Colorado Avalanche	6 MT / 8 ET / 3 GMT	St Louis Blues
39-23-6	March 16th, 2010	32-27-9
84 pts	Scottrade Center	73 pts
6th in West	St Louis, MO	10th in West

 

Today at 6pm the Avalance take on the St. Louis Blues. The Avs are coming off back to back wins, something they haven't managed since the Olympic break and they're facing the Blues who've been curb-stomped by the Avs so far this season. Chris Stewart alone has 11 points in the 3 games they've played so far. Chris Mason has been awful against the Avs so we may be seeing a battle of the backups if Ty Conklin plays, as Peter Budaj gets his first start in 24 games. Interestingly enough, Budaj already played the Blues this season and posted a shutout in a 4-0 win.  Not only that, but this game is at the Scottrade Center where the Blues are a pathetic 12-16-5.

So, should be an easy win. However, the Blues are making another late season push for the playoffs. I'd say they are the last team in the West with some small chance of knocking Detroit or Calagry out of 8th. They have won 7 of their last 9 games but one of the losses was 7-3 to the Avalanche. Clearly, Joe Sacco considers this a comparitivley easy game as he has had no trouble starting Anderson in back to back sets (or maybe Andy just needs a rest after that ridiculous Stars game) but it could be a classic trap game. The Blues are going to be extreamly desperate to win and they really are a very good team despite getting outscored 16-5 by the Avs this season. Really.

This is a good time for a winning streak. Their next two games are against the Flames and the Ducks. Every game after that (excepting the one against the Oil, who are clearly in full tank for Taylor mode) is going to be very tough so getting points here is imparative if the Avs want to keep hope alive for the division crown (I'm not holding my breath though, the Canucks are too f'ing good). Stephane Yelle and Cody McLeod are questionable for tonight's game so we may see Chris Durno or Marek Svatos back in the lineup or perhaps 7 defensemen will be dressed. This is likely Budaj's last start of the season so let's hope he goes out on a win.

Phoenix Coyotes	7:00 MT / 9:00 ET	Colorado Avalanche
37-19-5	February 12th, 2010	34-19-6
79 pts	Pepsi Center	74 pts
2nd in Pacific 4th in West  4th in the NHL	Denver, CO	2nd in Northwest 6th in West 8th in the NHL

Let the battle of the surprise teams commence! The Avalanche take on the Coyotes tonight in a game between the two biggest surprises in the NHL. The AVS and Yotes were picked by many to finish 15th and 14th, respectively, in the the West this season. However, both teams have surpassed EVERYONE'S wildest expectations and evaluations to create two feel good stories of the season. They have both already equaled or bested their point totals from last season. Be aware: these are not your older brother's Coyotes - this team is GOOD. Tonight's game is also the 2nd to last game for the AVS before the Olympic break so it is essential that the AVS finish strong and regain first place in the NW. If the AVS win tonight (or get OT) and the Nucks lose to the BJ's, then the AVS will retake 1st in the NW.

Tonight will mark the second meeting between the teams this season, with Colorado taking the first game back on Nov. 4th by a score of 4-1. Budaj got the win against Bryzgalov in Bood's first start of the season after conquering swine flu. Hejduk (2), Jones, and Svatos scored for the AVS, and SoS chipped in with 3 assists. The final score is deceiving though because it was 2-1 with a minute left when Jones scored on a breakaway (get well soon Dr. Jones) and then Hejduk added an empty netter.

MHH readers are familiar with the Avalanche's predicted woes this season. With a new coach, a bunch of kids, and a unproven starting goaltender, the season appeared pretty grim at the outset, but those supposed weaknesses have proven to be strengths that nobody could have predicted. Starting goaltender Craig Anderson carried this young Avalanche team on his back early in the season posting the best October in franchise history. He gave the Young Guns confidence and eventually the team came together under the tutelage of coach Joe Sacco. Now Andy doesn't have to bail his team out EVERY night, but he is there for them when he has to be.

Similarly, Phoenix has been propelled through the standings by the quietly strong play of their netminder Ilya Bryzgalov. He and Craig Anderson are probably the two most underrated goalies (if not players) in the NHL today. Ilya's record is 32-15-4,  with a .921 save %, 2.29 GAA (7th overall), and 6 shutouts (tied for 2nd with Craig Anderson). His 32 wins put him 4th overall in that category. Phoenix had all kinds of trouble last summer. They filed for bankruptcy on May 5th 2009 and were subsequently bought by the NHL. On top of that, they brought in a new coach in Dave Tippett, who was fired from Dallas after last season failures in Big D. Similarly to Sacco, Coach Tippett has turned his team around and given them much needed structure and discipline. Sacco and Tippett will compete down to the wire for coach of the year and it is more than likely that one of them will take home the Jack Adams trophy. 

Both teams will be playing the first of back-to-back games tonight so there's a chance (about -10%) that we could see Budaj between the pipes for the Avalanche and Jason Labarbera for the Desert Dogs. Which would kinda be a bummer cuz I'd like to see Andy and Bryz go head-to-head, Clash of the Titans style. UPDATE: Anderson will start tonight, surprise, surprise. Bryzgalov is listed as probable. Should be exciting to watch two of the games best.

The other big question for the AVS is what to do with their 8+ healthy D-Men. The trade freeze goes into effect today at  3pm EST, which leaves just 72 hours from March 1-3 for the AVS front office to wheel and deal before the big push for the playoffs. There has been a lot of speculation that Liles, Clark, Svatos, Salei and Preissing are all on the trading block - especially Liles with his numerous benchings lately. In reality, the AVS are in a great position to make some moves to shore up the forward lines a little. No major overhauls, just a minor tweak here or there. I have to believe Liles is close to gone. His plentiful benchings are possibly a way for the ownership to ease the young players into get used to the idea of Liles leaving. At this point, I'm guessing Liles wouldn't be too upset about a trade. He's an athlete - he'd rather play than sit in a press box, no matter how good the nachos are.

One thing is for sure about tonight's game: this is not a battle of overachievers, both teams have earned and deserve their place in the standings.

Five For Howling

One thing about hockey: these long offseasons are unbearable! We last saw the Avs on May 1st and now, finally, after a long 5 months (yes, I'm kidding)...hockey is back.

The Avalanche host the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. The game will be on Versus. As some of you are aware, this is a double header game. Last year on opening night, the early game went to a shootout and didn't end until 9:48 eastern, so the Avs-Stars game was joined in progress about 10 minutes in. Thankfully, someone has finally figured out that 2 ½ hours is not enough time and the Avs game this year is starting a half hour later. And that's good, because there's NO reason for any game to get pre-empted, especially the first game of the year. Joe Beninati and Andrew Brickley will be in the booth (warning: Brick is a good color guy, but he is a big time homer when he covers the Bs).

As of this writing, the Bruins are still above the 23-man limit. One guy who I assume will be making the cut is former Avalanche Stephane Yelle - one of the last free agents to find a home this summer.

I talked about the Avs projected lineup yesterday.

Who's Hot? Ryan Smyth, Paul Stastny and David Jones have been hot in the preseason.

Who's Not? The Avs defense (6 points in 6 preseason games) and former Bruin Andrew Raycroft.

The Avs take a quick trip to the left coast this weekend, taking on San Jose on Friday and then Los Angeles on Saturday, before returning home to host the Sharks on Monday.

Programming Alert: I meant to mention this in my original post: I probably won't have any notes or recap for the San Jose game. I probably won't even watch the game until tomorrow afternoon. I may post something when I do, but I'm not making any plans to do so. I should have the Kings game covered as normal.

The big news is that TJ Hensick has been recalled. Both Shane and I have speculated that the move might be related to a Joe Sakic groin injury, but there hasn't been any news about that at all. Assuming Sakic does play, I'm guessing Hensick will play on the 3rd line at some point with Tyler Arnason and Ryan Smyth. I say "at some point", as it's become SOP for call-ups for the Avs to watch their first game from the press box.

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The other big news is that someone's letter has been received; according to the RMN, the rotation is over for the moment and Peter Budaj will start against the Sharks and, perhaps, against the Kings as well!

Going into tonight, the Avalanche are 3rd in the NW with 27 points. The Sharks are in similar, um, waters with 26 points (and are 3rd in the Pacific). The Kings are struggling with 21 points, tied with Edmonton for the worst record in the West.

The Avalanche and Sharks split the 4 games last year 2-2 (one of the Avs wins was in OT). Colorado outscored San Jose 13-11. They were generally high-scoring games - 7 goals were scored in 3 of the 4 games. The Avalanche had trouble with the potent San Jose powerplay - San Jose had 7 PP goals (plus one shorthander) to the Avs 4. Budaj and Theodore each played 2 games against the Teal Monsters and each won once.

Looking at the rankings, I think it's clear that we could be in trouble against San Jose. When a 28th-ranked powerplay faces the top-ranked penalty kill, good things don't happen...

• Goals For/G - COL 2.83 (13th), SJ 2.56 (19th)


• Goals Against / G - COL 2.96 (22nd), SJ 2.09 (2nd)


• Powerplay - COL 13.5% (28th), SJ 17.1% (17th)


• Penalty Kill - COL 81.7% (18th), SJ 90.4% (1st)

Last year, games between the Avs and Kings were high flying affairs. After winning the first meeting 6-1 (with Budaj in net), the Avs lost the final 3 meetings (6-5, 5-4 and 6-5 in a shootout). Despite the 1-2-1 record, the Avs had a 20-18 scoring advantage. Two of the losses were games started by Theodore (one was that weird game where Budaj came in down 5-1 and got saddled with the 6-5 loss because he was on the ice for the winning goal). The Avs had a whopping 10 PP goals in the 4 games, with the Kings scoring 4 (plus one short-hander).

After facing the Shark's competent kill, the Kings might be a sight for sore eyes. Last year, the lowest scoring game between LA and Colorado was 7 goals (6-1); based on the stats, expect more of the same.

• Goals For/G - COL 2.83 (13th), LA 2.67 (16th)


• Goals Against / G - COL 2.96 (22nd), LA 3.12 (27th)


• Powerplay - COL 13.5% (28th), LA 18.3 (12th)


• Penalty Kill - COL 81.7% (18th), LA 78.7% (26th)

In the last ten games for the Avs, Paul Stastny (4g-6a-10pts, +4) and Milan Hejduk (3g-6a-9pts, +3) are hot. Marek Svatos (2g-0a-2pts,-1) is not. Also, the tandem of Hannan and Cumiskey is a combined -11 in the last 10 games.

After a four day layoff, the Colorado Avalanche visit the Dallas Stars tonight. The Avalanche are hoping to find their road mojo. I think the Avs home / road story has been told enough, so I won't fatigue your eyeballs with that today. The Stars are struggling around the .500 mark, and recently took the somewhat unorthodox step of firing their GM mid-season.

The Stars have the usual names at the top of their scoring list - Brendan Morrow and Mike Ribeiro have 18 points, Jere Lehtinen has 17, Sergei Zubov has 14, and super-hunky Mike Modano has 10. From the stats, it seems like the Stars are struggling in the depth department. Rebeiro, Morrow and Lehtinen (who I assume are playing together) are +20, while the rest of the team is -40. Yikes.

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Jose Theodore will be in net for the Avs. I assume he'll face Marty Turco for the Stars, but don't have confirmation of that. With Ian Laperriere out, the Avs have just 12 healthy forwards. Actually, it might be 11, as Andrew Brunette left practice early yesterday after a hard fall. I expect the Avs two call up one - or maybe even two - forwards from Lake Erie today. I often get this wrong, though, so don't quote me.

Rankings

• Goals per Game: Colorado 7th (3.12), Dallas 13th (2.83)


• Goals Against per Game: Colorado 11th (2.65), Dallas 19th (2.94)


• Powerplay: Colorado 17th (17.1 %), Dallas 10th (21.1 %)


• Penalty Kill: Colorado 19th (18.6 %), Dallas 10th (84.7 %)


• Faceoffs: Colorado 27th (47.4 %), Dallas 24th (48.2 %)

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Recent History

 

Last year, the Avs opened the season against the Stars, took an early 2-0 lead...and ended up losing. That seemed to set the tone for the Avalanche for the entire season. This year, the Avs opened the season against the Stars, took an early 2-0 lead...and won 4-3. Interesting how that works, eh?

 

The Stars won all 4 games against the Avalanche last year (the Avs did manage one point by taking that first game to OT). Three of the games were high scoring affairs (5-4, 5-4 and 7-5). The Stars outscored the Avalanche 20-15. Tonight's game is the 2nd of the season (if you read the previous paragraph, you know we won the first game). After tonight, we don't see Dallas again until March 8th and 9th, when a home and home series closes out the season series.

 

It's also worth mentioning that these teams faced each other twice in the preseason, as there was a lot of nastiness in both meetings. The teams combined for 162 penalty minutes, 11 fighting majors and 1 cross-checking major (Laperriere smashing Jussi Jokinen in the face). There was very little in the regular season game, though, and many of the preseason combatants are either injured or in the AHL. Still, there's always a chance of a little bad blood between these teams.

Hot or Not

Joe Sakic has 11 points (1g, 10a) over the last 10 games and is a +3. Wojtek Wolski has 10 points (5g, 5a) and is a whopping +10.

Jarslav Hlinka has more healthy scratches (2) than points (1) in the last 10 games. And for all his exhilarating flash, Kyle Cumiskey has just one point (an assist) over the last 10.

 

The Avalanche hope to rebound from a disappointing effort against the Canucks on Saturday. The 2nd place Avalanche (16 pts) face the 3rd place Flames (15 pts) in a key divisional matchup. Some might even say "must win". Both teams lost on Saturday.

The Avs have won the first two meetings this year, even though the Flames had leads in both games. Both games went beyond regulation. The Avs have outscored Calgary 8-6 (7-6 when you take out the shootout goal). Not surprisingly, the Flames have won 53.3% of the faceoffs in the two games so far. With the man advantage, the Avs are 1 for 9 and while the Flames are 0 for 10. Calgary has outshot Colorado 70-57.

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As scheduled, Jose Theodore will start against the Flames. He's 2-0 against Calgary this year, with a 1.52 GAA and a .966 save percentage. That's all good news. What's the bad news? Adrian Dater thinks Theodore will become our number 1 goalie again soon. Now, where did I leave those Tums? He's been good...but even casual observers of the team know that he can unravel in a hurry. Hopefully, tonight's not the night for that to happen.

The Avalanche lost on Friday, which means one thing: Quenneville will be changing the lines again. From the Dater article above, it sounds like the first two lines will be:

• Sakic - Wolski - Svatos


• Stastny - Smyth - Hejduk

Dater thinks that Jaroslav Hlinka may be a healthy scratch, and that Jeff Jillson might finally get into a game (someone finally heard my cries).

As far as injury news goes, Karlis Skrastins appears to be ahead of schedule, and may return to action next week. He's been practicing, but without contact. Meanwhile, Jordan Leopold has begun skating but is still a ways from returning - mid to late December.

Per the Post, (and to the surprise of no one) Joel Quenneville will change the Avs lines tonight, reuniting Milan Hejduk with Paul Stastny and Andrew Brunette with Milan Hejduk. Also, Ryan Smyth will swap with Jaroslav Hlinka and Marek Svatos will move up to the 3rd line, with Ian Laperriere dropping to the 4th line. Honestly, these lines make a lot more sense than the way they were...

1. Hlinka, Sakic, Brunette


2. Smyth, Stastny, Hejduk


3. Wolski, Arnason, Svatos


4. Smith, Guite, Laperriere

Peter Budaj is expected to get the start tonight for the Avs, with Evgeni Nabokov in net for the Sharks. I assume Jose Theodore will be activated for the game; he played last night for Lake Erie, stopping 21 of 24 shots in the Lake Monsters 3-2 loss.

Player to Watch (SJ): Joe Thornton seems to be looking to shoot more. In the first two games, he's averaged 4.5 shots per game, a big jump over the 2.5 shots per game pace he had last year. He has 2 goals already, both on scary-good shots. I think he's been looking to pass to much in the last few seasons, and teams key on watching for him to dish the puck. If he starts shooting more, he becomes much more dangerous than he already is.

Player to Watch(Col): Wojtek Wolski is probably the only player who has looked good in both games, and he and Svatos had a couple of good shifts together in Nashville. Tonight, they'll be paired up for the entire game (or until Q starts shaking things up). Plus, their center, Arnason, has taken the first two games off, so he should be on schedule to put some effort in.

It's Hump Day in cubicle land. I'm in New Hampshire - Red Sox Nation - and everyone in the office is decked out in their favorite Sox gear and thinking about today's playoff game. But not me. I'm wearing my favorite Avalanche jersey (the old Center Ice-style black practice jersey), and I'm focused on the important stuff - opening night for my favorite hockey team.

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The NHL offseason is comparatively short, but it feels like it's been forever since the team finished playing in early April. While the Avs did make a big splash in free agency, their two big signings happened just hours apart. Other than that, it's been mostly been a bunch of speculation, filler, training camp news, filler and filler. The new season is finally here and there should be no shortage of topics to cover over the next seven months or so. I'll be able to get back to doing what I enjoy most - game recaps.

The Avalanche play the Dallas Stars tonight. Like most people, I'm anxious to see how well Ryan Smyth fits in with his new team. Tonight will also be my first look at Jaroslav Hlinka. Not many people (myself included) thought much of the Hlinka signing when it happened, but he's made the team and is expected to play on the 2nd line with Stastny tonight (although I have a sneaking feeling it'll be Wolski there). I'm also interested to see what Wyatt Smith is like on the ice, and whether Scott Parker will pick up some of the fighting load from Ian Laperriere.

Just about everyone on defense has some intriguing storylines to follow. But, the guy I'm most curious about back there is Karlis Skrastins. Skrastins was terrific two years ago, and awful last year. This season, he no longer has a longevity record forcing him into the lineup. And now that the team actually has some depth at the position, he wont be handed his ice time on a platter. If he gets his head back in the game and turn things around, this could be a solid defensive team.

The 2007 Stars look a lot like the 2006 Stars. Todd Fedoruk is the notable free agent aquisition (notable is probably way too strong of a word here), although there are a few youngsters on the roster as well. These teams played twice in the preseason. Both games were a bit rough, with a total of 12 major penalties and 2 misconducts in the two tilts. Might that spill over into tonight's game?

According to the Rocky Mountain News (seriously, guys, it's 2007 - is it too much to ask to get an rss feed?), the lines tonight are the same lines used in the last preseason games. That means Hejduk on the first line, Wolski on the 3rd line, and Svatos on the 4th. If correct, Wyatt Smith plays ahead of Ben Guite; I'm disappointed to see Guite scratched. I'm not fond of the defensive pairings at all, but will have an open mind when I watch tonight.

I'm glad to finally be able to say "Game on."

Go Avs.