I'll tell you what I thought of the Avalanche game last night...

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More photos » David Zalubowski - AP

4 days ago: Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene, left, loses control of the puck as Florida Panthers center Steven Reinprecht defends in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Denver on Thursday, March 11, 2010. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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This is the game Craig Anderson wanted to have when he first faced his former club back in December. Anderson allowed 5 goals in that game and was knocked out of the game by Keith Ballard. Tonight was a slightly better outcome for Andy, as he recorded his league-leading 7th shutout as the Avalanche skated to a 3-0 win over Florida.

After a disappointing game on Tuesday, the Avalanche put in a solid 60-minute effort this evening. It wasn't the most exciting game, especially early on, but did pick up intensity as the night wore on. After both teams skated to a 0-0 tie in a decidedly unspectacular first period, the Avs finally cracked Tomas Vokoun in the 2nd.  Matt Duchene came oh-so-close to scoring before Keith Ballard swept the puck under Vokoun at the last moment. The play was close enough to warrant a review, but before the next whistle Brett Clark - a healthy scratch for the last 3 games - got two Panthers to bite on his fake shot before firing a real shot on net, with the rebound landing right on Stastny's backhand to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead. About 10 minutes later, with the Avalanche on their newly dangerous powerplay, Chris Stewart found Stastny alone in the slot and Stastny buried it to make it 2-0.

Honestly, I was already thinking shutout before that goal. Anderson was playing well and Florida's attack didn't seem to have much bite on the evening. While the Avs did have some rough stretches defensively around the midway point of the 3rd, they seemed to shake it off and got back onto solid ground. Anderson some terrific saves in the 3rd, turning around all 13 shots that he faced. Matt Hendricks converted on a breakaway off of a turnover late in the game to ice the win for the Avs. Colorado got a much-needed 2 points in front of another sparse Denver crowd; 11, 485 was the official attendance, the 11th time this year the Avs have drawn under 12,000.

I do have a couple of burning questions about the game. One, does the PA guy always play "Round and Round" or was the Ratt song a special selection for the Panthers? And, more importantly, is there a good reason why Altitude has consistently gotten the lines wrong this year? Tonight, they listed Kyle Quincey in the lineup even though he was  a healthy scratch. You guys all work for the same company, folks - do you think you can share information a little better?

Next game: Sunday afternoon, in Dallas

I'll tell you what the Avalanche needed last night...

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More photos » David Zalubowski - AP

Colorado Avalanche right winger Chris Stewart, front, reacts after dominating the Blues in all aspects. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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The now Stastny-less Blues came into Denver to face the Stastny-led Avalanche tonight.  The story of the night wasn't their legendary heritage, it was the one-man domination of Chris Stewart on the streaking St. Louis Blues, winners of five in a row.  Avs fans were also treated to the return of Milan Hejduk to the lineup.  Both played great and carried the Avalanche to a dominating victory over the visiting Blues.

The Duke was immediately inserted into the lineup, skating on the right side with Peter Mueller on the left side of Duchene's line.  Other line combos out of the gate included Yeller centering ShamWow and Stoa while Radar skates between The Highlander and Hendricks.  The top line was SoS with Blue Note Killer Stewie and probably the least-hyped rook (IMO at least), Galiardi. Brett Clark got to watch the game from the pressbox while Cumiskey skated the warm-up but didn't dress for tonight's game.  Instead, we were treated to Rusty Salei and Ryan Wilson and Johnny Hot Pocket from the Wheel O' Defensemen.  All played well, but Wilson decided to put on a show for the 18,000+ in attendance at the Pepsi Center (more on that later).

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More photos » Paul Connors - AP

11 days ago: Colorado Avalanche right winger Chris Stewart, left, carries the puck into the Phoenix Coyotes' zone as he is checked by Coyotes left winger Wojtek Wolski, right, of Poland, in the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 4, 2010, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

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Well that was a kick in the nuts, eh? And who better, or should I say worse, to deliver said kick than the man who was an Av until yesterday, Wojtek Wolski?

The Avs came out flat for yet another first period and got badly outshot again. Lee Stempniak opened the scoring driving the net hard and recieving a great pass from Vernon Fiddler who was set up behind the net. Craig Anderson managed to keep Pheonix to one, however and the first ended 1-0. True to form, the Avs started to play hockey in the second. Marek Svatos got a great feed from Matt Duchene right in front of the net and was robbed by Ilya Byrzgalov. Then the Avs went on the powerplay and John-Michael Liles put a nifty shot through with Chris Stewart screening. The second ended 1-1 with shots 18 apiece. In the third, Pheonix had more jump, possibley because they were looking to end a three game skid. The Avs had their chances, however, including a 4 on 3 for a 1:58 that that was kept in the Pheonix zone nearly the entire time. With about a minute left, the Avs started to play very conservative hockey and Pheonix pressed the play. With 30 seconds left old man Shane Doan outhustled everyone to the puck, found Wolski in front and Wolski slammed it home. The Avs didn't get anything going with the last 22 seconds and Radim Vrbata scored an empty net goal.

Some positives to take away from this game. Peter Mueller and Liles have the power play cooking right now. Mueller turned out to be just what we needed in a point man. What else? Stephane Yelle was back and looked alright. Negatives? The Avs suck in the first period right now. Suck as bad as they sucked in the third period back in December. Also, this leaves a very sour taste in the mouths of those of us who were unhappy with the Wolski trade. Yes, Meuller had an assist and looked decent this game. But Wolski scored the game winner. And that hurts.

Dustin's Three Stars

John-Michael Liles - 1 goal. Sacco, I swear to god if you scratch him while the power play is working this well...

Shane Doan - 1 assist. This guy is so underrated. Physical, hard working and great offensively. An amazing guy for Phoenix to have as their captain.

Wojtek Wolski - 1 goal. Scored against his old team with 22 seconds left to break a tie in a massivley important game.

Minus of the Game - None of the Avs struck me as particularly bad but what was that shit where Stempniak grabbed Paul Stastny from behind and threw him to the ice. Was it because he said something (the horror!) to Fiddler for cross-checking him? What an asshole.

More photos » David Zalubowski - AP

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Well ladies and gentlemen, it is good to be back watching Avalanche hockey. After that emotionally draining gold medal game yesterday, I wasn't sure that I was going to be up for this, but how can you not get up for the Avs and Wings?

Just ask the Avalanche. They came out of the locker room with absolutely no fire, no desire and man did it show.

The Wings were winning all the battles along the boards, the races to the puck, and just about every other way a team can be outplayed in a period. Adam Foote was the only person that came out with any kind of jump to his game. During an interview in between commercial breaks, it was said that Footer came to the bench following a shift, screaming at his to team to "turn up the intensity".

Versus commentator and former Avalanche 3rd liner Keith Jones pointed out that the defense was backing off too much and giving the Wings too much room to pick up speed heading into the offensive zone. This directly lead to the Wings first goal as Pavel Datsyuk made a tremendous pass for Tomas Holmstrom to slam home. 1-0 Detroit.

With the Avs being pinned in their offensive zone, like most of the period, Holmstrom skated around and was "tripped" by Craig Anderson sending Detroit onto the powerplay. With Marek Svatos serving the minor penalty, Johan Franzen made a nifty move to roof the puck on the short side as Craig Anderson was down and out going for the poke check. It was only Franzen's 4th goal of the season as he has missed 55 games this season due to injury. 2-0 Wings.

With the 1st period in the books, I couldn't believe what I was watching. I knew that it was going to take a little time to get back into the swing of things, but wow. That was a page right out of last year's playbook and it was flat out ugly.

I can only assume what was said in the locker room during the intermission, but I will guess that most of it can not be repeated here. I will assume though, that the paint on the locker room walls have to be getting a little thin.

The Avs came out with a little more jump as the second period got underway. They really started playing the game that we have grown accustomed to seeing this year; fast, in your face hockey. Forechecking hard with two forwards in on the puck carrier and a third in and around the hash marks not giving the easy outlet pass. They really made Detroit work for every inch of ice out there.

Detroit looked like they had made it 3-0 and really sucked all of the momentum that Colorado had been building, but Kerry Fraser deemed that Tomas Holmstrom did not allow Anderson to get into position to make the save and waved it off. This visibly deflated the Wings as Holmstrom was pleading his case to referee Kerry Fraser, but he was having none of it.

The Avs definitely used this to their advantage because shortly after this and less than eight and a half minutes played in the second, Colorado cut the lead in half. Following a save on a screened shot, T.J. Galiardi was right there to bang a loose puck past Jimmy Howard. 2-1 Wings. This seemed to wake up the team.

Less than three minutes later, the Avs were working the cycle in the offensive zone, Chris Stewart let a half-hearted slap shot go that burrowed a hole between the legs of Jimmy Howard. With that goal, Stewie joined Matt Duchene on the 20 goal platform. I mentioned it during the game day thread, but has there ever been two rookies on the same team to score 20 goals in the same season? Tie game 2-2.

Andy did what he could to keep the momentum in favor of the Avs by making several highlight reel saves, most notable the one Johan Franzen as Franzen was allowed to walk across the top of the crease. He even managed to draw a penalty on Tomas Holmstrom for goalie interference. Unfortunately the team in front of him was unable to cash in on the ensuing power play. The Avs finshed the game 0 for 2 on the two minute passing drill.

As the third period came to a close, I was hoping that the Avs were going to be able to maintain the momentum heading into the third and pull out the win. The third was quite the seesaw battle. Craig Anderson needed to be big. For most of the third he was. The one time that he managed to let himself get out of position though, the Wings cashed in.

With Kyle Quincey off for tripping, Pavel Datsyuk had the puck on a string as he skated across the slot, everyone including myself, was waiting for him to let the shot go. Instead he dropped it to a waiting Nicklas Lidstrom who fired a weak wrister into a wide open net as Andy was still sliding to his right. It was Lidstrom's 7th goal of the season. 3-2 Red Wings.

After Wings got the lead, it turned into quite the boring game. Let's just say that I've been more entertained watching paint dry. Just ask Sandie's kitten, it was asleep the whole game.

Overall the Avs didn't play a bad game, but they played as far from a good game as you can get. There were a few bright spots including most of the second period. They have to be better if they wanna make a serious run into the playoffs. Hell, they have to play better if they want to even make the playoffs.

Derek's Three Stars of the Game:

3rd Star:  Chris Stewart (1G, 1A)
2nd Star:  Nicklas Lidstrom (1G, 1A)
1st Star:  Tomas Holmstrom (1G, 2A)

This game may have also been even more painful as Brandon Yip went to the locker room following a collision and did not return. I expect full updates from the team in the morning.

Next up, the Avalanche travel to Anaheim to take on the Ducks on Wednesday. Was tonight the last time we saw some players play a game in a Unipron? Time will tell.

via cache.daylife.com

Wow, yesterday was quite an exciting day for hockey fans, eh?

First up was the United States facing Norway. The final score of 6-1 is a little deceptive as it was only 3-1 until the final minutes of the third period. It was a good game for the USA but they are having serious problems with the defense pinching in at inopportune moments. Ryan Miller only faced 11 shots but quite a few were excellent chances coming of odd man rushes. On the flip side, I thought the offense was great. The line of Phil Kessel, Joe Pavelski and Ryan Malone is outstanding. I also like the David Backes, Chris Drury and Bobby Ryan/Ryan Callahan line. The other lines are a little different. Zach Parise, Paul Stastny and Patrick Kane are good but should be better. Parise had two assists, Stastny one assist, and Kane had a goal. Not bad but Ron Wilson busted up the line in the 3rd period after a poor 2nd perod effort by the team. He slotted Parise's teammate Jamie Langenbrunner on the right wing in place of Kane. I guess because they are linemates in New Jersey because Langenbrunner has not earned a place with them with play. His line with Dustin Brown and Ryan Kesler has dissapointed so far. I was expecting Kesler to be the number 2 center after Stastny but Pavelski and Drury have outplayed him by a large margin thus far. I'd also like to give props to Jack Johnson. A lot of people doubted he belonged on the team but he has had two strong games. Avs prospect Janos Holos was playing for the Norwegians and, damn, he's not bad. He led the Norwegians in ice time (28:15) and managed to skate away with a +/- of 0. He's not big or noticable really, but he plays a smart,  positionally sound game. I am pretty impressed. I wouldn't mind seeing Holos get a shot with the Avs next year.

Moving on to the Canada, Switzerland game. If your not Canadian, this game was the funnest to watch of the tournament thus far. Canada had a 2-0 lead in the 2nd period but then Jonas Hiller shut the door and the Swiss team fought their way back to tie it. Canada won 3-2 in the shootout. I bet Hiller will get credit for forcing the shootout, which he deserves, but the Swiss rarely looked overmatched. Right up until the end of OT they were getting quality chances. Roman Wick (pictured above) and Hnat Domenichelli were both very impressive for the Swiss. The only Canadian who impressed me this game was Sidney Crosby. He started really forcing the play after the Swiss tied it up and even had a great scoring chance after getting whacked in the face with a highstick (bad missed call by the refs). He also scored the game-winning shootout goal. This is only going to make Sunday's game against the USA more intense as the U.S. is now the only team in group A to have gotten all possible points thus far. 

Finally there is the Slovakia, Russia game. I didn't start watching this game until after Marian Hossa tied up the game in the 3rd period. Slovkia went on to upset the Russians in a shootout 2-1. Jaroslav Halak and Ilya Bryzgalov (who I thought might start) look like they had strong games. Looks like the Slovakians played a very good defensive game to shutdown the highpowered Russian offense. Zdeno Chara looked great during what I watched. 

Wow, two Gold Medal favorites forced into a shootout by teams most didn't even predict to medal. I loved it but then I always love an underdog. Both teams do not play until Sunday and both are facing tough teams in the U.S. and the Czech Republic. It'll be interesting.

Today's games are: Belarus v Sweden (12:00), Czech Republic v Latvia (16:30) and Finland v Germany (21:00). All times are pacific standard. None of these games are in much doubt. Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic should all remain undefeated but after yesterday who knows? Live blog to go up at noon, mountain time.

More photos » David Zalubowski - AP

about 1 month ago: Colorado Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson makes a stick save against the Phoenix Coyotes in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Denver on Friday, Feb. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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For the 2nd straight game, the Colorado Avalanche were not the best team on the ice. For the 2nd straight game, it didn't matter. The Avs came out a tad flat against the Coyotes...and seemed to deflate as the game went on. The Coyotes weren't any better at the start, and put the Avs on 3 power plays in the first period, and Colorado converted on one to put the Avalanche up 1-0.

Reportedly, Dave Tippet ripped into his team during the first intermission and it paid off. Phoenix scored early in the 2nd period to tie the game and had the edge for most of the rest of the way. The Avalanche were outshot 24-9 in the final 40 minutes and the Avalanche were fortunate to still be in the game. It was still knotted up at late in the 3rd when Matt Duchene beautifully deflected Brett Clark's point shot past Ilya Bryzgalov for the game winner. It was Duchene's 20th goal of the season. He now leads the Avalanche in goals scored and would appear to have a solid lead in the Calder Trophy race.

Not that any of that really matters. Bottom line: the Avalanche won. Vancouver won as well tonight, so the Avs still stay in 6th place, but that's two more points for the playoff race. It also helps the Avs in any potential tiebreaker scenarios with Phoenix (something I'm going to break down at some point during the break). I'd love to see the Avalanche play better, but I'm happy to see them grabbing points.

The Coyotes? Not so happy. Although they played well tonight, they also had some undisciplined stretches with 4 minor penalties in the 1st and 5 penalties in the 3rd. One was a phantom high sticking call on Matt Lombardi, but the one that drove the Phoenix bench nuts was an interference call on Ed Jovanovski with just under 2 minutes to go. Honestly, replays didn't catch the play, but Jovo and Dave Tippet seemed to be arguing that Brandon Yip "embellished" on the play. Any sympathy headed towards the Coyotes completely evaporated just moments later when Martin Hanzal boarded Kyle Cumiskey into the boards (earning him 15 minutes in penalties). Cumiskey had to be helped off the ice (joining Adam Foote who left early on with a back injury). It was an ugly penalty, especially for a play so late in the game. Suspendable? No. Avoidable? Absolutely. We'll see you boys again on March 4th...