Well, with his six-game suspension for being classless ongoing, Colorado Avalanche fans won't get to watch Sean Avery get beat up by Ian Laperriere tonight as the Avs take on the Stars in Dallas. But that's OK. We'll settle for Steve Ott. Oh, he's injured. Hmmm. Well, maybe Lappy can go after Brendan Morrow. Oops, he tore his ACL, will be out six months. Gosh, who's left? Krys Barch, really? That's it? That's the only remotely annoying player left skating for the Stars? What a letdown.
So I suppose the Stars won't be fighting much tonight. Instead, they'll just have to rely on their top-notch goaltending to thwart the Avalanche. Hmm. Worst goaltending in the league so far, and a potentially career-ruining cold spell from Marty Turco. Well I'll be damned.
Things might not be going very well overall for Avalanche fans, but at least our favorite team isn't the Stars, right?
Now, that said, a win for the Avs is not a sure bet. They beat the Stars 5-4 back in October, but Colorado is streaky and seems to fall into ruts all the time. Last night's disappointing and lackluster loss against the Predators does not bode well for tonight's match up. Hopefully Chris Stewart, freshly called up from Lake Erie, will be all piss and vinegar and ready to make a big splash in the big league. Lord knows his teammates could use some inspiration.
And really, would it be too much to ask for Paul Stastny to score a goal or a couple of assists in every game? He's good enough to do that. He's never going to win an Art Ross with the way he's been going, what with all these scoreless streaks and cold spells.
The pile of Avalanche injuries is the same as last night except for the addition of Brian Willsie, who was playing well before having his knee taken out by Jordin Tootoo in Nashville yesterday. Hence the Stewart call-up.
No confirmation yet, but word is that Andrew Raycroft will be starting in net tonight due to the back-to-back nature of the road trip. No reason to waste Budaj on the Stars, right? Right?
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