WCQ Game 3: Wild At Avalanche, Preview And Open Thread

Jibble_cribbits - (Doubtful) Pre-scheduled soccer game. (Thank god for TiVo though)

Bruno and Stastny to contribute!

also, I read Dater's blog post.  I was at the first Forsberg game, and I'm pretty sure the place was absolutely buzzing.  Maybe it wasn't playoff-style raucous, but it wasn't the playoffs yet.  Bit of an over-reaction by Dater imo -- fans will be there and ready to rock, they just haven't had much to get excited over for 2 years.

I love that it's not on craptacular TSN tonight, I can actually watch the first period.

Wyatt Smith is back with the team!!!!!!!!

I can appreciate the female form as well as the next guy but now that I'm no longer the lone female here, don't you think there should be some pheremone equalization in the form of some "goalie boy" pix?

Anyone watching the game before the game?  I'm chasing Baby @ MHH around the house, but I'll be trying to watch too.  This little guy wears me out!  

Mike's still at work, but I hope he'll make it home in time for the Avs game.

I would just like to go on record saying Backstrom is the greatest man to ever live.  He is also immortal.  He single handedly built the great wall of China, brought back reading and writing to medieval Europe, he won the Nobel Prize for, um, chemistry (twice!), and invented velcro.

If only more people would listen to him we would have cold fusion and a peace solution for Israel and Palestine.

for disowning my parents. I move to San Jose, and the season after I leave my mom meets this contact that hooks my folks up with discount tix for Avs games in about row 10, at a discount. So she has been going to games all year and will be going to game 4 tomorrow at a fricking discount.

When I was there she got tic through work... second to last row behind the home goalie. Not that I'm bitter

Where is all the pre-game chatter?  Are you guys not as pumped for this game as the previous 2?  

Or is it just that it's Monday, and we're all still recovering from a crazy weekend...

Pregame in HD on Altitude and there is no sound.

Versus - Detroit - Nashville going to OT...

I think we need a goal girl to get this party started.

The Avs are pressing, but a high stick by Stasnty and just like that we're shorthanded. We'd better kill this off.

think of hippie-looking child molesters when they see those Honda van commercials?

No?

Must just be me...

It's so frustrating when Versus cuts away from the game and you don't even get to see the penalty calls.

Grrrr.

myself but the Avs are also looking a bit tired.  Is it just me?

Scores from Sakic and Wolski!

BRUNO!

Another great setup from Wolski!!

Brunette from Sakic and Wolski.

Wolski's puck handling is freaking amazing.

Bench him again, Q.

And The Can is loud and packed tonight.  The fans really did the team right.

He shoots, he misses, Bruno rebounds and

SCORE!!!

Canuckleheads fired/parted ways with Nonis today?

Bruno baby!

And btw, I'm here now. My girlfriend and I are taking a break from Battlestar Galactica to watch the game.

Avs on PP after Fedoruk gets caught hooking.

So far so good.  Here's everybody's favorite:

now this is a little more like it. goal and a pretty good pp

damn a kitten dead....load the second

McLeod is scrapping out there.  It looks like the Wild are taking the bait and getting pissed.  Nice.

is so bad, I don't think I can eat enough food for as much as I want to vomit...

WTF...how many times is guite going to get knocked down in front of the net with out an interference call?  The puck isn't there!

Great second half of the first period, but the Avs have scored first in all three games now and both previous times they gave up the lead.

The boys better come out in the second period firing with all guns.  

that missed a wide open net from about 4 feet away right at the end of the 1st?

UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE...

The 'Nucks fired ole 'do-nuthin' Nonnis today.

Staz looks a bit off offensively, his passing is more erratic.

Hejduk made a sweet power move to draw that penalty.

Forsberg caused a giveaway trying to dipsy doodle pass.

Overall, the team is playing well enough to win so far.

A good call by the refs on Voros for interference.

The Avs get another chance to kill a kitten.

but the Avs are going to kill another kitten!

K11ers 4 Lyfe, yo.

just commit suicide and get it over with...

It's a kitten Holocaust. This is horrible.

You are banned from talking about the Avs powerplay on game day.

If that 5-3 was going to bit them in the *ss, the last three powerplays were the game killaz.

at least the PP went down shooting this time...but damn it, what good is it to finally get these calls if we are going to shove them down the Wild's collective throats!

those had better be matching after that.

That was crap.  Booger deserved a penalty for that crap.

The Guite-Lappy-McLeod line has officially gotten under the skin of the Wild.  

Guite made contact with Backstrom, and Boogaard went to pick on him, drawing a scrum involving Lappy, McLeod and Shepard.  Guite, unfortunately, was the only one to go to the box.

Avs on the PK.

Get the hell off him!

Sean Hill takes down Forsberg and gets called for holding or something similar (I wouldn't know, Versus cut away).

The Wild don't look that hot right now.  But it's still too close for comfort.

Marissa says, "Do it, boys."

They better not call that even.  That was some BS there, tackling Forsberg on the ice and holding him there.  I guess the ref problem followed us from Minni?

The officiating in this game is atrocious. How do we not get a pp out of that mauling of Forsberg by Hill?!? Un-fuckin-believable. You know, I'd be complaining a little more, but it's not like the pp helps us anyway.......

knows he plays for the Avs, right?

Can we bench his ass before one of his turnovers costs us?

Guys, look at how well Backstrom is playing this game. He is stoning people left and right. If it were Roy or Brodeur in that Wild net, we'd be up like 7-0 by now. Backstrom is truly cementing his reputation as the best playoff performer ever.

The Avs finally shift the pressure to the other zone.

Hejduk called for high sticking.

Two Avs have been tripped/dumped behind the net with no calls and now the Wild get that in their favor.

big saves there to end the period

to kill kittens! Coming up in the third period!!

during the playoffs, they haven't been interviewing a certain Mr. Unmentionable Name but they keep showing him on "commercials" with his thoughts on the playoffs.  Now, we dare not speak his name here, why are they allowed to post his face during a playoff game?  Never happened in the regular season.  Bad luck?

to the Avs...

The thread tonight is going to be way low on comments compared to the first two games, but it's okay.  Mondays are rough on everybody.

I can't believe it's already the third period.  This game is nearly two hours long so far but it seems like it flew by.

Third period underway with part of a power play left for the Avs.

A kitten eats its last meal somewhere.

Kill penalties, not kittens.

You know, Wolski's talent is showing more and more with each game.  He's an amazing puck handler and has good speed.  And he's still super young.

He and Stastny have got to stay with the team for a very long time.

Great shift by the Lappy-Guite-McLeod line.

Johnsson has a scissor kick hold on Jones for 20 seconds and the refs call NOTHING.

Seriously, what the fuck?!

we give up the f'n lead in the third period

Right on fucking schedule.

Wild score on an amazingly fast pass from Fedoruk to Koivu.

Third period, another blown lead.

Why do our players try to get so fucking fancy with a small lead?

If only they would muck it up the entire goddamn game.

I can't afford this to go late...I have to be up early and won't be home till late tomorrow.

A 1 goal lead is hardly enough to win a game in the playoffs.  We should be bitching about the offense.

Ryan Smyth is dragged down by Koivu, Avs to get another power play.

Now would be the time to redeem themselves and actually get a go-ahead goal here.

But we all know better.

But, Avs PP.  We need Jessica back.  She has been the only hard working goal girl.

Stastny coughed up the puck, the Wild get a 2-on-1 and make the Avs all look stupid.

Shorthanded goal.

Wild up 2-1 with 8:30 left.

Short handed f'n goal

It's official.

Paul Stastny, not ready for the playoffs.

gotta work tomorrow.

I'll say it.  SoS has been a letdown in the postseason...

our power play and third period play isn't worth the price of admission.

Super Joe!

Ties it up

SCORE!!!!!!

GOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!!!

Foote = F bombs galore.

The burden to the team strikes again...interesting...

Do I even need to list it all. Arnason is KILLING us. Bench his ass NOW.

Wolski is FAST!  And not afraid to hit!

Is there any way he can take Arnason aside and teach him how to play hockey?

Stastny was just a little too far away from that rebound chance.  Damn.

Jones goes down for slashing even though it was really  tripping.  The Avs will finish regulation with a man down, and start overtime the same way.

Super tired.

I can't take all this OT.

I have to be at work ungodly early but I can't turn off the tube.  

I know these teams are well-matched, but three straight overtimes?  Really?  One of these teams can't win in regulation?

I don't think I can handle seven games of this.

Three straight games, going to overtime and the game ending in all three with a 3-2 score.

Boy, it sure was a nice break to watch a bunch of other teams this past weekend. No heart attacks, no brain damage from lack of oxygen from holding my breath, just enjoying some hockey that I wasn't so emotionally invested in.

Overtime underway.  Call the medics.

Lappy has been stellar in this game.  He's blocked shots like a man with nothing to live for.  God bless him.

Liles with a great shot but Backstrom gloved it.  The Avs were cycling very well on that shift.

Sorry Gaborik.  No goal for you that time.

Sakic is playing some killer D right now.

Stastny with two chances, two failures.

Come on Stats!  DO IT!

Both teams are going to be completely dead tomorrow.

And I highly doubt we'll see Foppa.

More chances for Stastny, still nothing to show for it.  He's really stepped up in OT, that's for sure.

Versus blacked out for a second

Game over.

Wild score.

follow the puck around the net. Bad bounce and they get a goal.

Yet another reason why the league should switch to automatic icing.  Jeff Finger goes the opposite way around the net not expecting it to bounce funny, and the Wild get possession.

The rest is history.

What a heart-breaker.

Not good. If we were a SC team, this wouldn't be so close, imo. I have to go to bed.  Sleep is good.

I have to go to bed.  Expect a brutal recap tomorrow.

That was bad. That was really bad. I doubt we'll win tomorrow now. Either way, the Wild are going to win game 4 imo. Even if we scored, we'd be too gassed to play hard tomorrow, and now that we lost, we are gassed AND the Wild have the momentum. We're very screwed right now. I hope we can steal a couple more in Minny, although that's unlikely.

:'(

he should be benched after an effort like that for an entire game.

Bad play by Finger, but not the reason we lost. I understand the emotion, but in this case it's ridiculous. He was one of our best players tonight.

Just got back from the game about a half hour ago, and that was one of the most gutless games I've ever seen the team play. The fans, who I've ripped on plenty of times, did their part for once. But the team didn't. Forsberg was terrible, Arnason nearly invisible, Wolksi disappeared, Sauer played scared, Hannan was utterly clueless, passing to no one in particular and not even attempting to be physical. Smyth not nearly as effective as in the first 2 games. Stastny looks scared, too, and needs to get his head out of his ass.

We lost nearly every 50/50 challenge, either by pulling out of it or trying to be cute and lifting a stick, instead of sticking noses in there and fighting for the puck. Arnason was especially guilty of this, worse than normal. It's not fucking shinny, Arnason, hit somebody.

We looked old and tired, not a great sign considering we had 2 days of rest and have to play again tomorrow.

Theodore was absolutely brilliant. I know the 3 Stars is a joke, but Norm Jones is a fucking moron for not giving Theodore the 2nd star. Backstrom made more saves, but hardly any of them were that difficult.

The worst part is the way Minnesota came into Denver and, except for the first few minutes, absolutely owned that game. Our forwards rarely punished their weakened defensive corps, and the team didn't take advantage of the emotion of the crowd. What a fucking waste.