Game 8: Avalanche At Wild, Preview And Open Thread

It will be much better than listening to the Altitude crew blow their wads over Dimitra, Gaborick, Backstrom.

Given the way the season has gone for the Avs on the road to this point, I expect Martin Skoula to have a hat trick for the Wild.

The Wild announcers just called the Avalanche goaltenders "shaky".  Coach Q is the one keeping that perception alive---along with the Colorado defense which hasn't played a first period in several games now.

Good shut-down by Bret Clark, nice physical play by the Avalanche so far in general.

Finger's on the ice tonight---thank god.  He's already making his presence felt with some big hits.

Svatos is out with Ryan Smyth and Son of Stastny again tonight.  Looks like a good group.  RPM!!

Last night it was Happy Bullion.  Tonight it's Backstrom.  

The Wild got saved by their goaltending about five times on that penalty kill.

Svatos and Wolski are playing hard again tonight, it's good to see them together on a power play line.

Tyler Arnason needs to keep his stick to himself.

Budaj has looked excellent so far.  Some really great saves during that kill---he's been right on the puck every time.  Good recovery on a bad rebound, too.

The first period went by really fast, despite the penalties.

Backstrom and Budaj have a very nice goalie battle going tonight---both have really saved their teammates' asses during the penalty kills.

It's also good to see a first period end without another team scoring three goals on the Avalanche.

What kind of name is Marney?  She's pretty cute, though.

though I would have liked to see the Avs cash in on the PP.  

Clark nearly directed a goal in on Budaj.  Bet he changed shorts during the intermission.

I'll reiterate my request to see some Arnason scratches once Richardson is healthy.  He brings nothing to the table.

Looks like it's just me and you tonight, Joe.

Fantastic glove save by Budaj through traffic!  Man, he's looking sharp tonight.

There goes the Avs' penalty kill streak.  Lappy was at fault on that one---totally let go of his man.

Leopold is playing sloppy tonight.  He's been in the box far too much.

Another Wild power play goal.  With the way Backstrom is playing tonight, it will be a tall order for the Avs to come back.  This is not looking good.

I was on baby bath duty.  Looks like I didn't miss anything special, especially the 5-on-3.

Arnason did a great job spinning on that rebound.  Avalanche goal!!

Andrew Brunette right in front of the net!  Good work by Wolski and Sauer to get the puck to Bruno.

All tied 2-2.

That's penalty number three for Jordan Leopold.  This is getting old.

I know it's not very manly or whatnot, but a visor would have kept that puck off of your forehead, Parrish.  

Four goals scored, first two by the Wild, second two by the Avs.  Momentum shifted back and forth pretty evenly, but those Jordan Leopold penalties have to stop.  No more penalty kills!

Strong play from Svatos and Wolski again this period---those kids look super motivated.

Where are we as a society when we have to run public service commercials encouraging parents to TALK to their children.  Seriously.  Is it that bad?

It's good to see hockey players riding bikes---especially expensive time trial bikes like Burns' Cervelo.  I race bikes when not injuring myself, so it's good to see the two sports mix it up.

Hire Marney???  I think if she was HALF as good as she appears to be, she'd still be 200 times better than the illiterate stiff that does the Avs intermission reports.

I really wish they'd stop saying Wolski's name as "Wolski."  It's pronounced "Volski."

The Avalanche players are doing a great job controlling the zone.  The period has been all them.

Backstrom's earning his pay tonight.

HUGE save by Budaj on that two-man rush.  I can't believe he stopped that shot!

Well that's not good.

Miku Koivu put that sucker right past Budaj on a great  stuff past Budaj's left pad.

I think this game might be over...

Another loss.

The Avalanche drop to 0-4 on the road.

Great game overall, and the Avalanche generally played very well---they just couldn't close it down at the end.

Budaj had a superb game, despite losing.  He made some huge saves throughout the night and really looked solid on almost every play.  His late reaction on the final goal was the only glaring mistake he made, but the defense was as much at fault.

Wolski and Svatos played great, and Arnason was solid.  Son of Stastny had his point-scoring streak ended, and both he and Sakic had quiet nights.  Neither made a major impact at all.

Ryan Smyth was crashing and bashing but couldn't come up with much.

The Avs are now at .500 and the Wild move even farther out of immediate reach with a record of 7-0-1 for 15 points, seven more than Colorado.  That's not good.

More in the recap tomorrow.