Biggest Surprise in NHL…Colorado Avalanche

Without question the biggest surprise early this season has been the stellar play of the rebuilding Colorado Avalanche. After finishing with the third worst record last season (69 points) Colorado took a major hit this off season when they lost a lot of leadership and offence in long time captain Joe Sakic who retired and scoring forward Ryan Smyth who was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. Heading into training camp the Avalanche were being looked upon as a rebuilding squad full of question marks. Two weeks into the season it appears that the Avalanche have something else in mind as they have made the hockey world take notice of their fast start. Granted it’s only six games but Colorado has proven thus far not to be pushovers as they sport an impressive 4-1-1 record that has them atop the competitive Northwest Division. On Thursday night the Avalanche will be in tough as they take a two game winning streak into the Bell Centre against the Montreal Canadiens. Even though the Canadiens are limping home after losing three straight games in Western Canada facing the Avalanche might just be the kind of tonic that Montreal fans, management and players are looking for.. For some odd reason Montreal has had Colorado’s number over the past year or so as they have won two straight games and three out of four against the Avs. What could also make this a tough test for Colorado is that this is Montreal’s home opener, which means of course that the players will be extra pumped up to perform in front of their fans. Also home cooking always seems to agree with the Canadiens who went an impressive 24-10-7 at the Bell Centre last year. Currently Colorado has put together a 2-1-1 record on their seven game road trip. What is really impressive is that they pulled off back- to- back victories over the Boston Bruins who finished second in the Eastern Conference last year and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Staring for Colorado in their game against Toronto on Tuesday night was former Leafs forward Darcy Tucker who spent eight seasons (2000-2008) as a Leaf. After receiving a warm ovation this soon to be 35 year-old grizzled veteran scored a goal and collected two points in leading the Avs to a convincing 4-1 win. “It felt great to score back in a place where I scored a number of goals over my career,” said Tucker. “I think I was more excited for my kids in the stands than anything.” The only bad news for Colorado who still have stops in Detroit to play the Red Wings and Minnesota to play the Wild on this road trip is that they lost key defenceman John-Michael Liles with a wrenched shoulder. Liles who logs lots of minutes and is off to a great start with five points in six games injured the shoulder in Toronto and is expected to be sidelined for an estimated two weeks. All Colorado fans should be advised not to overlook the inconsistent Canadiens who are coming off a 3-2 loss against the Edmonton Oilers.