Game 72: Avalanche 5, Oilers 1
by Joe Dunman on Mar 14, 2008 7:01 AM MDT
in News
32 comments
photo courtesy of David Zalubowski/AP
What a day. The Avalanche beat the Oilers 5-1 and every other team in the Northwest Division lost, with only Minnesota losing in overtime. The Avs now occupy first place with a two-point cushion and only ten games left to play. As a bonus, Colorado's two power play goals lifted their overall percentage to 13.8, just above St. Louis and no longer the worst in the NHL. Also worth noting, so far in the final 19 games of this season, Colorado is 8-1-0. A 7-1-2 finish will tie last year's amazing streak, only this time it will guarantee a playoff spot, if not the Northwest Division title outright.
The game last night started slowly, but Jeff Finger lit the scoreboard first with help from Jaroslav Hlinka and Paul Stastny. The Avs went into the second period with a slim, one-goal lead, but the floodgates were opened and it was all over for the Oil. Four goals, scored by Hlinka (unassisted off a gorgeous steal), Tyler "I only try in eight games a year" Arnason, Wojtek Wolski and rookie David Jones, sealed the deal. The Oilers managed one goal of their own, but had nothing else to show for themselves the rest of the night.
The Avalanche defense was solid again, including some help from forwards like Ben Guite and Ian Laperriere, as usual. Lappy and Guite had great nights, and seemed like they played the entire third period as the Avs ran out the clock. Coach Q was so set on sitting back that he apparently gave the the bench the rest of the night off. Paul Stastny, Brunette and Arnason, to name just three, played only around 15 minutes total. Wolski had just over 10 minutes. Very interesting is the fact that Hlinka, the whipping boy for the past couple of weeks, played 17 minutes.
Peter Budaj had a superb game in net, and continues his outrageous dominance of Edmonton. 23 saves on 24 shots, and made every one look easy. He also gave Jose Theodore a needed rest.
The Avs next play the New Jersey Devils on Saturday in Denver. Beating the Devils will provide more evidence that Colorado is a viable playoff threat. Hopefully Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote and Ryan Smyth will all be recovered and ready to go by then.
Stars of the Game:
- Jaroslav Hlinka (1g, 1a)
- Tyler Arnason (1g, 1a)
- David Jones (1g, 0a)
Kittens Killed: 
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This game goes a long way
to proving my point about Hlinka from several days back. That Q felt that the missing H-link was good enough defensively to see plenty of ice time in that third period while Stastny, Brunette, Arnason, and fellow whipping-boy Wolski got to replenish their electrolytes at a leisurely pace should indicate that Hlinka has a real value to this team, even with Smyth and Forsberg in the lineup. Now, I'm not advocationg benching SoS, but Brunette and Arny certianly haven't done anything remarkable this season, but neither of them have watched a game from the pressbox. Coupled with Hlinka's offensive game last night, it was another indicator that he can play well if given complimentary linemates.
Why am I so pissed about this? I've got to let it go...
Re: This game...
I agree, as always. I've always thought Hlinka was under- or mis-utilized most of the season, and his defensive qualities get an unfair shake simply because he has no physical game whatsoever.
He's got value, if played correctly. I'm willing to go easy on Brunette, because he's been much improved since Sakic came back. There's something about Super Joe's presence that motivates Brunette---or at least it looks that way.
Arnason, two points against the Oilers or not, baffles me completely. Why Q insists on playing him as the third line center when Hlinka is better in almost every way, I'll never know.
Hlinka
I'm a Hlinka guy much more than an Arnason guy. But, to be fair, I don't know that Hlinka is hands down better. Neither one can take a draw to save their life. Hlinka is a bit more physical, but that's kind of like giving Gary Coleman props in a height contest against Vern Troyer. Hlinka IS better defensively but...well, see previous sentence.
Arnason has a lot of faults, but he's not total junk. His little outburst last night moved him into 2nd on the team in scoring in the 2nd half (with 20 points). Brunette leads the team with 23. Svatos is 3rd with 19 and - mindfuck warning - Wolski is 4th with 16. Obviously, the injuries are a big factor here, but that Arnason, Svatos, Wolski line carried us for a little while.
I think the two are different sorts of players. Hlinka seems to work very well with similar skilled players - Hejduk is a great linemate for him. When he has guys that like to pass and find seams (Forsberg, anyone?), he's great. When he's with not, though, he's not very useful. Arnason, improbably, still seems to confuse the heck out of opposing teams. They just don't seem to know that he's going to stick handle straight up the ice between two defensemen and a backchecking forward. But after he creates space, he needs people to find an open spot on the ice. Cody McLeod and Cody McCormick are not good linemates for him at all, and I think that's hurt his output. I personally would rather see him with Wolski and Lappy and move the Cody's to the wings around Guite.
I guess I'm saying both Hlinka and Arnason have good attributes, but need to be handled properly to be successful. Hlinka has been lately, and Arnason has not.
Speaking of good handling, Wolski has a point in each of the 3 games he's played in after being a healthy scratch.
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Mar 14, 2008 9:04 AM MDT up reply actions
Re: Hlinka
It seems as though the scratches were good for Hlinka and Wolski, but I'm not convinced they deserved them in the first place. Well, they weren't exactly playing great before, but neither was Arnason or Hejduk, and they never sat.
I guess Coach Q's benchings will always be a mystery.
Nice points
Good perspective, it just kills me to see Arny on the PP because his skills you mention to translate to the PP.
by Hardshell_Taco_del_Lowayne on Mar 14, 2008 10:07 AM MDT up reply actions
Don't get too excited
I'm going to be the stick in the mud here and just point out that Atlanta and Edmonton are defensive wrecks. It's great for the team confidence and was a perfect night to give Theo, Foote, Forsberg and Smyth that extra rest. However, since every team in the division has a game in hand on the Avalanche things are still very, very close. There's a lot to be encouraged about, especially the second period when the Avs didn't let up and try to hold a lead.
Anyway, it was a really fun game to watch. Sakic picked apart a very good PK. He didn't do it from the blue line, he did it by quarterbacking the PP from the sideboards (Forsberg's office usually).
Every time Finger scores a goal (man what a shot that guy has) just remember that he's still not featured on the power play yet he leads defensemen in goals.
Finger
"Every time Finger scores a goal (man what a shot that guy has) just remember that he's still not featured on the power play yet he leads defensemen in goals."
and also try to guess which team he'll be scoring PP goals for next year. :(
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Mar 14, 2008 9:15 AM MDT up reply actions
Oh don't even go there
Finger is entering his prime and the Avs should make him a bigger priority than Liles if you ask me. It's going to be an interesting summer. I wonder if Sakic will take a pay cut to get Foote and some other guys signed.
Re: Oh don't even
I think, without much hesitation, that Sakic will sign for a lower salary next season. His pay went up after last year's amazing 100 points, but the guy isn't so selfish that he won't recognize his age and his recent injury as reasons for a smaller paycheck. I don't think he'll even consider asking for more or even the same pay.
Re: Game 72: Avalanche 5, Oilers 1
As Dan mentioned, I actually called him to see what was up with Stastny. I thought he looked like he was playing hurt in the 2nd, then he disappeared. Haven't seen or heard anything on it ... but I'm afraid he is injured. Given this season, why wouldn't he be? So the Altitude folks never said anything about it? I didn't see anything this morning in the Post.
Stastny
Dater is pretty good about reporting injuries in his recaps, and he didn't say anything about Stastny. I assume he's fine, but like we all know, he could have lost an arm or something and the Avs wouldn't report it accurately for at least a week.
really?
I didn't notice that at all. Just two shifts in the 3rd period. I hope it's something minor. The Edmonton guys certainly didn't mention it, but, then again, I'm not sure they were aware there was a team besides Edmonton on the ice.
The last guy to quietly leave a game against Edmonton with no mention the next day was Joe Sakic...
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Mar 14, 2008 9:42 AM MDT up reply actions
OK people this jinx stuff has got to stop
I should post a diary about this because it's becoming epidemic. Anytime you say something like that you gain the attention of the Whammy. The Whammy loves play by play guys that say things like, "He's been on fire at the free throw line, if he makes this it will be 15 in a row". Whammy is infamously known in hockey circles in reference to a premature mention of "shutout". The only cure for the Whammy is to recognize him. So, on behalf of DD I would like to officially recognize the Whammy and beg his forgiveness.
I honestly had a pseudo religion for the Whammy back in college. Know the Whammy, he is all powerful and omnipotent.
Have mercy, all powerful Whammy.
2 shifts, 54 seconds
I'm telling you...unless Statsny had to go take a massive Chelios during the entire 3rd, something's just not right. You would logically rest your 38-year-old center, not the 22 year old, right?
And what absolutely drives me freaking batshit about this is that no one in the MSM mentioned it (as far as I can tell). Who's producing the Altitude broadcasts, for god's sake? A few games ago it's "Kapanen" instead of "Weight," and now this. And shouldn't this merit at least a small note in the papers?
This is actually an instance where it would be great to have a blogger at the game with locker room access, because at least a couple of us noticed this last night and could have had our blogger-on-the-scene ask this at Q's press conference. When your team gets covered non-stop, like in Canada, then that's not so important. But here, where the MSM continues to be mediocre, lazy, and generally clueless, it's very important.
by Dan Winkler on Mar 14, 2008 12:12 PM MDT up reply actions
Re: 2 shifts, 54 seconds
You know, the flu's going around pretty bad. Stastny could have just had to puke and rest a bit---he would be fine by Saturday and it wouldn't warrant an injury report.
Just another scenario to ponder.
I guess we'll find out for sure---at the latest---on Saturday against the Devils.
My guess is
probably a flare up of the groin problem he had that kept him out an additional 2 weeks after his appendectomy. He was really having a hard time skating. But heck, we'll probably never know. Until he isn't in the lineup on Saturday. Or for another week or two.
I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but of the other injured guys, Foote was the only one out there for the pregame skate. It also bothers me that Forsberg has seemingly disappeared ....
by Bob in Boulder on Mar 14, 2008 12:23 PM MDT up reply actions
Re: My guess is
Forsberg is being held in a top secret bunker until his groin is sufficiently healed, i.e. the start of the playoffs. No further comment.
I literally told the guy I was with last night
that Stastny looks like he is playing hurt, during the 2nd period. He was struggling to move out there. Then he disappears. Coincidence? I highly doubt it. I agree that our MSM absolutely sucks in that they:
a) Didn't pick up on any of it, and
b) Didn't ask any questions about it after the game.
And McNab was even on the fricken bench! Wtf guys. Do your fricken jobs.
by Bob in Boulder on Mar 14, 2008 12:20 PM MDT up reply actions
Or
A conspiracy theorist would suggest that the Avs told the MSM in attendance not to talk/ask about Stastny.
Knowing the bend-over-backwards attitude most of the reporters and commentators and Denver have toward the Avalanche, it wouldn't necessarily be that far-out of a suggestion.
Not that I'm suggesting it, of course.
Wyatt Smith
I just checked the Avs team scoring and saw Wyatt's name. 3 points in 25 games and he didn't do much else - and people SAT so he could play. That is 25 games this team could have been better.
by Hardshell_Taco_del_Lowayne on Mar 14, 2008 10:33 AM MDT reply actions
Don't get Joe started
Whispering Wyatt Smiths name is like putting on the One Ring. You will immediately attract the attention of Joe and all the fury he can bring.
Re: Wyatt Smith
And you've got people like Sandy Clough claiming that Brad Richardson isn't any better than Smith, even though he scored 14 goals last season---which was just two fewer than Arnason's total for 06-07, for example.
lets be fair
Richie has not been the same since the wrist injury. Hopefully he gets that snap in his shot back down in the AHL.
Re: lets be fair
Okay, fine, but Wyatt Smith played 25 games and scored only 3 assists. Richardson has played 22 games and scored 2 goals and 3 assists. Who's more valuable, even if he's not the same as last season?
I think it sucks
I'm bummed that Smith was sent down for only one reason:
His signature is on my Roy jersey and now he doesn't even play NHL hockey. I almost feel the urge to get the magic sharpie eraser and take it off.
oh im not arguing
im a big Richie fan, you know that, and he's definitely better than Smith. sending him down hasn't had much of an effect on the team either way though.
Salei Pic
Has anyone found a great picture of Salei's shiner? I was very close to the ice last night but all I saw was a dark spot near his eye, not the full on black. Actually, I'm surprised it wasn't posted in the game recap. That would have been awesome.
Nope
I can't find any decent ones so far. Altitude showed him pretty close-up and in full shiner glory, but I didn't take a screen cap.
I'll be on the lookout.
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