Game 71 Preview: Avalanche at Ducks
|
![]() |
![]() |
| Colorado Avalanche |
6 MT / 8 ET / 1 GMT |
Anaheim Ducks |
| 40-24-6 | March 21st, 2010 |
33-29-8 |
| 86 pts | Honda Civic Center |
74 pts |
| 5th in West |
Anaheim, CA | 11th in West |
As with a lot of these previews, I prepared this last night. Normally I have a chance to update them in the morning, but due to other plans I won't be able to do that today. So, the numbers above and below don't reflect any games on Saturday, most notably Columbus at Nashville, Los Angeles at the Islanders and Detroit at Vancouver. Although it says "5th" above, the Avalanche could be anywhere from 5th to 7th this morning.
Regardless of what happened last night, the Avalanche will still be playing for 5th place tonight, but they will need St Louis to beat Nashville this evening to help their cause. At least I think that's how this all shakes out; keeping track of all the different parameters is a tad overwhelming.
As for the game at hand, the Avalanche visit the Ducks tonight in the first of yet another set of these exhausting back-to-backs (still two more to go after this one). Each team has a regulation win in the series this year and each team has overcome a 2-goal deficit to do so. The Ducks scored 4 3rd period goals on December 22nd to win 4-2 in Colorado and the Avs scored 4 goals in a 20-minutes span on March 3rd to win 4-2 in Anaheim.
The Avalanche should have Ruslan Salei and Cody McLeod healthy for the game. I hope I don't come across as too unkind when I say that neither player could be described as "indispensable" this year, so I'm not sure how much of a boon this will be for the team. Meanwhile, two players who have had more of an impact - Stephane Yelle and Ryan Wilson - aren't expected to play (at least as of this writing). Olde Yeller (bruised knee) isn't making the trip to California while "Mitch" is day-to-day with a mild concussion suffered in that fight with Jamal Mayers on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Brandon Yip, David Jones and David Koci all skated on Friday, although there is no timetable for the return of any of the three. And Ryan Stoa has been returned to Lake Erie. Again.
Mike has the recap tonight, so, please, do not feed the trolls. Magic numbers (again, these don't take Saturday's games into account):
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | OT | PTS | GR | MaxPts | Avs Magic# |
| 1 | Chicago | 70 | 45 | 19 | 6 | 96 | 12 | 120 | 34 |
| 2 | San Jose | 71 | 43 | 18 | 10 | 96 | 11 | 118 | 32 |
| 3 | Vancouver | 71 | 44 | 24 | 3 | 91 | 11 | 113 | 27 |
| 4 | Phoenix | 71 | 44 | 22 | 5 | 93 | 11 | 115 | 29 |
| 5 | Colorado | 70 | 40 | 24 | 6 | 86 | 12 | 110 | |
| 6 | Los Angeles | 69 | 40 | 24 | 5 | 85 | 13 | 111 | 25 |
| 7 | Nashville | 71 | 40 | 26 | 5 | 85 | 11 | 107 | 21 |
| 8 | Detroit | 70 | 34 | 23 | 13 | 81 | 12 | 105 | 19 |
| 9 | Calgary | 71 | 36 | 26 | 9 | 81 | 11 | 103 | 17 |
| 10 | St. Louis | 70 | 33 | 28 | 9 | 75 | 12 | 99 | 13 |
| 11 | Anaheim | 70 | 33 | 29 | 8 | 74 | 12 | 98 | 12 |
| 12 | Minnesota | 71 | 34 | 31 | 6 | 74 | 11 | 96 | 10 |
| 13 | Dallas | 70 | 30 | 27 | 13 | 73 | 12 | 97 | 11 |
| 14 | Columbus | 71 | 29 | 31 | 11 | 69 | 11 | 91 | 5 |
| 15 | Edmonton | 71 | 22 | 42 | 7 | 51 | 11 | 73 |
0 recs |
29 comments
|
Comments
7th it is - damn you loser point!!!
Nash 1, Columbus 0, OT
LA 1, Isl 0
Detoilet 4, Vancouger 3, OT (shit!)
Phoenix 5, Chicago 4, Coyotes 8th straight win.
“And a good morning to you too, sir!”
Paging Mr. Calder and Mr. Adams... your trophies will be found at 1000 Chopper Circle.
well, that worked out kinda poorly. anyway, at least the part about the Avs playing for 5th still applies
Assistant *to* the Managing Editor, Mile High Hockey
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Mar 21, 2010 8:56 AM MDT up reply actions
Been waiting for today. I hate long periods of time between Avalanche hockey. :(
I call it... The Avaslug!
I am the 1st and probably only official member of the David "Dr." Jones fanclub. Until I get the newsletter out, anyway.
Syracuse Basketball 2010: Big East Champs!!! G'Orange!
We have two games in hand on Nashville
Just need to catch LA who looked awful last night. 4 points in California will help.
Avalanche 2009-2010: Ostensibly, the worst team in the league. Realistically, more points than the Flames and Wings. But hey, your Corsi number is better.
Beating the Kings in two of remaining three match-ups with LA would be a big help.
MHH: The Burgundy Army is on the March!
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
by Americanario on Mar 21, 2010 9:43 AM MDT up reply actions
We need these 2 games
Vancouver has 2 games in hand on us and winning both will get up 2 pts behind them. That’s so doable! GO AVS!!!
2- or 3-goal deficit?
Just wondering what kind of hole the team will put itself into today before they wake up.
/ Why yes, I am out of Positive Flakes breakfast cereal, why do you ask?
Acquired from Pensburgh for a first round pick and two comment posters to be named later.
lWinged fucking Wheel
1 second away from getting zero points in Edmonton (that’s right, Edmonton), end up getting the loser point. 1 second away from going into a shootout last night, win in OT. And don’t do us any favors by giving the Canuckleheads a loser point. F the winged wheel. F them right up the axle.
Jibbles is an older man so you can trust what he says.
by Bob in Boulder on Mar 21, 2010 11:54 AM MDT reply actions
that nucks game was crazy..i was half paying attention to it last night at work, id look up and nucks were up, then it was tied..then the wings were up,..then it was tied..fucking NUTS..shame the cansucks couldn’t win..but then we’re counting on Lou to pull a game out of his ass..and that only happens once a season..(luckily it was the gold medal game)
'I googled what the white stuff in a Ho-Ho was, i found out it has NINE cups of sugar..that will KILL YOU, it would turn your blood into fruit punch!'
MHH: The Burgundy Army is on the March!
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
by Americanario on Mar 21, 2010 1:37 PM MDT up reply actions
Oh man, dont forget guys, we have to watch the Alt pregame to see if Beachie gets on TV with her sweet Young Guns Hatty poster!
Thanks Joe...
Son of a…..
I won’t be able to watch the pre-game. 1) it doesn’t look like Center Ice has the Altitude feed, 2) even if they did I have to watch this game on “Prime” because I live 10 miles outside of the NHL’s designated viewers area for the Avs.
MHH: The Burgundy Army is on the March!
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
by Americanario on Mar 21, 2010 1:41 PM MDT up reply actions
Thank you Dish Network!
They are carrying the Alitboob feed and it’s in HD! :-)
Mile High Hockey: A Colorado Avalanche Fan Community
Defending Big D: A Dallas Stars blog on SBN: easy to use, free to join.
I have Dish, but because of where I live, and NHL broadcasting rules, I still have to watch the game on the Ducks affiliate.
MHH: The Burgundy Army is on the March!
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
by Americanario on Mar 21, 2010 3:54 PM MDT up reply actions
Don’t know if I’ll be on tonight, it’ll either be game and FFXIII or game and boards…
Sandie
"We called him Clark Kent because away from the rink, he was just a nerd. Then he'd go into the Colorado dressing room and put on his Avs jersey, and all of a sudden he was Super Joe"- Theo Fleury
You know that
you are going to be here. Stop messing around Sandie!
Mile High Hockey: A Colorado Avalanche Fan Community
Defending Big D: A Dallas Stars blog on SBN: easy to use, free to join.
how is FFXIII?
Assistant *to* the Managing Editor, Mile High Hockey
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Mar 21, 2010 3:45 PM MDT up reply actions
The fighting style is a bit different, I feel like it’s button mashing. I think it’s just because I’m early on it the game and so don;t have many abilities yet. Otherwise so far so good.
Sandie
"We called him Clark Kent because away from the rink, he was just a nerd. Then he'd go into the Colorado dressing room and put on his Avs jersey, and all of a sudden he was Super Joe"- Theo Fleury
I feel like I should probably get off my ass and finish 12 before getting this one, but I’m really looking forward to giving it a whirl
Assistant *to* the Managing Editor, Mile High Hockey
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Mar 21, 2010 4:34 PM MDT up reply actions
I never played 12, watched it being played though.
Sandie
"We called him Clark Kent because away from the rink, he was just a nerd. Then he'd go into the Colorado dressing room and put on his Avs jersey, and all of a sudden he was Super Joe"- Theo Fleury
The Adjectives defeated the fLames 4-3 today….
MHH: The Burgundy Army is on the March!
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
big news!
Assistant *to* the Managing Editor, Mile High Hockey
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Mar 21, 2010 4:00 PM MDT up reply actions
Best thing the Wild’s ever done for the world.
Blues are up 1-0 on the Preds early in the 2nd, while the Coyotes and Stars have just started play.
Nashville tied it up and the first period ends tied 1-1.
Phoenix scored late in the period (19:59) and they lead Dallas 1-0 after 20:00.
MHH: The Burgundy Army is on the March!
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
by Americanario on Mar 21, 2010 5:46 PM MDT up reply actions

by 


































