Playoff Gameday: Avalanche vs Red Wings Game 3

UPDATE: Jib has had enough and wants to get everyone fired up and I must admit, the excessive use of profanity energized the shit out of me! Let's hope the whole team reads his blog so they can get riled up for this game too.

If you want to talk about must win siutations, tonight's game can be part of the dictionary entry. If the Avalanche lose today, it's season over.

Yes, people will quote the miracle of 3-0 comebacks but the odds would not be in the Avalanche's favor.

Hell, I wouldn't even call it odds. I would call it the likelihood of God being an Avalanche fan because it would take divine intervention to take 4 straight from the Wings at this point.

Smyth out?
To make matters worse, it is being reported that Ryan Smyth will miss this game. Maintenance day my ass, coach Q. If there's one thing I hate about the playoffs, it's the ridiculous injury updates.

Forsberg in?
Peter Forsberg skated in practice and is likely to play. But I'll believe it when I see him out for his first shift. Not even sitting on the bench at puck drop will convince me that he's in the lineup.

Hannan in?
Scott Hannan is probable as well but I won't believe it until I see him on the bench. I won't need him to actually take a shift to believe he's in the game. Lucky him, eh?

Lineup
So what to do with all these injuries?

Well, if Hannan is out, Finger will stay in. If Hannan is in, Finger will likely swap out. The defence is the easy one to deal with. Though I'd like someone to remind Sauer and Foote that they need to wake up a bit.

If Forsberg and Smyth are out, Q again will need to draw on some reserve power. Cody McCormick and Jaroslav Hlinka will stay in even though both played less than stellar in their recent outings. He then has to decide from players such as Brad Richardson, Wyatt Smith and T.J. Hensick to fill Smyth's spot.

I'm not sure I'd trust Hensick in a crucial situation like this but there is something to be said for that rookie enthusiasm. I don't feel Wyatt Smith will bring anything to the tableand Brad Richardson has been in Q's doghouse all year.

I think the order in Q's head based on comments he's made so far and what we saw in the regular season is:
Wyatt Smith
T.J. Hensick
Brad Richardson

And I hope to God I'm wrong because I don't want to see Wyatt Smith anywhere near the ice.

But let's hope it doesn't come down to that and Forsberg is good to go.

Related Links
RMN Avalanche Playoff Report
Forsberg might play, Theodore simply must
Dear Quenneville, You must be kidding
I flu over the cuckoo's nest
Avs Forsberg, Hannan Probable for Game 3
Colorado not worried about being down to Wings (when has a team ever said "Yeah, we're scared shitless"???)
Let's get fired up