Game 37: Red Wings At Avalanche, Preview And Open Thread
by Joe Dunman on Dec 27, 2007 4:11 PM MST
in NHL News
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This game is the first meeting of the season between the Avalanche and the Red Wings, both leaders of their respective divisions (at least for now). The Avalanche haven't lost a game in regulation since December 12th, and are currently riding a two-game winning streak. The Wings have won 12 of their last 14, like that's even possible.
Of particular interest tonight is the list of injuries, which is finally shrinking for the Avs but growing for the Red Wings. Henrik Zetterberg, among others, didn't play last night against St. Louis and won't be on the ice tonight due to back inflammation. For the Avs, both Ryan Smyth and Brad Richardson will be back in action and Jordan Leopold might end up in the lineup as well. Only Kurt Sauer and Joe Sakic remain on the injured reserve list.
I can't find word from either the Denver Post nor the Rocky Mountain News about who will be in goal for the Avalanche tonight, but I assume it will be Peter Budaj. He's played six straight games and won all of them except for one well-played OT loss. Then again, you never know what Coach Q will do.
The Red Wings are hands-down the best team in hockey. The Avalanche are improving but will likely have their hands full against their former arch-rivals from Emptytown. If Colorado loses, let's hope it's not by too many goals.
The game starts at 7:00 PM Mountain time, 9:00 PM Eastern. Act excited!
ESPN preview.
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Avs are gonna win
Big time. At least I hope.
by James @ Mile High Hockey on Dec 27, 2007 4:35 PM MST reply actions
Injuries?
By "Only Kurt Sauer and Joe Sakic remain on the injured reserve list", you mean "Only Kurt Sauer, Joe Sakic and Tyler Arnason remain..." right? Is Arny getting better too?
ACT excited???
I AM excited! This is the game I've been looking to all year! I wanted to go so bad, but I can't cause of the snow. Man I hope we kick their ass!
by Mike the Avs Fan on Dec 27, 2007 5:49 PM MST reply actions
Sakic
Sakic will have surgery and is out for 8-12 weeks. See you in the playoffs, Super Joe.
http://avalanche.nhl.com/team/app/?s...
yeah
that sucks. what a flukeass goal by the wings. that sucked too.
by Mike the Avs Fan on Dec 27, 2007 7:34 PM MST up reply actions
Everyone
...must be on vacation, open threads are sparse
by Jibblescribbits on Dec 27, 2007 7:48 PM MST up reply actions
Not exactly...
I just have a hard time focusing on the game AND posting. Nobody ever accused me of being a good multi-tasker.
Sakic injury is GOOD for Avs.
Call me nuts, but now we can see what the Avs are made of. Sakic won't be here forever, unfortunately. I'm not happy, obviously, but I look forward to what the Avs can do.
by James @ Mile High Hockey on Dec 27, 2007 7:55 PM MST reply actions
Skrastins
My personal whipping boy made a horrifficly crappy play on that second goal. You learn to hold your post in midget freaking hockey. Not only does it confuse the hell out of your centerman when you chase a forward up past the faceoff circles but you are putting Stastny back in a defensive position which 1.) Isn't his forte, if the coaching staff wanted Stastny to play defense they'd start him there. 2) It puts Stastny an extra 30 feet from a breakout play. The best player on your team should be leading the offensive out of the zone. Not Karlis "loser of many a battle with gravity" Skrastins.
I swear, Skrastins positioning makes Brisebois look good. The game should be 1-1. Skrastins is killing me.
/rant off
Close
Svatos had a great chance from the left of Hasek but couldn't stuff it past him. And Hlinka had his back in case a rebound came off. That's good offense.
Sense
The Avs don't look like they're under much pressure out there. The Wings aren't dominating the ice or totally controlling the puck.
That's very good.
Guite so close
Ben Guite made a huge play, almost made a diving goal but was stopped by a trademark Hasek flop fest.
Holy crap what is Guite doing with that handlebar mustache?!
Yes
They are, apparently they are under the impression this is 1997
by Jibblescribbits on Dec 27, 2007 8:39 PM MST up reply actions
Wings offense
The Red Wings don't play dump-and-chase offense. They skate it in and shoot it almost every single chance they get. No wonder they score so many goals.
Re: Wings offense
And their outlet passes from the defense are almost always long and right on the mark.
The Altitude Love fest
is in full Red Wings Crush mode. I swear if I hear about how great a team they are one more time, I'll be spending the x-mas bonus on a new TV...
Re: The Altitude Love fest
Well, maybe they do it because we all accuse them of being relentless homers all the time.
Yeah,
but do they honestly think people tune into Altitude to see the other teams? It just doesn't make logical sense. Plus it's pissing off Mrs. @ MHH. The last thing I need is her angry in better later tonight. Super Joe might not be the only one scheduling a visit to get the ole man-muscle repaired...
Lappy
Altitude just showed Lappy running his mouth and grabbing his ass, but didn't show who he was talking to or explain what it was all about.
Funny to watch though.
C'mon Avs
Get the momentum back.
by James @ Mile High Hockey on Dec 27, 2007 8:20 PM MST reply actions
HAHAHAHA
Nevermind, they are homers.
Haynes just said Roy beat up both Chris Osgood and Mike Vernon. Osgood, sure, but Vernon? I'd say that fight was pretty even.
Discipline
We've all noticed it before, but the Avs play extremely disciplined hockey. They have yet to be called for a penalty tonight, which is good considering how lethal the Detroit power play is.
Second period almost over and no Avs penalties.
Hejduk
The Duke is chasing hard for those pucks down in the corners tonight. Good to see him skating like that.
Stastny effort
Ryan Smyth had a great no-look pass to SOS deep in the Wings' zone, but no dice on that one. Hasek closed the door.
Does Stastny have a shiner? He looks like he has a black eye.
And Smyth is talking to the Wings big-time. He looks pissed about something.
I want a win
Beating Detroit would be my best x-mas present.
by James @ Mile High Hockey on Dec 27, 2007 8:35 PM MST reply actions
This sucks
Usually over the past couple seasons, when we play the Wings, we are always in our zone defending and getting out shot 40-15, but we're playing BETTER than the Wings this game and still losing. The Wings haven't had much chances at all so far. The first goal was pure luck, the second goal was on Budaj imo, that was bad rebound control. And the third goal was also stoppable. This sucks double now, because if we lose, and with Budaj letting in 2 questionable goals; you know Theodore's going right back in net. And then it's back on the highway to doom.
by Mike the Avs Fan on Dec 27, 2007 8:41 PM MST reply actions
How was the 3rd goal stoppable?
That goal was picture-perfect from the shooter's perspective. He hit the only 3 inches of open net over Boot's shoulder. Budaj was in good position, he took away 99.9% of the net, and still got beat.
That's the rub with butterfly goalies. Part of playing it well is playing the percentages. 99.9% of the time, that goal hits Boots in the chest or goes over the net. Tonight, it went in.
Remember, this is the NHL. It's loaded with sniper's. To me a soft goal is something caused by poor positioning (bad angles or poor depth control), lazy puck control/handling, bad rebounds when there is no reason to give one up (could have gloved it, but went with the arm or pad instead), failure to read odd-man plays correctly, etc.
Getting beat by a freakin' hella-shot isn't a soft goal, IMO. But I could be wrong. I'm a goalie. I gets hit in the head alot.
3rd goal
I'm siding with Mike @ MHH on this one. The goal was just top-notch, not a softie at all. Top shelf in the only open space anywhere. No goalie has an easy time stopping shots like that.
Sakic
In case anyone missed that, Joe Sakic will have surgery on his groin/abdominal area and will miss three more months. I'm thinking this may be the end for Super Joe, but let's hope not.
Re: Sakic
Good ol' hernia surgery.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/s...
I had hernia surgery this year, but I was back in action (gym, bike) in just four weeks. Hopefully Super Joe has a similar recovery time.
Then again, he's got ten years on me in age.
The end of Sakic?!
Please be wrong buddy .
by James @ Mile High Hockey on Dec 27, 2007 9:04 PM MST up reply actions
Re: the end
A major injury, surgery and his age. Unless he has a superb surgeon and a killer rehab team, the odds are against him.
Now that I think about it, what pro athlete doesn't have superb surgeons and killer rehab teams?
Let's say it's 50-50.
Damn you Hasek!
Hasek beat Cumiskey, who had the best chance the Avs have had since Wolski missed early in the third period.
Penalty
The first penalty of the night on the Avs.
Red Wings are the best team in the league on the PP. Big shock there.
I can't wait
For the day the Red Wings suck. It's bound to happen, one day. Right?
by James @ Mile High Hockey on Dec 27, 2007 9:14 PM MST reply actions
Re: I can't wait
Every season I expect them to be the worst team in the league and it never happens. They're not even mediocre!
The Wings' GM is hands-down the best in the league. Nobody builds teams like that.
Well
McNab says the game has been a great one for the Avs, and even all around. What does everybody think?
Avs PP
Lidstrom gets called for tripping, the Avs go on the PP with the Wings' without their best d-man.
Re: Avs PP
Wait, never mind. That was a great series of shots!
Too bad none beat Hasek. Avs fail to score on the PP as usual, but it wasn't for lack of trying.
And that is that
not a bad game. Not great, but hey they are the best team in the league, at least according to the Altitude crew...
CRAP
darn it. god i hate those wings. Hope they choke again.
by James @ Mile High Hockey on Dec 27, 2007 9:25 PM MST reply actions
Good game
The Avs played hard, and kept up with the Wings for most of the game. Unfortunately, the best team in the league played like the best team in the league. Those guys are a well-oiled machine, definitely.
Depth, skill, speed. They've got it all and I hate them for it.
Boooooooooooooooooooooooo.
3rd goal
To me it looked like he was waaaaay to deep in the net. If he was out a little more, that wouldn't have went in.
by Mike the Avs Fan on Dec 27, 2007 9:31 PM MST reply actions
Looking at the picture
that Joe posted on the recap, Boots is at the top of his crease. That's the correct depth for a shot from the top of the circles, given Budaj's size. I mean, you can see the puck in that picture and given Hudler's position, Budaj's size and depth, and the puck's trajectory, that shot was pin-point accurate.
Plus, there was another Red Wing coming down the slot. If he challenges too much, he leaves himself open to an easy backdoor play. Because, let's face it, his d-men haven't done a great job picking those up this season.
Oh well, agree to disagree.
Went to the game...
Bought ONE lonely 5th row ticket from (Craigslist)a guy who had someone bail on his group. I verified they were Av's fans so I wouldn't get stuck next to a bunch of Wing Nuts.
Speaking of Wing Nuts... holy crap there were a ton of Wings fans. And yes, that was a very loud "Red Wings Suck!" chant you heard. People were still yelling it after the game ended.
Lappy was really funny to watch tonight. He was constantly mouthing off to the Wings, really egging them on.
Great game, well worth the $140 (ouch) and drive through crappy roads.
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