been lacking in recent years: a goalie we can trust and a coach we can believe in. We're all good, right?
Its not so easy, though, is it? You set your expectations low, but as soon as you get the taste of blood you want to gorge yourself on the blood of your opponents. I touched on this not too long ago (sending the team into a tailspin), but even though we're currently the most improved team in the league, that goal is forgotten. The playoffs are in our grasp, and the Avalanche need 27 points in the final 24 games to make sure they are there.
Two points tonight would knot them back up with the Vancouver Canucks atop the Northwest Division. Vancouver would still hold the top spot due to tiebreakers, but the Avalanche still want to put on the pressure here.
Mondays have been very good to the Avalanche this year; the Avs are a perfect 7-0 with 3 shutouts (including 1 by Peter Budaj against the Blues back in December). The Blues are 2-4 on the Boomtown Rats' least-favorite day.
432 comments | 0 recs |
Super Bowl Live Thread
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Feb 7, 2010 3:43 PM MST
in News
41 comments
Don't know if this is required or not, but here's a place for you hockey crazies to hang out during the big even for that other contact sport. I was lucky enough to go to one of these things last year and had a blast.
41 comments | 0 recs
Young Guns IX-X: The Renegades
by NurseBeachie on Feb 7, 2010 4:42 AM MST
64 comments
Well, I finally did it. The video of our boys is done. You've all been waiting patiently and I thank you for that. It took too many hours and I lost too much hair but I learned a valuable lesson: don't bother with all the new computers and new software when the old shit works just fine...and doesn't have issues with, you know, doing what it's supposed to do.
64 comments | 10 recs
Game 57 Recap: Avs PWNership of Oilers Continues
by Mike @ MHH on Feb 6, 2010 11:19 PM MST
in Game Recaps
90 comments
I'm gonna do something a little different for a MHH recap tonight. I'm gonna give you my running notes of the game. I don't have timestamps or anything because that would require real effort so don't get your hopes up. Still, here's the undiluted thoughts of a sometimes contributor IN REAL TIME!!!
Pregame:
- Got the Edmonton feed (CBC Hockey Night in Canada) tonight on Center (Centre) Ice
- Smurfiform sighting! FML.
- Great anthems!!
- Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes calling the game tonight. I like Kevin Weekes as an analyst, not sure if I've ever heard him as a color guy.
90 comments | 0 recs |
Game 57 Live Thread: Oilers at Avalanche
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Feb 6, 2010 7:00 PM MST
in Game Threads
687 comments
687 comments | 0 recs |
Game 57 Preview: Oilers at Avalanche
by Dustin Burfiend on Feb 6, 2010 9:18 AM MST
151 comments
 |
|
|
| Edmonton Oilers |
8 MT / 10 ET / 3 GMT |
Colorado Avalanche |
| 18-32-6 | February 5th, 2010 |
31-19-6 |
| 42 pts | Pepsi Center |
68 pts |
| 15th in West |
Denver, CO |
6th in West |
Well, our boys are finally in a slump, losing four of their last five games, all in regulation. This was going to happen at some point. On the plus side, the Avs have enough points to remain in playoff picture and a home-heavy schedule. However, the West is extremely competitive and the Avs will have to start winning soon to stay in the playoffs, especially since they face mostly Western teams for the remainder of the season. Vancouver is on their epic road trip and have started to lose games. Despite the Avs' slide they remain only 2 points back from the Canucks. Now is a perfect opportunity for the Avs to sieze the division lead and run away with it.
The this game is the kind of game the Avs need to pick up two points in. Edmonton is the worst team in the West and the Avs spanked them 6-0 in their last matchup. Surprisingly, the season series has been split 2-2 thus far. Coach Joe Sacco is has been sticking with his lines thus far but in yesterday's practice he had T.J. Galiardi up with Paul Stastny and Chris Stewart with Wojtek Wolski down with Matt Duchene and Brandon Yip. It's no secret that the top line of Stastny, Wolski and Stewart has not been scoring much despite still managing to create chances every game. I'm not sure I like these changes but I'm not surprised by them either.
Craig Anderson, I believe, will be getting the start. He gave up five goals for the first time in a long time last game against the Predators. I doubt anyone blames him for the loss but he can't keep playing at his best if he's playing so much. Maybe behind a stingy defense but the Avs give up about a billion shots per game. Have some faith Joe Sacco! Believe in Budaj!
Injury report: Ruslan Salei (who?) is back skating again but Matt Hendricks, Milan Hejduk and David Jones remain out. Edmonton is missing Ladislav Smid (one of my favorite names), Steve Staios and Sheldon Souray who busted his hand fighting Jarome Iginla but could be back before the end of the season. Nikolai Khabibulin and Ales Hemsky are done for the season.
The Oilers are on an 8 game road skid and have only managed 9 goals during. The Avs have to pick up two points in these situations if they want to stay in the playoffs.
151 comments | 0 recs |
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Next 5 Games
|
Atlanta
|
Wed 02/10 | 7:00 PM MST |
|
Phoenix
|
Fri 02/12 | 7:00 PM MST |
|
@
Los Angeles
|
Sat 02/13 | 8:30 PM MST |
|
Detroit
|
Mon 03/01 | 7:00 PM MST |
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|
Wed 03/03 | 8:00 PM MST |
Last 5 Games
|
St. Louis
|
Mon 02/08 | W 5 - 2 |
|
Edmonton
|
Sat 02/06 | W 3 - 0 |
|
@
Nashville
|
Thu 02/04 | L 3 - 5 |
|
Columbus
|
Tue 02/02 | W 5 - 1 |
|
New York Rangers
|
Sun 01/31 | L 1 - 3 |
1995-96
In the summer of 1995, the Quebec Nordiques moved to the Rocky Mountains and became the Colorado Avalanche. Trading for Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy in mid-season proved to be the move that put them over the top in the National Hockey League. Although the Detroit Red Wings had a record breaking regular season, the Avalanche came away with the Stanley Cup. With the help of stars Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Claude Lemieux and the aforementioned Roy, the Avalanche were able to bring the Red Wings back down to earth, defeating Detroit in the Conference championship. After a four-game sweep of the third-year expansion Florida Panthers, the Avalanche captured their first Stanley Cup in their first season in Colorado.
2000-01
After winning their second President's Trophy in five years, the Colorado Avalanche stormed towards the Stanley Cup. The city of Denver, Colorado, hosted the 2001 All-Star Game, and fittingly sent five players to play in and enjoy the festivities. In a season full of highlights, four-time Stanley Cup winning goaltender Patrick Roy earned his 448th regular season win to break Terry Sawchuck's all-time record. Twenty-two-year veteran and 19-time All-Star defenseman Ray Bourque played in his last season, and was perhaps, the motivational factor behind Colorado's run for the Stanley Cup. Players insisted, however, that they did not want to win the Cup "for" Ray, but win the Cup "with" Ray. When the playoffs began, Bourque announced his and what became Colorado's objective -- simply, 16Ws. With the help of newly acquired Rob Blake, and eventual Hart Trophy winner and captain Joe Sakic, the Avalanche defeated Vancouver, Los Angeles, St. Louis and after a grueling seven-game championship series, the New Jersey Devils to win their 16 games and their second Cup.
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
