Game 77 Recap: Flames Squeak Out 2-1 Must-Win in Denver

My heart has been injured.

Flames won it Avalanche style. Badly outshot and outplayed, but somehow managed to win. Irony at its finest.

FUCK YOU…RENE FUCKING BORQUE

WHY ARE YOU SO GOOD AGAINST US?

FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

I’m going to have to avoid reading what people are writing about the Avs right now. Tonight wasn’t a choke it was just well, bad luck I guess. I’m not sure how we weren’t getting pucks in, the effort was awesome. I thought Andy played well even though he looked shaken after the second goal. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the kind of guy that takes every loss as a personal failure. I know I’ve at least had to deal with some fan friends that are blaming him for this skid and I don’t think that’s fair. Until I see him start letting in a handful of soft ass goals every game I’m going to support him.

I’m not as upset tonight as I thought I’d be if we lost. I think it was because I saw the boys rally instead of crack under the pressure. I still believe and you know what I really believe in? Next season. No matter what the outcome of this season is we have some bitchin’ things to expect next year. Like no fucking Darcy Tucker.

I’d be more disappointed if I hadn’t called this way back after the Vancouver game.

The way Hannan played that first goal made me rage hard. I played defenseman all the way up to juniors hockey, and even I was screaming STICK ON THE ICE, HANNAN. STICK ON THE ICE.
Did you guys hear that Javon Walker is offering the Oakland Raiders a refund on his contract since he hasn’t lived up to his own expectations, much less theirs? I’d like a refund from Scott Hannan. I can’t even remember the last time he was useful.

Even when he doesn’t score, he totally scores- you know?

I LOVE that guy!

Worst-possibly timed meltdown, like the Nuggets. It can be salvaged, but the Avs left a massive hill of good teams to climb to reach the playoff promise land.

I don’t care how “lucky” or “unlucky” the breaks have been… the collective performance over the last several games can’t be considered anything but choking.

Went to the game tonight. Went to the bars afterward. Drunk as a skunk and depressed. I think the magnitude of this loss will set in tomorrow when i sober up a bit. You’re welcome for keeping this post PG rated, maybe even G actually. Probably PG since i mentioned by drunken state. I definitely could go rated R at this point. It certainly would make me feel better, but I refrained. K i am going to go cry myself to sleep. Actually I am going to hit the pillow and be asleep pretty sure. Wa wa we wa. San Jose can you see, by Sunday’s early light. The Avs will defeat thee. And regain my loy-al-tee. though they never lost it. loyalty rhymes with thee. Hence, that was the verse used. Blah bla bla blah blah blah. Oh Avs would you please win on sundayyyy, oh yeahhhh. For the playoffs are in sight. And I want, you guys, to make it.

I just want to see a WIN… before the end of the season. String two or three wins, guys.

I watched this game and I feel strangely satisfied. Yes, the Avs lost and yes, the Flames are now in danger of knocking the Avs out of the playoffs, but the way that the Avs played is mightily encouraging.

This wasn’t the play that we have seen the last half dozen games or so. It was a solid effort, with plenty of hustle and effort. No, the result didn’t go our way, but if the Avs can play like that for the last few games, they might squeak through to the playoffs anyway.

Besides, as Beachie said in another post, it’s nice to have a little perspective.

But I still think Colorado is getting the 8th seed.

Hannan’s ‘move’ was pretty lame but it did force a less than perfect pass and one timer that Anderson ‘completely’ missed on. It’s impossible for me to figure out which guy to blame for that goal because they both screwed up by over skating the puck.

Watch the replay, if Andy had just stayed still and turned his body instead of sliding 2 ft past the goal he at least forces a tough shot. Then again Hannan could have slowed down the play with typical 2 on 1 slide block move.

I gotta go with Sacco as my final pick because its the easy/lazy thing to do.

What is it gonna take for us to win a freaking game? This is getting too close and I don’t think I’ll survive the rest of the month. We HAVE to win some games or we won’t make the playoffs. They know that, so why don’t they just WIN?!?!?!

Luck is when preparation and opportunity meet. If you want to call it luck, then fine. All I know is, if the Avs keep playing the way they played last night, and a few nights ago against San Jose, they’re gonna start getting their “luck”. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put together a little 3-4 game win streak, and close out the season playing strong.

The #1 seed is gonna be in for a big frakin’ surprise.

Great recap Mike. You’ve captured the heart of the game well; it was a page turner for sure. So exciting. It was awesome to see “our team” back. That pummeling the Flames took in the third was classic Renegades. It’s funny because I thought that if we lost, I would have felt all my hope would have been abandoned. But just the opposite has happened. Seeing the way they played that game – and yes, they had fire against San Jose and some other teams recently but this was different – seeing “THEM” back, the boys of October, I am more confident than ever that they’ll be playing come April 12 and beyond.

So what happened to the Avs since the end of Olympic break?

Bad question!

The true question is (since the Avs should have lost some games they shouldn’t have won this year): Who really choked?

And the answer is: Joe Sacco. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy and I think he was the coach to hire, perfect for a team with young players. But, nevertheless, he choked in overusing Anderson.

The boss in a team is the coach and he decides who plays or not. The surprising early successes of the team caught everyone by surprise and Sacco also. I am sure he got afraid of starting to lose if he decided to play one third of the time Budaj, so he rode Anderson, hoping that Andy would always bailed him out on this decision. Andy did most of the times. But Budaj did well in most of the games he played, with a better team in front of him. Sacco says that Anderson told him that he was always ready to play. Come on, Andy was not ready to play so many games in his first year as a starter. That is the one of the three big mistakes that Sacco made this year and that are costing them a lot now.

What is Sacco’s second mistake?

That you bench players during the season when you are not satisfied of their playing is ok by me. But you DON’T at the end of the season when so much is at stake. Liles’ benching lately showed on the powerplay. This shows a weakness in Sacco’s coaching: not being able to communicate with a player to motivate him, other than benching him —maybe an evening out with Beachie would have been the key to get Liles back on track. ;)

It’s Sacco’s first season as a LHN coach and his third season as a coach. So he is a rookie who will learn from this season’s mistakes,

What is his third mistake? Letting his pride get in the way. You have to learn to be able to lose, in order to win when it counts the most.

So what now?

If I was Sacco, I would call a team meeting and I would talk to the players like this: "Guys, we had a hell of a season and maybe we will be in the playoffs, maybe we won’t. The most important thing right now for me is that you do not lose your passion for playing hockey. I want you back next season with this passion I so appreciated of you this season. Losing now is ok if you play with passion and have fun playing, and the same goes for me, passion and fun in coaching. I am not asking you to win at any cost any of the following games, I ask you to have fun and get the crowd excited by your enthousiasm, your very talkented skills and your youthful energy. That’s all, boys, go out there relaxed and have fun. If we get in the playoffs, it will be because your passion runs the game.

Now, Andy, Budaj will start against San Jose, not because I am not satisfied with you but because he is a good goaltender and you need some rest. Do not worry, you will goal again. And my guts tell me we will be in the playoffs, because when you guys have fun, there are not many teams that can stop you."

Amen!

We were at the game last night, and although it wasn’t sold out, it was pretty darn close. I certainly didn’t think the Avs choked last night; it looked like game 1 of the playoffs and they were competitive. I think if they had played the 2nd period with the same urgency as they played the 3rd, they might have stood a chance of winning.

Kipper was a beast. He is the reason the Flames are even in the running for a playoff spot. He was unbelievable last night. Last night’s game was a goaltending battle and Kipper one it, hands down. You can see the affect his performance is having on his team. He is giving his team the confidence they need to battle for that spot. He definitely earned that 1st Star.

Seeing the large crowd, I really thought if the Avs could score the first goal, it could be a real key to winning. Getting the crowd into the game early is a huge part of the home advantage. Having the first goal scored against the Avs, especially since it was an ugly, sloppy one, was just a bit deflating to the crowd. I hope in some of these other home games they can get that first goal, because they could really use the energy of the Pepsi Center crowd right now to give them a boost. Oh, and a win would help with that confidence boost too, wouldn’t it.

I agree with most people here that most of what happened last night was encouraging except for the final result. I was a little frustrated with the way we wasted most of the last 2:30, but that’s minor. Overall, the third period was great and I was on the edge of my couch the whole time trying to will that tying goal into the net.

My main frustration with last night’s was that freaking line change. Lately, it hasn’t been teams dominating us down low or possessing the puck that has hurt us even strength, it’s been single abysmal hockey plays that have led to pucks in our net. Last night we didn’t commit many bad turnovers, but that play by Tucker at the bench might as well have been. First, he was late getting off. Then, as he’s going off the rush comes at him. At this point Tucker, you’ve screwed the pooch and now you have to make a play. Instead, he decides, “No, you guys can have it. I’m just going to grab a seat.” We know what happens from there. Yes, Hannan played the 2-on-1 poorly, but it should have never come to that.

So, yes, we are playing better — well enough to win, even — but we must take care of the basic plays if we’re going to make it to the playoffs, and even more so once we get there. In the playoffs, goals are hard to score, like they were last night, even when you are skating well, so you can’t give anything away. We just need to tighten our game up.

I still believe we’re going to make it, but for the love of God, could we scratch Tucker one of these nights? I really can’t stand watching him any more.

I was just curious if any Flames fans were complaining that Calgary won after being so clearly dominated in Corsi?

I like that every one thinks this is like playoff hockey. I’m afraid that if the Avs don’t pick it up however that this may be the only “playoff” hockey we get this year.

my wife gave birth to our first child (girl) so I couldn’t make it and just found out the results now.

that being said… I continue to check and refresh the internets, papers, radios, and other media sources and it says that Colorado lost this game.

Please tell me this is an April Fools’ joke…..

That’s Radar in the photo up top, not Gali.

Yours truly,

The MHH Faithful

Shit.

So I haven’t been around since I have been distracted by sweet lady booze this weekend, so I didnt’ see last nights game but there is one thing I know, whenever the avs crapped the bed in the past they ended up putting forsberg and sakic together on the same line, this years team should learn from that, SoS, Dutchy and Duke on the first line let O’Reilly centerthe second line. with stewie and yip or galaradi….