Bleacher Report - Articles by Shane Giroux

The Ryan Smyth Rumors Keep on Coming

Shane Giroux — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:38:00 -0500

The Ryan Smyth trade rumors abound and as the trade deadline gets closer, the rumors get farther from reality.

Today it's Bruce "Malkin to the Kings" Garrioch who states in no uncertain terms that the Colorado Avalanche are shopping Smyth.

He starts off with this now-classic refrain:

"The Avalanche, buried at the bottom of the Western Conference, want to shed salary."

For all the people that claim the Avs want to shed salary, nobody has explained why. While Kroenke's real estate holdings may have taken a hit, Wal-Mart is still raking in cash so I can't see that Kroenke is caring too much about the ol' pocket book.

And given that the Avs still have a relative abundance of cap space—they're losing a bit of dead weight at the end of the season and have no high-profile RFA's or UFA's looking for big raises - I can't see the problem there either.

He follows that up with:

"...attendance is plummeting in a market that used to routinely sell out."

And shedding salary and getting rid of your best players will fill the seats? Give me a break.

He then lets us know that even though Smyth has stated that he's happy in Colorado:

"...in hindsight [he] probably should have stayed with the Oilers."

Because the Oilers have had nothing but success since Smyth left, right?

But all of the above seems brilliant compared to the gem he pops out of his ass here:

...the fans in Montreal would embrace his hard-charging style and the Avs won't want a lot in return.

The Avs won't want a lot in return? Do I even have to dignify that with a response? What in the blue hell would make Garrioch think that the Avs wouldn't want a lot in return for a player of Smyth's calibre?

It's complete and utter bullshit. The day I hear of Smyth going to the Habs for a 2nd-rounder is the day I head out to Ottawa and shine Garrioch's shoes.

The Avalanche will make some moves by the trade deadline, but Ryan Smyth will be stating in the Mile-High City.

Jose Theodore—Look at Me!

Shane Giroux — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:25:00 -0500

AD teased us with an upcoming story where Theodore took the gloves off against his former team, the Colorado Avalanche.

But what came out was barely more dramatic than the bruhaha surrounding the Montreal Canadiens.

Theodore basically says: "I wanted more money, so I went to the team that gave it."

Shocking!

"Look at the position I'm in now and where my game has been for the past two months. I think that pretty much speaks for itself," Theodore said.

OK, I'll look. And since I'm lazy with stats, I'll just cherry-pick the numbers that AD put in the article. He has posted a 2.78 goals against average and a .901 save percentage in his last 10 games. Impressive.

I wished Theodore the best when he left—and I still do—but let's be honest about the situation. If Theodore was playing behind this Avalanche squad, he'd be getting lit up like the Macy's Day Parade. Wait—that is held during the day. How about Las Vegas at night?

As Mike pointed out—if you think goaltending is the only problem with this team, then you're on crack. Or something to that effect.

I'm not sure if I'll get to a game preview today, but this was far too non-juicy to pass up.

One of the accounts and marketing folks from our company will be at the game, and I asked him to pick me up some game schwag. Apparently, Ovechkin's stick from the Caps' shootout win over the Habs went for $1125. I asked for a puck. They probably cost more.

Colorado Avalanche Take Season Series Against Detroit Red Wings, Win 6-5

Shane Giroux — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Damn, that felt good!

The Avalanche took down the Winged Wheel by a score of 6-5 in a game that needed 5 shootout rounds to decide the winner.

For those counting, that's 3-0 against the Evil Empire this season. Yep, the team sitting last in the Western Conference was able to take down one of the best teams in the league three out of three times and has officially taken the season series regardless of what goes down on March 4th.

Ain't that just a kick in the pants?

Recap

Ian Laperriere scored just 16 seconds into the first period and Wings and Avs fans alike were shocked. If anyone would score first, you'd think it would be the Wings loaded offense against a 3.00+ GAA goaltender in Andrew Raycroft.

The remainder of the first period was fairly sloppy. Nearly as sloppy as Chris Osgood's puck handling abilities. The Avalanche killed off the first of their three 5-on-3 situations - conspiracy my ass, Wings fans - and headed in to the locker room with a 1-0 lead.

The second period opened with the Lappy line and once again, they didn't disappoint. They pushed the puck deep into the Wings zone and then Laperriere got in front of Osgood to help create havoc in front of him, allowing a Ruslan Salei point shot to find the twine.

2-0 and the feelings of "Is this real life?" were starting to kick in.

The question was quickly answered with four penalties, two 5-on-3 sequences and two Red Wings PP goals in the span of 2 1/2 minutes. Tack on a beauty Marian Hossa goal at 8:58 and real life was rearing its ugly head with a 3-2 Wings lead.

Then the third period started and everyone was thinking "It can't happen again." But happen it did. Andreas Lilja took a penalty just nine seconds into the period which ended at the 1:01 mark when Marek Svatos got a stick on a Wojtek Wolski shot to even things up at 3-3.

Marian Hossa put the Wings up 4-3, Ben Guite tied it up. Jiri Hudler put the Wings up 5-4, Milan Hejduk tied it up. Who would have thought the Avs would have the gumption to keep battling back against the Wings?

The Avalanche held off a late onslaught from the Wings to take it to OT. An OT which proved fairly uneventful so it was off to a shootout.

I won't detail all the shooters since it went five rounds, but suffice to say that Hejduk is still money and when Leopold scored to end it, I leaped out of my chair with more joy than should be afforded to simply cheering for the winning team in a sporting event.

Tonight, I'm going to revel in the honeymoon phase of this win. Because when I wake up tomorrow, it will be to a bleak, uncertain future.

Boo-ya!

Random Thoughts

The Avalanche still get undisciplined when caught for an extended time in their own zone. The wingers leaving their d-men to go "help out" leaves a wide-open cycle game for the opposition.

The Hossa or Franzen question should be answered by now. If it has to be one, it has to be Hossa.

The Wings announcers were bemoaning the "bounces not going their way" early in the first period. I guess it's not just Granato. It's merely a common refrain from the losing team.

But hey, what can you expect from an announcing squad who sound like they're on downers all game long? Here's some gems:

"Probably a hold on Colorado." - Nope, Interference on the Wings.
"It's a 2-2 tie." - Nope, it was 3-2 at that point
"Wings have three games in hand on the Sharks." - Nope, Sharks have three in hand on the Wings.

Please, please, please let me have the Altidudes next game. At least they have energy and factual statements.

The conspiracy theories should be able to be put to bed after Mikael Samuellson jumped on Ben Guite, ground his face into the ice, then popped up scot-free to help create a screen on the 5-4 goal. If that one had stood up to be the winner, I would have been pissed. But I wouldn't have blamed Bettman.

But hey, Ruslan Salei got away with a high stick in the final minutes so...conspiracy back on!

Line of the night

Ian Laperriere, CodyMcCormick and Ben Guite were the line of the night tonight. Granato wisely opened the first two periods with that crew and they rewarded him both times with early goals.

Not content with just scoresheet contributions, they drew a penalty which led to the Avs third goal and were busting their asses all night.

If Giguere wants to trade Lappy, I won't be happy unless a first-rounder comes over to the Avs.

And I would guess Guite didn't appreciate being benched in favor of players like Darcy Tucker and Tyler Arnason. Hopefully he's shown Granato that he should stay in the lineup.

Goaltender of the night

No question here, Andrew Raycroft gets the nod with a 40-save performance. But it's not like Chris Osgood gave him any competition with his own 23-save performance.

I still find Andrew Raycroft overplays a lot of shots but who am I to complain when he gets the job done?

On conspiracies and injuries

You know what, I'll just let the headline speak for itself.

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
Avs beat Red Wings, again

Avalanche-Red Wings Game Preview

Shane Giroux — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:33:00 -0500

The Avalanche took it to the Canadiens on Friday, but with under five minutes remaining, the Avs did what they do best— give up a goal at the most inopportune moment.

The worst part?

I knew it was coming.

Literally seconds before the go-ahead goal was scored, I said "Colorado is notorious for giving up a late goal" and sure as hell, they make me look like a genius.

It’s so sad, but it is the story of the season for this squad.

Odds are ...

… today, they take on the Detroit Red Wings at a sold out Joe Louis Arena.

What are the odds that the Avalanche can again take down their nemesis?

The bookmakers have it at greater than 3-to-1 odds that the Avs will lose.

Ouch.

It's not often you see odds that high.

Can you blame them?

There's obviously no way to know the outcome of a game for certain, but how can anyone truly believe the Avs will beat the Wings today?

Foote back

The Avs did get a spot of good news recently. Not only will Adam Foote be back in the lineup today, but Paul Stastny has been spotted on the ice. Too little, too late but it will still be nice to see Stastny back in the lineup.

Take it to the bank

There are two things to know for certain if the Avalanche come out ahead today: the season is still over and Red Wing fans will blame Gary Bettman.

Game time

The game is a mid-afternoon game, starting at 5:00 p.m. ET, 3:00 p.m. MT.

I'll be getting the altitude feed though since it's an away game, it won't be in hi-def.

Normally, I'm ticked at not getting an HD feed but this time, I'm relieved.

Why?

Because I watched most of the Columbus-Detroit game Friday on the local feed and do you know who's whinier than Wings fans?

Wings announcers.

Related Links:
Avalanche-Red Wings Game Notes
Avalanche-Red Wings Game Preview

Canadiens-Avalanche: Colorado Should Change Uniforms

Shane Giroux — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:49:00 -0500

By now, you should all be aware that the season is over. I was under that impression since the beginning of February and the last three losses have really driven it home.

Regardless of that, the fact remains that there is a game tonight. And though a full-blown implosion would certainly drive the point home to the higher ups, I want the players to keep busting their asses to try and win hockey games. The ones that do will prove that they've got the balls to play in this league. The rest can go home.

Tonight the Avalanche face another slumping team in the Montreal Canadiens. And you know what's really awful about seeing the Canadiens in the dumps like this? They're just waiting to play against the right team who will let them turn things around. The Avalanche can be that team.

I'll be watching with very conflicting emotions tonight. I've got money on the Canadiens, will have a Habs fan sitting on my couch, and will have an old school Avalanche jersey in the corner reminding me of my pride for the team. "Remember when we were a contender? Those were the days..." it says to me every time I look at it.

In fact, it got me thinking just now. The team has been mediocre at best since the arrival of their new jersey design. And though I'm not crazy enough to blame the jerseys for their woes, I don't like how I associate losing with those bloody sweaters. And now I just pissed off a whole lot of people by interchanging jersey and sweater.

Honestly though, when I look at my old jersey, I see "winner". Because that's what the team did while wearing them. I see no such thing when looking at the current jerseys. Thankfully they haven't tarnished the logo or yeti foot. Those will always be dear to my heart.

So to any Avalanche personnel reading this: once you figure out a strategy to revamp the team into a contender, let's also see a better jersey design come out to accompany that squad.

Because they'll deserve better.

Colorado Avalanche Schooled by Blues, Lose 4-1; Hejduk Fine

Shane Giroux — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:02:00 -0500

Is there still any debate on what the Avalanche should do at the deadline?

After a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues, anybody who still thinks the Stanley Cup is a possibility is deluding themselves.

And if a Cup run is not on the table,

Yes, Paul Stastny will be back soon. Yes, Joe Sakic will (hopefully) be back in a little over a month. Yes, Adam Foote should return.

But all the players in the world won't solve the lack of identity this squad has displayed night in and night out this season. If only Avs management had heeded Tapeleg's warning (scroll way, way down).

A "Cinderella run" is not in the cards for the Avalanche. I'd stake my house on that.

Hejduk in

The only good news to come out of that debacle is that Milan Hejduk did not break his jaw. He practiced today and will be back in the lineup for Tuesday's game against Columbus.

Foote out

Adam Foote won't be in the lineup which will piss off all the Columbus fans, no doubt. I understand the anger to a point and wish Foote would just play, or at least take the warm-up skate, so the fans can boo themselves out and get it over with.

Mason out

Steve Mason was placed on the IR with mononucleosis and though I feel for Mason, I'm happy the Avs won't have to face him.

I remember my doubt two years ago when Team Canada went with Steve Mason over Jonathon Bernier in the gold medal game of the World Juniors. I remember the controversy after Bernier's remarks, which actually cemented my acceptance of the decision, and the fan debate leading up to the game.

The debate ended after Canada won and though Mason didn't have to play exceptional, he got it done. In his short NHL career, he's played exceptionally and I hope he's able to keep it up.

But dude, don't try and play goal with mono!

Who needs a wing man?

In the most important news of the day, Wojtek Wolski has been named as one of Denver's top singles.

But what about John-Michael Liles? How is he going to take this snub?

Rumor is that Wolski and Liles will have a dance-off to determine who the real top model is on this team.

NHL Trade Deadline: What Should Colorado Do?

Shane Giroux — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:34:00 -0500

I wrote the following piece for Illegal Curve but the folks there generously agreed to let me cross-post it here at Avs Talk. Once it's up at Illegal Curve, I'll add a link to their Trade Deadline feature so you can read thoughts on all the other teams trade deadline dilemmas.

The Avalanche are currently out of the playoff picture and they have slim to little hope of making it at this point. And even if they were to make the playoffs, all it would bring is a little more cash to the team's bottom line, not a Stanley Cup.

It's simply not worth it for the franchise to be buyer's at the trade deadline. Francois Giguere needs to look past a first-round playoff loss and set his sights on selling some assets.

So what do the Avalanche have to offer?

Marek Svatos
The Svats machine has languished on the third and fourth lines for the most part this season and that's simply not his game. He is an opportunistic goal scorer and does best when gobbling up rebounds in the slot created by his linemates.

He's an extremely sneaky player, has a nose for open spots, and knows how to finish. For a squad looking to add extra offense for a playoff push, Svatos could be their man.

Ruslan Salei
I was torn over whether to list Brett Clark or Ruslan Salei in this slot. In the end, I chose Ruslan Salei. Though I'd prefer to see Clark go at this point, I think Salei is more marketable.

He has Cup final experience, can put up some points, and possesses a mean streak which has been stifled by the defensive system of the Avalanche.

Currently on pace for 25 points, he would add defensive depth to any team.

Ian Laperriere
I can hear the collective cries of Avalanche fans everywhere. To be clear, in no way do I want to see Ian Laperriere traded. But it's hard to argue that he isn't one of Colorado's top pieces of trade bait.

He is the epitome of a hockey warrior. He can fight, he can score, he can kill penalties and for my money, he's the best character guy in the league.

If Giguere does make the tough decision to trade Laperriere, he needs to get enough in return that he won't alienate an already jittery fan base.

But what do the Avalanche need in return?

Draft Picks
This is a deep draft and having a top-10 pick would be great. The Avs are already headed down that road but adding one more to the repertoire wouldn't hurt. And when you have a stock of draft picks, teams will come calling on draft day.

It's win-win.

Goaltending
No, it's not a cure-all, but it certainly is a cure-many. I was on board the Peter Budaj train when the season started but I got off around mid-December. I never boarded the Andrew Raycroft train, regardless of his win-loss record.

But if the Avalanche truly want a return to former glories, they need a solid number one goaltender. Not spectacular, just solid. But spectacular would be fine.

Manny Fernandez will not be that guy. Pascal Leclaire will not be that guy. You either find a young up-and-coming goaltender to develop him into a number one, or you go out and acquire a proven number one.

Either way, action needs to be taken as I don't believe the Avalanche have any aces in the hole with their current prospects.

Role Players
Many people, from blogger to beat writer to beat boxer, were disappointed that Francois Giguere ignored a player like Stephane Yelle during the offseason.

And for good reason.

Stephane Yelle is the definition of a role player. He never takes a shift off, he blocks shots, he wins faceoffs, he kills penalties and he can even sub in as a defenseman if the situation calls for it.

He signed with the Bruins for $750,000 this season.

I don't want to say he's the reason the Bruins are atop the league but he's one of the reasons the Bruins are atop the league.

If the Avalanche continue to sign players like Darcy Tucker for $2.5M, as opposed to players like Stephane Yelle for $750,000, they can have all the skilled forwards they want but they won't grind out a Cup win.

Final Thoughts
None of this will matter if the Avalanche don't make the biggest change necessary and re-tool their coaching staff to remove the "Old Boys Club" mentality that permeates the front office.

Just because Tony Granato is a good guy doesn't mean he's suitable for the head coaching position. Just because Jacques Cloutier has been with the team since 1996 doesn’t mean he’s still cut out to run the defense. Just because Francois Giguere is a number-crunching wizard doesn't mean he's cut out to assemble a Cup winning roster.

If this organization wants to win, and win consistently, they need to go out and get the best people for those respective positions.

Not the people who are closest to Stan Kroenke or Pierre Lacroix.

Related Links
Krieger: Avs' tough call: buy or sell
Buyers and sellers?

NHL Trade Deadline: What Should the Colorado Avalanche Do?

Shane Giroux — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:34:00 -0500

I wrote the following piece for Illegal Curve, but the folks there generously agreed to let me cross-post it here at Avs Talk.

Once it's up at Illegal Curve, I'll add a link to their Trade Deadline feature so you can read thoughts on all the other teams trade deadline dilemmas.

The Avalanche are currently out of the playoff picture, and they have slim-to-little hope of making it at this point. Even if they were to make the playoffs, all it would bring is a little more cash to the team's bottom line, not a Stanley Cup.

It's simply not worth it for the franchise to be buyers at the trade deadline.

General Manager Francois Giguere needs to look past a first-round playoff loss and set his sights on selling some assets, but what do the Avalanche have to offer?

Marek Svatos

The Svats machine has languished on the third and fourth lines for most of this season, and that's simply not his game. He is an opportunistic goal scorer and does best when gobbling up rebounds in the slot created by his linemates. He's an extremely sneaky player, has a nose for open spots and knows how to finish.

For a squad looking to add extra offense for a playoff push, Svatos could be their man.

Ruslan Salei

I was torn over whether to list Brett Clark or Ruslan Salei in this slot, but in the end, I chose Salei. Though I'd prefer to see Clark go at this point, I think Salei is more marketable.

He has Cup Finals experience, can put up some points, and possesses a mean streak which has been stifled by the defensive system of the Avalanche. Currently on pace for 25 points, he would add defensive depth to any team.

Ian Laperriere

I can hear the collective cries of Avalanche fans everywhere. To be clear, in no way do I want to see Ian Laperriere traded, but it's hard to argue that he isn't one of Colorado's top pieces of trade bait.

Laperriere is the epitome of a hockey warrior. He can fight, he can score, he can kill penalties ,and for my money, he's the best character guy in the league.

However, if Giguere does make the tough decision to trade Laperriere, he needs to get enough in return that he won't alienate an already jittery fan base.

But what do the Avalanche need in return?

The most lucrative return would come in the form of draft picks. This is a deep draft, and having a top-10 pick would be great.

The Avs are already headed down that road, but adding one more to the repertoire wouldn't hurt. And when you have a stock of draft picks, teams will come calling on draft day.

It's win-win.

If not draft picks, than the Avs should look to get goaltending from any trade they make. No, it's not a cure-all, but it certainly is a cure-many.

I was on board the Peter Budaj train when the season started; but I got off around mid-December. I never boarded the Andrew Raycroft train, regardless of his win-loss record.

If the Avalanche truly want a return to former glories, they need a solid number one goaltender. He doesn't need to be spectacular, just solid. Of course, spectacular would be fine.

Manny Fernandez will not be that guy. Pascal Leclaire will not be that guy.

Colorado either needs to find a young up-and-coming goaltender to develop him into a number one, or they need to go out and acquire a proven number one. Either way, action needs to be taken, as I don't believe the Avalanche have any aces in the hole with their current prospects.

Many people—from bloggers to beat writers to beat boxer—were disappointed that Giguere ignored a player like Stephane Yelle during the offseason—and for good reason.

Stephane Yelle is the definition of a role player. He never takes a shift off, he blocks shots, he wins faceoffs, he kills penalties, and he can even sub-in as a defenseman if the situation calls for it.

He signed with the Bruins for $750,000 this season.

I don't want to say he's the reason the Bruins are atop the league, but he's one of the reasons the Bruins are atop the league.

If the Avalanche continue to sign players like Darcy Tucker for $2.5 million as opposed to players like Stephane Yelle for $750,000, they can have all the skilled forwards they want, but they won't grind out a Cup win.

None of this will matter if the Avalanche don't make the biggest change necessary and re-tool their coaching staff to remove the "Old Boys Club" mentality that permeates the front office.

Just because Tony Granato is a good guy, doesn't mean he's suitable for the Head Coaching position. Just because Jacques Cloutier has been with the team since 1996 doesn’t mean he’s still cut out to run the defense. Just because Francois Giguere is a number-crunching wizard doesn't mean he's cut out to assemble a Cup winning roster.

If this organization wants to win—and win consistently—they need to go out and get the best people for those respective positions, not the people who are closest to Stan Kroenke or Pierre Lacroix.

Related Links
Krieger: Avs' tough call: buy or sell
Buyers and sellers?

Colorado Avalanche vs Toronto Maple Leafs Game Thoughts

Shane Giroux — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:50:00 -0500

My thoughts on this game are going to be a bit disjointed as I watched most of the first period at my place, about half of the second at my uncles and most of the third back at home.

Smyth responds to Toskala
I'll start off with the funniest one.

When Smyth got his garbage goaltender interference call, he was down on one knee arguing with the ref when Vesa Toskala turned and said something to him.

Smyth got a funny look on his face for a split second and promptly responded.

You couldn't hear what he said but I started laughing immediately.

My girlfriend asked "What? What did he say?"

So I rewound and let her follow his lips.

The first two words were hard to make out but the ending made it perfectly clear that his response to Toskala was "Shut the f@$k up"

The Duke gets shafted again
After Milan Hejduk read my blog* and found out that he was shafted from the Top 10 Czech list, he decided to prove my point.

And he would have netted a hat trick had it not been for the aforementioned garbage goaltender interference call on Smyth.

But even with just two goals, Hejduk showed why his exclusion from that list was an egregious oversight.

And that ought to fill up my quota of big words quite nicely.

Schenn is schenn-sational
See, I can play the cheesy headline card just as well as the MSM. But they probably pulled that one already meaning I ripped it off from them. Damnit.

I love Luke Schenn. When the Leafs drafted him, it made me sad.

He is going to be a staple of their blueline for years to come and the Leafs should be thankful they have him.

But his big hit on Ryan Smyth, causing Smyth to contort like Gumby? It was interference.

Finger lickin' good
Was it just me or did it seem like Jeff Finger was on the ice for every Toronto goal?

Darcy Tucker and Andrew Raycroft might want to take notes on how to properly face off against your former team.

It's getting tiresome
Can they whine any flippin' more?

At some point you need to STFU and get on with your life.

Unless your life is just being a whiny bitch.

Are you there, Clark? It's me, Shane.
Geez, what the hell was Brett Clark doing last night?

How about that one goal where he took it from behind the net—albeit in a slightly bad spot set up by Raycroft—and then essentially handed it off to Jason Blake (I believe) so he could pot one past his old teammate?

I'm curious if he blacked out for a second there because that is not a play that an NHL player—let alone one making $3.5M—should be making.

Block all the damn shots you want, but don't hand out goals on a silver platter every other shift.

Spark the sizzle?
The Montreal Canadiens are in a bit of a slump.

It's been enough to cause soft-spoken Carey Price to softly drop the F-bomb during a post-game interview.

And he supposedly tossed his equipment bag across the room.

And then he kicked a bunny rabbit in the face.

Maybe not that last part.

AD mentioned a couple weeks back that he'd like to see some fire from Peter Budaj when things aren't going well.

He got taken to task because people thought he was asking for a Patrick Roy clone.

I think he was just asking for the Budaj—and the rest of the team—to look like they actually give a crap about losing and won't accept it.

Stop slumping your shoulders, stop bitching about injuries and quit complaining about bad breaks.

Stand up, grow a set and go play a brand of hockey that will make your fan base—and yourself—proud.

In other words, shut up and win.

*I have no knowledge of whether Hejduk did or did not read my blog. But I'm guessing he didn't.

Avalanche-Leafs: Game Preview

Shane Giroux — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:54:00 -0500

I just finished playing some parking lot hockey and, boy, did I feel old.

I'm still in Phase One of a recovery from a prolonged illness, so I'll pretend that's the problem. It certainly has nothing to do with the big 3-0 creeping up on me in a little over a year.

*waits for the 30+ crowd to throw some stones my way*

Big News:
The big news tonight is that David Jones is injured and Cody McCormick is back.

After sitting out a few games, Jones was injured in the first game back after a jarring check from Douglas Murray of the San Jose Sharks.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Douglas Murray hits hard and it's best to just stay out of his way.

Unfortunately, Jones didn't heed my advice and is now listed as day-to-day.

So much for the 30-goal season, eh? What idiot predicted that?

Injury updates:
In other news, Adam Foote is still out with a triceps tear, Paul Stastny took a few laps after practice yesterday, and Joe Sakic continues to avoid snowblowers.

Old teammates, old story:

Oh, and Andrew Raycroft and Darcy Tucker are facing their former team for the first time since the Avs picked them up in the offseason.

But did anybody not know that?

Throw it in:

horbayj asked in the comments of my Minister of Defense post when it was time to throw in the towel.

I said if the Avs can't beat the Leafs at home, it might be time to call it a season.

I hope I don't have to hold myself to that.

Related Links
Practice Report: Rare visit by Toronto

Avalanche Drowned by Sharks, Lose 3-0

Shane Giroux — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:03:00 -0500

Of the four significant events that happened today, the Avalanche losing to the Sharks was the least shocking.

Losing my car keys in Martensville, getting a ride back to Saskatoon to grab my spare keys, turning around and going back to Martensville, getting in my car, heading back to Saskatoon and then discovering my keys were in my back pocket the whole time? Not as shocking as you'd think. I lose my car keys a lot.

Playing volleyball on a bum ankle and injuring my upper back? Not terribly shocking. I'm an idiot for not letting my ankle heal fully, but given the distance between the body parts, I'll call it slightly more shocking than the lost key debacle.

Hearing a friend who was vacationing in the Dominican fell off a balcony, broke 3 vertebrae, and sprained her ankle? That was far and away #1 on the list of shocking events.

And in light of that, I'm not even going to expend any energy watching a recorded version of the Avs getting shutout.

It's just not worth it.

Colorado Avalanche vs Los Angeles Kings Game Preview

Shane Giroux — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:30:00 -0500

The Avalanche are facing the Kings tonight but while that's going on, I'll be at SaskPlace—that's right, it's SaskPlace not Credit Union Center—watching the Blades hand the Wheat Kings a beating.

If anyone in Western Canada is on Shaw and interested in some junior hockey action, the virtually undefeated Vancouver Giants take on the Kelowna Rockets starting at 7:00 PST on the Shaw TV channel.

The Giants have just four losses in 44 games. Maybe the Canucks should swap rosters with them.

Streakin'
The Avs are on a huge winning streak* and though it would be nice to call a game against the Kings a slam dunk, that's just not the case.

Blamin'
I place the blame squarely at the skates of Scott Hannan.

He has 0 points in his last 27 games and that's just not acceptable.

What are we paying this guy $4.5M for anyways?

Goaltendin'
Peter Budaj will be back in net and will likely have Jonathon Quick staring back at him.

Hot or not?
Does two points in two games really mean a player is hot? TSN would have you believe so with seven players listed as "Hot" between these two teams.

You'd think with that many hot players that neither team would be in the bottom third of the standings.

Conversely, can you believe that Tyler Arnason has four points in his last five games? It's a bit surreal.

Game time
The puck drops at 9:00 ET and could either be really boring, or really exciting. Or it could be mediocre with no highs or lows.

But either way, they will be playing hockey.

Probably.

*Said winning streak may or may not be just one game long.

Milan Hejduk and Ryan Smyth Hit Career Milestone

Shane Giroux — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 11:40:00 -0500

I will be shooting for a recap at lunch—work willing—but first, congratulations to Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk on hitting the 300 career goals mark last night.

And what better game for it to be a part of than a win against the Flames?

I was quickly twitting with Tyler from NHLDigest.com, and I mentioned that Hejduk's 300 felt more special since he'd scored every one of those goals as an Avalanche.

With Smyth, it's nice for him, but it's piggy-backing off his work as an Oiler.

Am I crazy?

Probably.

But I'm not stupid.

Usually.

Avalanche Schooled by Blues, Lose 5-2

Shane Giroux — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 23:03:00 -0500

A 5-2 loss. To the Blues. Good grief.

I was so pumped about this game that I missed the first 30 minutes because I was shopping. That's right, shopping enthralled me more than the prospect of a game against the St. Louis Blues.

I'm so emotionally exhausted that I don't even have the energy to get upset about the game.

I'm in the "meh" zone.

Here are a few thoughts on the game to end your night/start your day with. And then I'm going to sleep and wait for the predicted near-zero temperatures tomorrow. T-shirt weather!

Darcy Tucker is still getting powerplay time based on what results? Wojtek Wolski, Milan Hejduk, Ryan Smyth, Marek Svatos, Chris Stewart, and Cody Mcleod are all scoring at a better rate than Tucker. They were all in the lineup. So was the slumping T.J. Hensick who might benefit from a little boost to his playing time.

It's time to wave goodbye to the Tucker love train, Mr. Granato. We all got off a looong time ago.

Chris Stewart is a beast. He pummelled Tyson Strachan tonight and looked cool as a cucumber doing it.

"Who's Tyson Strachan?" you all ask? It doesn't matter. All you need to know is that he is from Melfort, Saskatchewan. In other words, dude knows how to fight.

Peter Budaj needs to become a bit more of a prude and keep those legs tight together.

He didn't have a great game tonight and the back-breaker fourth goal was a classic five-holer that Budaj is prone to giving up.

But hey, T.J. Oshie had a three point night while Patrick Berglund notched a goal. All was well in fantasy land for me this game.

Related Links
NHL.com Boxscore

Avalanche-Blue Jackets: Colorado Jobbed by BJs, Lose 4-3

Shane Giroux — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:23:00 -0500

A low-scoring game exploded into a high-scoring affair in the span of less than four minutes.

The Avalanche scored in the final three minutes of the first, but were answered by the Blue Jackets in the final two minutes of the second. I was half-asleep in my chair.

The third period started with me in the kitchen on a tangent about vitamins B12 and D (which I'm sure my girlfriend appreciated).

Then the goal horn went off.

Then the crowd went silent.

Then the goal horn went off again. And again.

From 1-1 to 4-2 Columbus in under three minutes.

Then the Columbus feed cut to some sort of infomercial with Mike Peca and by the time they cut back, the Avs had cut the lead to one while on the power play.

Note to producers: don't allow a lame, pre-taped vignette to take time away from the game. Especially while one team is on the power play. But especially never.

The least you could do is inset the bloody game so we can watch what we paid to see.

In the end, the Avs got a little sloppy, the BJs capitalized and there wasn't enough time for the Avalanche to recover.

Quick Thoughts

Why does Darcy Tucker have a perma-scowl on his face? And why does he continue to act like a fool on the ice? I'm tired of him.

Granato doesn't appear to fee the same way. He had Tucker out on the ice with just over a minute left in a one-goal game.

Steve Mason was very un-Mason-like tonight, but he still got the job done. Oh, what it must feel like to have a blue-chip goaltending prospect playing like a Vezina winner 95 percent of the time.

Brett Clark fired a slapshot at Mason from beyond the red line with a full six seconds left on the clock. Genius. It's what's for dinner.

John-Michael Liles laid out Derek Dorsett in the second. I want to see that side of Liles more often.

Kristian Huselius was a fantasy stud for me tonight with one goal, two assists, and a plus-two rating. But it's a hollow victory.

Andrew Raycroft lost. Did you know that was allowed?

Related Links

Avs lose 4-3 at Columbus

Avalanche-Penguins: Colorado Drowns Pittsburgh, Wins 5-3

Shane Giroux — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 12:44:00 -0500

What the hell is with the Rocky Mountain News byline in their game recap?

"Crosby, Malkin combine for four points"?

Really?

Why not "Jones, Wolski combine for five points"?

Doesn't that feel just a tad more appropriate for a Denver-based newspaper?

They did cover David Jones' and Wojtek Wolski's excellent games with this nice segue:

"But a couple of Avalanche youngsters had pretty good games, too..."

Sure, it was a bit tongue-in-cheek—but when the home team hits a three-game winning streak on the backs of two of their young "stars," shouldn't you use that as the angle for the story?

I know, I know. "Sidney Crosby saved the NHL," as the Altidudes tried to convince us all game long.

No, he did not. It was the huge infusion of young talent - Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Getzlaf, Mike Richards, Dion Phaneuf, Shea Weber, Mike Green, Carey Price...

Need I continue? That is what helped redefine the NHL post-lockout.

Crosby did not pick up the NHL, put it on his back and ride into town with guns blazing.

And now I've gone and made Crosby the focal point of my recap. Fudgesicles.

Wolski wunning with the ball

Why was Wolski not playing center since day one? Or to reword—since he did play center on day one—why did he not continue to play his natural position?

Having Sakic, Stastny and Wolski down the middle would have given the Avs one of the best best trios in the league.

Had Sakic and Stastny not gone down with injuries, Wolski would still be stuck at left wing with his maddeningly inconsistent play. I don't want to say those injuries "happened for a reason" but at least some good came of it.

On the flip side, if Wolski hadn't stepped up to the number-one center role, Tyler Arnason might have been shipped out of town by now.

Though Francois Giguere would probably have needed to package up Wolski in any deal with a reasonably sane GM.

The great balance of life, eh?

Jones swimming to shore

Jones has been impressing me on a consistent basis with his intensity and it paid off big tonight with two goals and one assist.

Both goals came on rebounds in front of the net proving once again that good things happen when you head to the net.

With his deceptive speed and power, I'm looking for Jones to become a real force on this squad. As I have been since the start of the season proving once that you can't win 'em all.

Hannan shuts down Malkin

Saying a player got "shut down" when they notched a goal and an assist might make me sound like an idiot.

But if you saw the frustration that Scott Hannan caused Malkin today, you'd realize that I'm less of an idiot than you think I am.

Hannan was in Malkin's face all game long and if there's one knock on Malkin, it's that he can get frustrated easily.

Of course he'll still score 10 goals on you while frustrated, but imagine what he would do if he was happy?

That ought to restore the idiot level nicely.

Raycroft wins again

Andrew Raycroft is now 9-1-0 on the season with seven straight wins.

Is there anything this man can't do?

Raycroft actually presents a striking resemblance to Jose Theodore.

Ostracized by his former team (or the fans at least), won an award many years ago which their reputation is still based upon, pseudo-restored by Jeff Hackett, patchy facial hair, Canadian.

Of course Theodore catches with his right hand, is French, allegedly hooked up with Paris Hilton and has way more money.

But still...

Playoff bound!

The Avs are back in the playoff picture! And if the playoffs started today they would face the Detroit Red Wings.

But they don't so they won't. The playoffs are a long ways off and a lot can happen over the next 615 games.

For the trivia lovers, today's game was the exact halfway point of the 1,230-game season.

I don't recall where I read that this afternoon, but a glove tap goes out to someone on the ol' Interweb.

Avalanche-Blackhawks: Colorado Slides Past Chicago

Shane Giroux — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:04:00 -0500

Full disclosure—I spent a lot of time watching funny videos on the Fail Blog during this game.

It's not that the game wasn't exciting. It was.

But I needed some laughter and Fail Blog never lets me down.

Once the smoke had cleared, the Avs had their second straight win, Raycroft had his sixth, and I was in a pretty chipper mood.

Raycroft the starter?

Geo makes a case for Andrew Raycroft to be the starter.

And as long as he keeps winning, that's what will happen.

It's not that he has significantly outplayed Peter Budaj. It's that he has out-winned him.

If Raycroft keeps his streak going, Granato will keep playing him.

Wolski a-way!

Wojtek Wolski has been a friggin' superhero since being moved to center.

With three goals in his last three games, it's almost enough to make you forget the team is missing Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny.

Ok, it's not even close but remember one thing—if those two hadn't gone down, Wolski would still be mired in inconsistency on the left wing.

Once Stastny and Sakic are back, the Avs will have a pretty solid group down the middle

Avalanche-Wild: Av's Lose 2-0

Shane Giroux — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:46:00 -0500

I want to burn through the recap to get to the really interesting part of the night.

Two second recap

The Avs lost. They couldn't score. They couldn't play defense. Adam Foote got hurt. Darcy Tucker classed the joint up. Wojtek Wolski wants to continue playing center.

The fun part

AD has gone on another classic rant

And it was good. Right until the end.

Oh, and has anybody checked out Theodore’s record lately? 13-6-1. Yeah, we didn’t need guys like him anymore.

Must the horse continue to be beaten?

Theodore, and the Caps are on a good run right now. Theodore has let in just one or two goals per game for his last four games.

Before that, he was living up to his unfortunate "three-or-four" nickname.

The Capitals were winning in spite of Theodore's play.

Their individual stats—which of course have their flaws, are nearly identical.
Theodore - 2.98 GAA, .892 Save Pct
Budaj - 2.84 GAA, .899 Save Pct

Francois Giguere made many questionable moves this offseason but letting Theodore walk was not one of those moves.

He's spot on with regards to Andrew Brunette, Stephane Yelle and the Toronto cast-offs.

Giguere's job will only be saved thanks to the injuries to Paul Stastny and Joe Sakic.

Avalanche-Predators: Game Preview

Shane Giroux — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:03:00 -0500

Once again, I'm late.

And I don't even have a decent excuse other than a mild case of burnout.

In the time since my last post, we learned that Paul Stastny is about to have surgery on his broken forearm, Cody McCormick has been playing with a hairline fracture in his foot, Claude Lemieux has signed with the Sharks and I'm getting a bit curmudgeony.

I'll respond in order: Sigh, of course, good grief, and yeah—a little bit.

I just didn't have the energy not to be curmudgeony, and the Avs beating the Wings twice gave me the perfect outlet.

But then I became like them. And I didn't like it.

So although I will still take an extra bit of pleasure in beating the Wings, I'll make sure I don't let the dark side seep in to my thoughts. Much.

But enough about that, there's a game tonight! In two hours!

The Avalanche have a chance for a three-game homestand sweep as they take on the Nashville Predators.

The Predators are fresh off a 5-2 loss to the Oilers last night so the Avs need to take it to them early and often.

Though I will be watching the game, I might take the analytical hat off tonight and forgo a full recap.

If anyone wants to submit one in my place, feel free ;)

Avalanche Nearly blow Lead against Detroit, Win 4-3

Shane Giroux — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:55:00 -0500

Due to a stacked UFC 92 card, I have only watched the first period of the game. But curiosity got the best of me and I did check on the final outcome.

After an early 3-0 lead, the Avalanche hung on and skated away with a 4-3 shootout win over the Red Wings.

As I haven't watched the final 2.3 periods, I won't pontificate too much on why the Avs gave up a a 3-0 lead.

But I will say this. Do you know who whines about terrible ref jobs?

The losers.

Hopefully I will find the time and energy to catch the rest of the game tomorrow. But if I don't, it still won't change the fact that the Avs beat Detroit. Again.

Paul Stastny Injury a Real Bummer

Shane Giroux — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:40:00 -0500

I was sitting around relaxing on a Saturday when two new Avalanche videos popped up in Google Reader.

First, I checked out Ian Laperriere's video which was as enlightening as it gets with hockey players these days.

"Well, what else is there to say about Stastny's injury?" you declare.

Don't worry, the ace reporter grilling Adam Foote has the answer.

It's a bummer.

After Foote declared that you never want to lose anybody, least of all Stastny, the intrepid investigator asked the following intellectual gem:

It's kind of a bummer. How do you keep from not getting bummed. I don't know, if it was me I guess I'd be a little bit bummed.

Move over Larry King, there's a new ace interviewer on the beat!

And apparently he smokes a lot of weed.

Avalanche-Red Wings: Game Preview

Shane Giroux — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 10:26:00 -0500

The holiday season has come and gone.

The presents are unwrapped. The chocolates have been eaten. The turkey has been stuffed and devoured.

But one thing hasn't changed.

Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny will be absent from the Avalanche lineup for the foreseeable future.

One man's loss is another man's gain

Oh, one more thing has changed

Tyler Arnason is the new No. 1 center.

If that doesn't strike fear into the hearts and minds of Avalanche opponents, I don't know what will.

Did I say opponents? Sorry, I meant fans.

I didn't get much for Christmas. I didn't ask for much either. I must have suspected I would need a more important gift.

And now I want to cash it in.

Santa, if you're still around please help Tyler Arnason rise to the occasion and make us all proud.

Hensick also slides up

Along with the Arnason promotion, T.J. Hensick has moved up from a fourth-line winger position to become the second-line center.

Based on practice reports, he will center a line with David Jones and Wojtek Wolski.

Svatos and Salei slide back in

Marek Svatos and Ruslan Salei will make their returns tonight.

Svatos really needs to step up and provide some offensive support. It will be tough sledding as he will likely find himself on the third line tonight but he needs to find a way to get it done.

Third line pickle

Cody McCormick sat last game and may sit again while the Avs give Chris Stewart more time to showcase his skills.

If Stewart stays in, he would likely play on a line with Ian Laperriere and the returning Marek Svatos, which would leave Darcy Tucker on the fourth line with Ben Guite and Cody Mcleod.

If Stewart draws out, Granato would likely renew the McLappy line leaving a Tucker and Svatos to play on a line centered by Guite.

So no matter how you dice it, the third line will be quite the interesting mix.

UPDATE: AD informs us that McCormick is out.

Budaj back in net

Peter Budaj gets the start in goal and will presumably go up against Ty Conklin, as Chris Osgood is still recovering from a busted vagina.

Lidstrom possibly out

Nik Lidstrom took a puck to the ankle last night and will be a game-time decision tonight.

The sweats have already started over there.

The Avs will need every advantage they can get tonight, so pray to Vishnu that Lidstrom's foot is swollen bigger than (go ahead and finish this one off in your head while I keep things PG-13 ;))

UPDATE: AD informs us that Nik Lidstrom is out for tonight's game.

Game time

The puck drops at 9:00 ET at the Pepsi Center. Denver natives, get down there and support your team!

Colorado Avalanche Dump Phoenix Coyotes in OT, Win 5-4

Shane Giroux — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:37:00 -0500

And playing the role of The Grinch tonight: Brett Clark.

He nearly stole Christmas away from Avalanche fans by finding himself in the box for the Coyotes late, game-tying goal.

But then he thought back on his dastardly attitude and had a change of heart.

It could have been the fresh snow on the ground. It could have been the scent of pine in the air. It could have been the little girl crying behind the glass after the Avs gave up a lead.

In the final act, Clark made a nice move past a sliding 'Yotes defender, stepped to the top of the circle and rifled the winning goal past a shell-shocked Ilya Bryzgalov.

So after giving a up a 4-2 lead late in the game—and giving many Avs fans heart attacks—the Avalanche came away with a 5-4 win against the visiting Coyotes.

And as I'm feeling a lack of Christmas cheer at the moment, I have to end this post early while I try and recharge my batteries.

I wish you all a truly merry Christmas and will see you back here on the 27th for a game against the Red Wings. Who oddly enough don't seem so formidable to me these days.

But I've likely gone and jinxed it now.

Happy holidays to all and to a good night.

Avalanche-Coyotes: Game Preview

Shane Giroux — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:35:00 -0500

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date.

It's only 15 minutes to game time and I'm just getting to a preview. Shouldn't Christmas time be less stressful as we all bask in the joy and goodness?

Is it fired up again?

My main thought is that I don't see the sense in starting Andrew Raycroft tonight.

We're getting away from Tony Granato's original theory on how this goaltending rotation would work.

It was abandoned when Peter Budaj was on a winning streak—and I endorsed it. Now it seems with Budaj playing less than stellar, we've gone to a reward-based system for goaltending starts.

I won't go much further into this until after the game ends, but I don't see Raycroft doing enough to steal playing time from Peter Budaj.

No shutout, please.

I didn't say anything after the Panthers win, because, to be frank, I was flipping embarrassed.

Shutout? By the Panthers? Come on now.

If the Avs get shutout by the Coyotes tonight, I won't watch the Avs for the rest of the year.

Avalanche-Panthers Game Preview

Shane Giroux — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 14:22:00 -0500

The Avalanche are in Florida this afternoon to take on the Panthers, and I'm feeling pretty good about this game.

The one thing that has me a bit leery is that the Avs have won 10 straight road games against the Panthers. That sounds like a streak that's just dying to end. And if it does end tonight, it will be with Peter Budaj between the pipes.

Tony Granato has gone back to Peter Budaj after Andrew Raycroft took down the Lightning and improved his record to 5-1-0 this season.

Raycroft's record speaks more than his play, and it's the right call for TG to quell any whisperings of a goaltending controversy. He never should have let it begin in the first place.

Welcome home, baby. My TV has finally made its way to my temporary dwellings.
Was it wrong to miss an object so much? Probably. But its smile is just so damn pretty. Especially in HD.

Game time: The puck drops at 5:00 ET, which means those West Coast folks will be rolling out of bed just in time to watch.

Avalanche Top Lightning, Win 2-1

Shane Giroux — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:03:00 -0500

I finally got my television back today. Not in time to catch the whole game—of course—but I did see OT and the shootout.

Hejduk "scores"
The Hejduk "goal" was controversial, but by the letter of the law, Mike Smith threw his stick. Just because the stick did not come into play as part of the save has no bearing on the situation.

As for the Tampa announcers, the stick was most definitely out of Smith's hand before the save was made. Saying it was not out of his hands over and over again does not make it so.

It is a tough call but I am going to agree with it while wearing my burgundy-tinted glasses.

Rayzor robs 'em
As for Andrew Raycroft's showboat at the end...I loved it.

I usually do not like that sort of play, but the mood I am in today, it struck the right chord for me.

Colorado Avalanche Wheel Past Detroit Red Wings, Win 3-2

Shane Giroux — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:34:00 -0500

(outspokinbikes)

Wow. I'll come back and edit in an actual recap later. For now, I'm going to make step outside and make sure the world still exists.

Recap

The Avalanche took advantage of two quick goals in the first five minutes to finally defeat the Red Wings by a score of 3-2.

After eight straight losses to the Wings, the Avs finally get that monkey off their back. And they did it right in Detroit's kitchen too.

The first goal was the result of a turnover by Johan Franzen which led to a Wojtek Wolski breakaway. And we all know what Wolski can do when he's in alone.

Arnason fed Wolski a super slow pass and Wolski used it to full effect to pull off an abbreviated Forsberg-esque move to put it past Chris Osgood.

The Avs then went on their first powerplay of the game and Paul Stastny made it count. He wheeled in down the left side and rifled a shot over Osgood's glove to make it 2-0 before the ice was even frozen.

The Avs had the obvious early jump but the Wings started picking up as the period drew on.

In the second period, it was all Red Wings, but Andrew Raycroft was there to match them every step of the way. Don't adjust your monitors. You read that correctly. Andrew Raycroft played very well tonight.

The third period started off with a penalty shot for the Avalanche. And since the grind line was on the ice at the time, the best option to take the shot was Jordan Leopold. And he did not disappoint.

Leopold went in, looked like he was going to shoot, and then pulled it backhand and roofed it on Osgood. 3-1 and the living was easy.

At this point, my Slingbox started malfunctioning. Or my router. Either way, I was in and out of the game.

From what I saw, the Avs kept up the pressure and speed, opting not to fall into a defensive shell which would have been obliterated by the Wings no doubt.

The Wings had their last push with Osgood out of the net, but the Avalanche did not falter and walked away with the 3-2 win, silencing the 12 fans at Joe Louise arena.

Standouts

Scott Hannan played an excellent game tonight. Too often he's been utterly invisible, but tonight he was making some excellent defensive plays, especially during the many fate tempting penalty kills for the Avs. He didn't get credited with any hits, but he made some effective rubouts along the boards.

David Jones looks one hundred times more stable on his skates than at the start of the season. Early in the second Jones drove around a Wings defender, took a solid hip-check, stayed on his feet, and nearly banged the puck in past Osgood. He still isn't scoring at the pace I'd like to see, but you can't fault his effort these days.

Andrew Raycroft looked like a different goaltender tonight. He made some solid positional saves and when he was out of position he made some excellent reflex stops to cover up for it. Raycroft certainly didn't show enough to unseat Peter Budaj as the No. 1 keeper, but I now have more confidence in his abilities.

The quivering masses yearning to be free

The A2Y crowd will be crowing about the previous string of games where the Red Wings absolutely dominated the Avs...and probably complaining about Bettman fixing the game. But that doesn't matter today because the Avalanche beat the Wings.

I almost deleted that last paragraph because I know the perverse pleasure they get over being the "top dog." But that's ok. Because the Avalanche beat the Wings.

Lines
Smyth-Stastny-Hejduk
Wolski-Arnason-Hensick
Stewart-Laperriere-Jones
Mcleod-Dupuis-McCormick

Clark-Hannan
Salei-Foote
Liles-Leopold

Final Note

How glad is everyone to not hear Johan Franzen referred to as "the Mule" every 10 seconds? I actually don't recall anyone using his nickname. Until now. Whoops.

Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
Happy Birthday, Bill!
Avs down Red Wings 3-2

Avalanche-Red Wings: Game Preview

Shane Giroux — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:35:00 -0500

The title says it all, doesn't it?

Well, that, and Andrew Raycroft starting in goal.

Yep, to face the ol' winged wheel we're sending in the second-stringer. That's some poor timing right there—though I do have a theory.

You know what else is poor timing? Landing the wrong way during volleyball, hearing a loud pop, and heading to the ER in shorts in -40 weather.

Not only is it a recipe for a severely-sprained ankle and cold to boot, but combined with the distinct possibility of a rough loss tonight, it's a recipe for self-pity.

So what do you think, Avs? Can you keep me off the self-pity bandwagon?

You didn't bend to my anger against the Hawks so maybe the compassion approach will work.

If not, I'm all out of ideas.

Game time
The game starts at 7:00 ET, 5:00 MT.

Related Links
Avs-Wings: Foregone conclusion
Why the Red Wings make me sad

Avalanche vs Blackhawks Game Preview

Shane Giroux — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:58:00 -0500

It has been a bitch of a week. I'm paying a mortgage + rent (long story), still can't get a decent sleep at night, had a ridiculous end to the work week, Joe Sakic nearly severed his fingers plus I still don't have my damn TV. Cable box but no TV. How messed up is that?

But do you know what could save it all? If the Avalanche could crush the Joel Quenneville-led Chicago Blackhawks tonight.

I don't want them to squeak out a win. I want them to annihilate the bastards. 6-0, 7-1, 8-3. Anything less than a 5-goal cushion just won't do it for me.

I want to see pain on the face of their players. I want to see rage in Quenneville's eyes. I want their fans to feel this loss for years to come. I want Wolski to undress Khabibulin the way Toews did Theodore.

I want a hug.

Lines

Marek Svatos is day-to-day with a back injury and will sit out this game. The Avs have called up Phillippe Dupuis from Lake Erie to fill the vacant roster spot.

With Darcy Tucker not at 100% yet, Dupuis could find himself in the lineup tonight which should be interesting. It's always fun to see someone play their first NHL game even if that player comes with no hype.

On defense, Adam Foote is back in the lineup and Daniel Tjarnqvist finds himself back in the press box. It's unfortunate as Tjarnqvist put in a decent relief effort while Foote was out.

Foote skated with John-Michael Liles during practice which would bump Ruslan Salei back over to a line with Jordan Leopold who was previously paired with Tjarnqvist. Man, that was a confusing sentence, wasn't it?

I'll re-word:

Foote-Liles
Clark-Hannan
Salei-Leopold

Goaltending

Quenneville is clinging to his "lose the right to play in goal" motto with an iron grip as he is starting Nikolai Khabibulin tonight.

Who cares if Cristobal Huet has won three of his last four starts. So what that he shut out Ottawa on Wednesday? Big deal that he seems to play better with more starts. What difference does it make that his confidence seems to be rising?

It's all about the competition. And healthy competition at that. right? They have to be scared to lose. They have to be afraid to make a mistake. They have to know that if they screw up, they're benched.

Because nothing inspires confidence and trust like making people scared to make a mistake.

For the Avs, Tony Granato will likely continue to ride Peter Budaj. I thought Budaj was going to tire out a bit but he appears to be going strong.

I just hope Granato and Budaj will be honest enough with each other to know when he does need a rest.

Game time

Puck drop is at 9:00 ET, 7:00 MT at the Pepsi Center.

Related Links

Avs unafraid of Sakic's absence

Tjarnqvist: Back on the pine

Avalanche report: Foote ready to return

Leading resurgent Chicago, Quenneville at peace with himself (Was he at war before? Because that could explain a lot)

Sakic Injures Hand with Snow Blower, Out Three Months

Shane Giroux — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:55:00 -0500

It is just a comedy of errors for what is shaping up to possibly be Joe Sakic's final season in the NHL.

Sakic, already out with a herniated disc, just injured his hand in a snow blowing incident which required surgery by a hand specialist.

He is projected to be out for three months while recovering.

My only positive thought out of all this is that maybe with all these injuries he will end up essentially having a year off and might decide to come back again next season.

Because we all know he wants to play for Canada in 2010. This might be "darkest before the dawn" part of that plan.