SB Nation - Brett Clark

Tracking the toughest players in the NHL: The Black and Blue Trophy

Hooks Orpik — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:54:39 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Hits like these are why Brooks Orpik is 4th in the black and blue trophy race, despite missing time to injury.

Long-time readers might remember a metric we took a look at last season, the Black and Blue Trophy. It is a simple measure of which players are blocking shots and the opposition. It's tough, yeoman's work. Often times those throwing their body in front of rubber and into others end up on the shelf, an unfortunate reminder that shows the Black and Blue guys have to be durable to make it on this list.

This year's official Black and Blue trophy has a new twist: defensemen are now the only players eligible. In years past we've included forwards, but they don't block enough shots to be considered in the true spirit of what the award is trying to encompass. This isn't about the guys who forecheck hard (like Cal Clutterbuck and Dustin Brown) but someone that embodies the sacrifice of a black and blue player.

In this day and age there are a lot of great stats out there, like Behind the Net which does awesome work and has a vast database of in depth statistics. Here's a great resource that James Mirtle recently wrote to overview these new-age stats and metrics that are popping up more and more to judge how good players are beyond just goals and assists.

Behind the jump, your tough-nosed leaderboard.

A little more sophisticated look at defensive defensemen is Mirtle's list, which uses a secretive formula to rank players based off the quality of competition they play and the goals allowed by their team while they're on the ice. Brent Seabrook, Andy Sutton and Greg Zanon make both Mirtle's "best defensive defensemen" and the black and blue.

From last February's BnB list: Orpik, Greene, Robidas and Seabrook are on there, showing great durability. Most of those guys are towards the top of the lists and both years.

As always, this isn't a list without it's limitations (hits subjective from town to town, etc, etc) but it serves a purpose to recognize guys who may not be putting up goals/assists but are still specialized defenders.

Here's the rest of the list for the Penguins:

Among BnB/games played, Orpik is still the king (other than Guenin's very short sample size). What jumps out to me is Engelland, who did well to ring up a lot of hits in his brief time in the NHL.

Colorado Players Among League Leaders

Joe Dunman — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:16:13 -0000

More photos » by Jay LaPrete - AP

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One sign that a team has a strong offense is the presence of its players among the league's individual leaders. Last season the Avs' offense was the worst in team history, and because of that, few Avalanche players made the final leader lists at the end of the season.

Historically speaking, Avalanche players have frequently appeared in large numbers on the league leader boards. In 2000-01, four Colorado players finished the year among the top 50 players for points scored (Sakic, Forsberg, Hejduk, Tanguay), with three more just outside (Drury, Blake, Bourque). Last season, not one Avalanche player appeared on the list.

Non-offensive categories like blocked shots and average time on ice feature Avalanche players this season as well. Last year no Colorado players ranked among the top 50 in ice time, nor did anyone make the +/- leader board. This year is a different story.

Below is a comparison between last year's leaders and this year's current standings, separated by category. First is the player's rank, then name, then current total in parentheses.

	2008-09	2009-10
Goals	t-47th Hejduk (27)	t-26th Wolski (13)
		t-29th Hejduk (12)
		t-47th Jones (10)

Assists		t-8th Stastny (26)
		t-20th Wolski (20)

Points		t-14th Stastny (34)
		t-17th Wolski (33)

(+/-)		t-11th O'Reilly (12)
		t-16th Wolski (11)
		t-33rd Hannan (9)
		t-44th Stastny (8)
		t-44th Wilson (8)

PIM	11th Laperriere (163)	17th McLeod (59)
	12th McLeod (162)	t-42nd Koci (44)

ATOI		10th Quincey (25:11)

Hits	t-22nd McLeod (194)	21st McLeod (87)

Blocked Shots	2nd Clark (238)	1st Clark (108)
	t-14th Hannan (162)	7th Hannan (76)
	29th Salei (143)	t-11th Quincey (67)

Shots	t-23rd Smyth (257)

PP Goals	t-39th Hejduk (10)	t-10th Hejduk (6)
	t-39th Smyth (10)	t-38th Duchene (4)

PP Assists		t-26th Quincey (8)

SH Goals		t-1st Jones (2)
		t-12th Duchene (1)

SH Assists		t-9th Galiardi (1)
		t-9th Foote (1)

The season is not yet half over. If these trends continue, expect to see a major Avalanche presence on the NHL individual leader boards at the end of the year.

No Wheels Required: The Avs Are Still Contenders

Joe Dunman — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:34:06 -0000

The Colorado Avalanche had the best October of the team's history, going 10-2-2 to start this season. The good luck continued for a few more games, and after seventeen, the Avs' record was 12-3-2. Then, depending on how you look at it, the wheels fell off, as the Avs managed a sub-par, 5-6-3 November. But 5-6-3 isn't terrible, considering the Carolina Hurricanes went 2-10-2 during the same month. Things could have been worse.

Still, 5-6-3 is a long way from 10-2-2. Criticism was warranted. The good thing about starting the year so well is that the inevitable cooling-off period wasn't so damaging to the overall record. At the end of November, the Avs were still in second place in the Northwest Division, just two points behind Calgary and locked into a playoff spot.

Now, five games later, the Avs are tied for first place and face the Flames in their next game. The winner will take the division lead. So even if the team had hit a wall (and with so many injuries, their performance is still very impressive), they've recovered sufficiently to stay in contention.

What's been key for the Avs is their point production. Colorado has collected at least a point seven times in their last ten games. They've been pretty bad in OT and the shootout overall, but with the NHL still clinging to the charity point system, the Avs are staying put near the top of the conference standings by dragging games beyond regulation.

Another saving grace for the Avs was the solid play of Peter Budaj. In the four games he started in December, he didn't have a single bad showing. His save percentage was .940 or better and he managed a shutout. Craig Anderson has cooled off and the Avs' defense has struggled at times, but Budaj came through when Colorado needed it, proving once again that he's a solid backup goaltender.

After 34 games, the Avs have scored 100 goals. That's fifth-best in the NHL, and third-best in the West. They're currently on pace to score 241 goals this season, which would be a 51-goal improvement over their poor 2008-09 showing. Granted, they've only scored seven more goals than at the same point last season, but hopefully they'll avoid the second-half collapse the team endured last year.

Player-wise, the Avs are a mixed bag. David Jones was on fire but got hurt and will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Luckily, Chris Stewart has finally stepped up, scoring 12 points in his last ten games. As surprise stand-out Ryan O'Reilly has cooled off, slow-to-get-going rookie phenom Matt Duchene has heated up. Paul Stastny suffered a temporary drought but is again contributing to the offense and ranks near the top in the league in scoring. Wojtek Wolski has scored at least one point in 15 of his last 18 games.

Defensively, Kyle Quincey has lost his dominant edge, but Scott Hannan has played very well. Brett Clark is a puck-blocking but generally immobile pylon, while rookie Ryan Wilson is a solid +7 and continues to play well. The rest of the blue line is hit-or-miss, depending on the night, but generally nobody has been awful. Just like the offense, the performances vary.

Overall, the Avs have cooled but are still contending. They're a top-tier team in the Western Conference and have a strong chance to win in every game. If an 18-10-6 record after 34 games (by a team predicted to be in dead last) still qualifies as the wheels being off, we'll take it.

Game 34 Recap: Avalanche 2 - Lightning 1 (SO)

David Driscoll-Carignan — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:10:35 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

9 days ago: Colorado Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson uses his shoulder to deflect a shot against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Denver on Friday, Dec. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Final - 12.11.2009	1	2	3	OT	SO	Total
Tampa Bay Lightning	1	0	0	0	0	1
Colorado Avalanche	0	0	1	0	1	2

Complete Coverage >

I'm still kind of scratching my head a bit, wondering if I really saw what I just saw. I've decided that this was some sort of Freaky Friday puzzle, and I'm supposed to find all the things that weren't normal about the game. Let's see how I do...

The Avalanche started slowly and, get this, got better as the game went on! (I could stop there and that would be freaky enough. But wait, there's more).
The Avs won the faceoff battle (handily: 54%-46%)
The Avs outshot the other team
The Avs outshot the other team in the 3rd period
The Avs outshot the other team in the 3rd period by a wide margin (18-4)
The Avs got better defensively as the game went on
Brett Clark and John-Michael Liles both played excellent, in both ends of the ice (okay, this might be a little hyperbolic, but I sure did love seeing Brett Clark rub out Alex Tanguay in the corner).
Speaking of, those two played terrific on the powerplay and both were firing bombs from the point
Scott Hannan and Kyle Quincey did not play well, and were probably the two worst d-men out of the six
Darcy Tucker had a whale of a game
The Avs won a goal review
Antero Nittymaki is, apparently, a bona fide NHL goaltender. He's the only reason this was close.
Craig Anderson stopped the first attempt in the shootout
Wojtek Wolski scored in the shootout (first time time this year)
The Avs actually played one of their more physical games of the season

Did I get them all? So many things in this game that I'm just not used to seeing; forgive me if I've missed a couple. Oh, and, Marek Svatos left the game midway through the 2nd period and did not return - but that doesn't fit into any of the bullet points above.

Big, big game on Sunday as the Avs host the Flames; winner gets 1st place in the Northwest.

Game 29 Preview: Return of the Foote

Mike MacLean — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 20:31:50 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

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This is going to be extremely quick, folks. I just found a computer and I don`t even know if the formatting will turn out. This is the return of Adam Foote, I won`t bag on him as much as others do, but it will be interesting to see how the fans treat him.

Andrew Murray and Raffi Torres return to the lineup, and the defensive pairs have been shaken up. Toots and Stralman aren`t together anymore, Stralman is with Russ and Methot returns to the lineup to play with Fedor. Should be interesting how the Russ-Stralman pairing does five-on-five.

I won`t be able to watch this game tonight unfortunately, but I will be checking the boxscore on my Blackberry. Here`s hoping the boys can pull one out and get back in the win column.

Fearless Prediction: A win, damnit.

Game Time: 7:00pm ET

Opponent's Blog: Mile High Hockey

Game Page: Avalanche vs Blue Jackets Coverage

TSN Preview: Avalanche vs Blue Jackets Preview

TV: FSN Ohio

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Colorado captain Adam Foote makes his first appearance in Nationwide Arena since he was traded by the Blue Jackets to the Avalanche on Feb. 26, 2008. The Blue Jackets are in a 1-4-3 tailspin since Nov. 19. Columbus won all four games last season and has won six of the past seven games in the series.

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

Kristian Huselius	Antoine Vermette	Rick Nash
R.J. Umberger	Derick Brassard	Jakub Voracek
Jason Chimera	Samuel Pahlsson	Andrew Murray
Raffi Torres	Derek MacKenzie	Jared Boll

Fedor Tyutin	Marc Methot
Mike Commodore	Jan Hejda
Kris Russell	Anton Stralman

Steve Mason

Mathieu Garon

EXTRA: Alexandre Picard

INJURED: Fredrik Modin, Andrew Murray, Derek Dorsett, Rostislav Klesla, Marc Methot

Colorado Avalanche

Matt Duchene	Paul Stastny	Chris Stewart
Wojtek Wolski	T.J. Galiardi	Milan Hejduk
Cody McLeod	Ryan O'Reilly	Darcy Tucker
David Koci	Chris Durno	Marek Svatos

Scott Hannan	Kyle Quincey
John-Michael Liles	Brett Clark
Adam Foote	Ryan Wilson

Peter Budaj

Tyler Weiman

Game 30 Recap: Penguins 4 - Avalanche 1

David Driscoll-Carignan — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:06:28 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

17 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) can't stop a first-period goal by Colorado Avalanche's TJ Galiardi during an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Final - 12.3.2009	1	2	3	Total
Colorado Avalanche	1	0	0	1
Pittsburgh Penguins	1	0	3	4

Complete Coverage >

Which is better? A 6-5 shootout loss where you get a point that you didn't deserve, or a 4-1 loss where you were in the game right up to the end? I thought the Avalanche played a good game tonight - better than the statsheet is going to reveal. In the end, though, a couple of tough breaks had them come up just short as the Pittsburgh Penguins used a couple of empty net goals (I blame Budaj) to turn a 2-1 game into a 4-1 game.

The Avalanche got off to a strong start and struck first with TJ Galiardi tipping in a puck to score a PP goal just 5:02 in. The Avs played solid hockey throughout the first period, but got burned when Brett Clark pinched in to deep in the waning seconds of the period. Probably not a good idea to let Crosby get behind you, right? Of course, the puck turned over at the Pens' blueline and the Penguins were off to the races with Mike Rupp and the Holy Diver engaging some nice give-and-go passing that led to an easy Crosby goal with just 6 seconds left. The best part? When the puck was dropped on the play, the Penguins had 6 players on the ice. How you miss a too many men call on a faceoff is completely beyond me. Tough break #1.

Tough break #2 happened in the 2nd period when Galiardi appeared to score his 2nd PP goal of the night. Unfortunately, the ref lost sight of the puck on the play and blew a premature whistle. Even though the puck was in the net before the whistle was blown, the rule is that the play is dead when the ref intends to blow the whistle (and a replay clearly showed the ref bringing his whistle up before the puck went in, in case that matters to anyone). That was midway through the 2nd period, and the Avs wouldn't get another powerplay that night. Some might say the officiating had a decided Pittsburgh tilt to it. I personally didn't see it, but I was probably too busy focusing on tough break #3.

Tough break #3 was the July 1st, 2008 signing of Darcy Tucker. Had we signed someone who actually gave a crap, or if we hadn't signed anyone and just sent $4.5 million to a Nigerian banker, we might have had a chance to win tonight. Because then, when Stastny's wide shot landed right into the slot in front of a wide open net, there might have been someone able to approach that puck with a sense of urgency a tad higher than lazy-stroll-through-the-park. Or, when Ryan "Get Me Off This Line" O'Reilly fires a centering pass back to a wide open trailer, it might have been someone with a stick on the ice instead of a thumb up his ass. Was that to harsh? How about this: I would trade Darcy Tucker to Riga for Tyler Arnason in a heartbeat.

Anyway, after the Avalanche squandered the few chances they were given in the game, the rest was inevitable. Adam Foote was called for hooking in the 3rd (I didn't feel this was a bad call, but I see that a few of you disagree) and Brett Clark followed that soon after with a stupid tripping penalty. Even a Tony Granato-coached powerplay (stick tap to Jibbles) is good enough to score on a 5-on-3. And they did. Technically, Foote was just out of the box so it was a 5 on 4, which is like saying that, technically, OJ was found innocent.

From then on, the Penguins absolutely shut the Avalanche down. The Avs managed just 1 3rd period shot and, to be honest, I credit Pittsburgh much more than I blame the Avs. The Pens played great defense - the way I'd like to see our team play more consistently. Whether the Avs tried to dump and chase or carry in, the Pens were all over the puck. It was an impressive performance.

Speaking of impressive, it's too bad that an excellent effort by Peter Budaj was completely wasted. Budaj was superb tonight. He didn't give up those dreaded rebounds that has everyone's panties all bunched up. He was poised and seemed really confident for a guy who's been sitting as long as he has. I would have liked to see him get a win for his troubles tonight. But for a couple of tough breaks tonight, he would have.

Matt Duchene played on the left wing tonight with Paul Stastny (who leads the lead in faceoffs taken) and Chris Stewart. It was a good line, and the 2nd line of Galiardi, Wolski and Hejduk was decent as well. Obviously, there's not much to show for it other than Galiardi's goal, but I personally wouldn't give up on these combos yet. So, expect something completely different on Saturday in Columbus.

Game 29 Recap: Panthers 6 - Avalanche 5 (SO)

David Driscoll-Carignan — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:04:30 -0000

More photos » by J Pat Carter - AP

18 days ago: Florida Panther's Stephen Weiss (9) begins to celebrate a goal in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche in Sunrise, Fla. Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

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Final - 12.2.2009	1	2	3	OT	SO	Total
Colorado Avalanche	0	2	3	0	0	5
Florida Panthers	2	2	1	0	1	6

Complete Coverage >

Honestly, I have no idea where to begin.

This game had a little bit of everything. The Avalanche gave up 44 shots, 33 in the first two periods. Florida's Stephen Weiss had hat trick before the game was half over (and the crowd of about 217 people rewarded him by tossing maybe 4 hats onto the ice). Craig Anderson wasn't particularly crisp, although, again, he faced 44 shots tonight. The Avalanche didn't play defense tonight but, 29 games into the season, they finally decided to do something about their goalie getting run into constantly; every time there was a whistle, Adam Foote and / or Ryan Wilson punched somebody.

The Avs fell down 2-0. Then they made it 2-1. Then they fell down 3-1. Then they made it 3-2. Then they fell down 4-2. Then they cut it to 4-3. Then they fell down 5-3 and the game was over. They pulled Anderson...and made it 5-4. And then, they completely ruined the SAT numerical pattern question by scoring again to tie the game with 16 seconds left. Yep, after playing like ass for 59 minutes, the Avalanche turned it on and scored two goals in the final minute.

In overtime, each team traded some shots and it went back and forth until 4:18 when all hell broke loose. Keith Ballard made a great play to blow by Brett Clark and rushed hard to the net. Craig Anderson made the save...and then got hit hard by Ballard. Anderson went down hard and ended up leaving the game, making him the second goalie Ballard has knocked from a game this week (couldn't resist). Ballard got pummeled by Adam Foote. Peter Budaj - who should have started to begin with - came in cold and had about 42 seconds to warm up for the shootout. He was excellent, stopping the first 4 shootout attempts. Unfortunately, the Avalanche couldn't score at all and the Panthers ultimately won the game on Weiss' shootout winner.

Matt Duchene and Chris Stewart continue to be the bees' knees on offense. Duchene had another 2 goals, and each of them had 3 points on the night. Stewart might have had more, but he was effectively tossed from the game for instigating a fight with Bryan Allen when he mistakenly thought that Allen had leveled Duchene. I've wanted to see Stewie get more physical all year; that was a poor time to do it. Interestingly, before Stewart was tossed the two finally found a suitable left wing to complement their skills: Paul Stastny. Stastny played left wing with Duchene and Stewart in the 3rd period and ended up with 4 points.

So, here are the big questions going into tomorrow.

First and foremost, is Craig Anderson okay? And what about Brett Clark, who went to the locker room late in OT? Can any forwards other than Stastny, Duchene or Stewart score? The Avs had 5 goals, and the only forward besides those three with a point was TJ Galiardi. Wojtek Wolski had 6 shots...but no points. What happened to the defense that held Tampa off the scoreboard on Monday? When was the last time someone had 4 points and wasn't named one of the 3 stars, as was the case with Stastny tonight? And is Peter Budaj the first goalie to lose a game without facing a shot on net? Is there anyone who's lost a game with less than 42 seconds of playing time? I'd like the answer to all these on my desk first thing tomorrow, okay?

Game 25 Recap: Predators 4 - Avalanche 3 (OT)

David Driscoll-Carignan — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:22:05 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

25 days ago: Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne, top, of Finland, lands on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tom Preissing after they collided in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Denver on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Final - 11.25.2009	1	2	3	OT	Total
Nashville Predators	2	1	0	1	4
Colorado Avalanche	0	3	0	0	3

Complete Coverage >

I don't know what it is about the 2nd period, but it is almost single handedly making the Avs' season so far. Some games (like tonight), the Avs have come out flat. Other games, they coast towards the finish line. But that middle period? That's keeping them in hockey games, and up in the standings. It's nothing really new. In each of the last 4 seasons, the 2nd period has been the Avs' best offensively. Goal totals over those 4 seasons: 224 in the first, 233 in the 3rd and 289 in the 2nd. Why? Honestly, I don't have the foggiest. It just seems to be what it is.

The Avalanche looked terrible in the first 20 minutes, although, to be fair, the Predators played excellent hockey early on. With Brett Clark taking an early penalty, Nashville was able to convert and jump on an early 1-0 lead. Marcel Goch later made it 2-0 and, really, it could have been much worse. The Avalanche limped to the dressing room after 20 minutes lucky to be down by just two.

But, as has been the case all year, the Avalanche came to life in the 2nd period. Terrific passes by Milan Hejduk, David Jones and Chris Stewart set up goals by Ryan Wilson, Hejduk and Marek Svatos and in just over 14 minutes, the Avalanche turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead. The couldn't seal the deal, though, as Shea Weber scored late in the 2nd period to tie things up and both teams tightened it up in a scoreless 3rd period.

There's been a lot of talk about the large number of shootouts this year. Like a lot of people, I fall into the "hate the shootout, but admit it's fun to watch" category. It's true; I think the shootout is a ridiculous way to decide a hockey game, although I find them exciting. But tonight's game is a good reminder that OT can be every bit as exhilarating as a shootout. Yes, Nashville was the team to score, leaving the Avs with a solitary loser point, but that was 3 minutes of wild hockey. Frankly, I'd much rather see OT extended to 10 minutes. If you still want a shootout after that so that there aren't any ties, I'll stop complaining. But you have to get rid of the loser point. Please.

To our American readers, have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving tomorrow! For everyone else: we'll see you early on Friday; the puck drops in Minnesota at 2pm eastern.

Colorado Avalanche: What the Hell Happened?

David Driscoll-Carignan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:00:15 -0000

Halloween, 2009. Although the Avalanche had lost the night before to San Jose, we woke up that Saturday feeling pretty good about our team. The Avalanche had finished October at phenomenal 10-2-2 and, as we dressed our kiddos in their Halloween costumes and ran out to the stores to stock our trick-or-treat bowls, we had a little spring in our step. Our sad-sack Avalanche of last year had turned things around and were currently perched on top of the Western Conference (indeed, they were tied with Pittsburgh at 1st in the league).

And, yet, we knew.

Oh, sure, we got indignant when James Mirtle (and others) predicted we'd start to fall back into the pack or whenever someone failed to give the Avalanche props in power rankings and the like. We're proud of our team and, after 6 months of nothing but negativity (on the ice and off), it was great to have something to feel good about again. Deep down, though, we knew. The team was better (not that we could have gotten much worse than the steaming pile of dung that was the 2008 season); the Avalanche were working harder, working smarter and, for the first time in years, had a bona fide #1 between the pipes. But - and this may be the largest "but" I've ever written - this was not a first-place team. Deep down, we knew it.

Since then, it hasn't been very pretty. The Avalanche have gone 3-5-1 in November. That won't get it done. If the Avalanche were to continue at that pace, they'd finish the season at 33-40-9. 75 points. Last year, 75 points would have been good enough for...you guessed it: 3rd-worst record in the NHL. Are you guys ready for the next "tank it 4 ___" watch?

What the hell happened? Lots. Adrian Dater covered it very well on Friday night after the latest debacle. I agree with every single point in that excellent post. I'd also like to flesh out a few thoughts I've had bouncing around in that little plinko machine in my head.

Unquestionably, any discussion about the Avs and their now-wheelless bus has to start with the powerplay. After 6 games, the Avalanche had 10 PP goals and were humming along at 38.5% efficiency. For a team that scored just 50 PP goals last year, that was an amazing start. Sadly, it wouldn't last. In the 17 games since that game 6 in Toronto, the Avalanche have just 7 PP goals in 62 chances. That's a pitiful 11.3% efficiency, even worse than 15.7% the Avalanche mustered last year and the 14.6% laugher under Joel Quenneville that created our power play kitten meme. Why has it been so bad? Losing John-Michael Liles has had an impact. It's probably not a coincidence that the PP collapse coincided with Liles' leaving the lineup; he was injured in the Toronto game. In a perfectly symmetrical stat, the Avalanche have had 44 PP opportunities this year with Liles in the lineup and 44 PP opportunities with him out of the lineup. With him in, they've scored 13 times (29.5%). Without? 4 (9.1%).That's ugly.

Compelling stats, but there's more to it. In the first 6 games, the Avalanche were getting something on the powerplay they have lacked for years: scoring from the point. Kyle Quincey was absolutely revitalizing in the early going and he, Liles and Brett Clark combined for 3 goals and 11 assists on the PP in the first 6 games. Since then, bone dry and I mean Mojave Desert dry. No goals for any of them. Liles has 2 assists (both in Friday's game). Quincey and Clark have just one PP assist each. What happened to them? In the last 4 games, Quincey hasn't even registered a shot on net (PP or otherwise). They have been so ineffective that Joe Sacco has resorted to using a forward on the point. It's working about as well as it did under both Joel Quenneville and Tony Granato. In other words, it isn't.

And how about that Kyle Quincey? When the Avalanche traded for him this summer, I was less than pleased. It wasn't so much a knock on Quincey (or Tom Preissing...don't ask me to go there right now) as I felt it was a mistake to trade Ryan Smyth. My argument was that the Avalanche had a fair number of manageable defensemen, while they were thin offensively and at left wing. And that was before the sudden maturation of Kyle Cumiskey or the surprising play of Ryan Wilson. For a while, it looked like Quincey would sway me. In an interview for Second City Hockey's fan program back in October, I said the following:

Quincey has been a GREAT fit for us defensively. He is already paying dividends. The Avs have been looking for a PP quarterback for eons and his crisp passes have already started a boatload of breakaways at even strength.

What happened to those dividends? Did the board of directors vote to suspend them? Where did that PP quarterbacking go? Where did those breakout passes go? What about the big hits he was throwing around in the first couple of weeks? What's with all the stupid penalties all of a sudden (6 minor penalties in the last 4 games)? Is he still an upgrade for our defense? Yes. Has he been playing so far above the guys in the pressbox to warrant the trade of Smyth? No. I mean, Ruslan Salei can take bad penalties and do nothing on the PP just as well as Quincey has done lately. Speaking of Salei, he's set to return from his back injury soon. With all that defensive depth I talked about, is he even going to play? Or are we just going to pay Salei and Preissing $5.775 million to watch from the press box?

While I'm aware that moving Smyth was a salary move, you'd like to see a big trade like that make your team better. Smyth, in case you missed it, has 23 points in 22 games this year. Our #1 left wing, Wojtek Wolski, has a solid 20 points. No complaints there. After Wolski, though, our left wingers are providing butkus. Cody McLeod has 8 points. Darcy Tucker has 7. David Koci has 1. The Avalanche are so hard up at left wing that Marek Svatos (8 points) played there on Friday; he has 3 even strength points this year. I like Kyle Quincey, but wouldn't this team look much better right now with Ryan Smyth skating with Matt Duchene and Milan Hejduk rather than Svatos or Tucker?

Smyth's linemate this year is Anze Kopitar, who is tearing up the league (33 points). Smyth's linemate last year was Paul Stastny. While Stastny hasn't been terrible, he's been quieter than he should be. You may recall that when Kopitar signed his big extension with the Kings last year, I opined that that deal would be the ballpark for Stastny's upcoming extension. Sure enough, when Stastny signed his extension about a month later, it was just $200,000 less per season than Kopitar's. How's that worked out for the respective teams? For the Kings, really well. Here are Kopitar's numbers before signing his extension and his numbers since:

Before: 155 GP 52G 86A 138P -29 .89 PPG (points per game)
Since: 105GP 41G 58A 99P -10 .94 PPG

Since becoming rich, Kopitar hasn't rested on his laurels. In fact, he's increased his scoring production. You know what's coming next.

Before: 164GP 55G 109A 164P +16 1.00 PPG
After: 52GP 12G 29A 41P -3 .79 PPG

Stastny's production has slipped since signing his extension. Now, .79 PPG is not terrible, but it is a decline. That's a 65-point season, something 50 players managed last year. In fact, only 5 teams didn't have a player get to 65 points (want to guess one of them?). It's good, but it's not great. It's not quite $6.6 million worth, not quite highest-paid-on-the-team great, not quite 21st-highest-paid forward-like. It's hard to pick on a guy who leads the team in scoring, but Paul Stastny needs to be doing more and he needs to do it on a more consistent basis. Stastny is held off the scoresheet on too many nights and, in fact, is in the longest goal-scoring drought of his career (12 games). When he was a 2nd line center and the Avalanche had other weapons, this would have been okay. They don't have other weapons.

I'm already running long, so I'll have to speed through the rest of this. Craig Anderson has a 3.39 GAA and .885 Save Percentage in November and lately he's been making us think fondly of Jose Theodore's awful stickhandling. Perhaps we should hold off on giving him the keys to the city for a while longer. Our PK was terrific in October (12.9%) but it's been dreadful since (26.3%). The Avalanche were supposed to be harder to play against under Joe Sacco, but the Avs are giving up more shots per game than they did under Tony Granato and they are hitting substantially less (from about 10 per game to 6). How is that better?

At the end of October, Joe Sacco looked like a coach of the year candidate for the way he had turned this team around. In just 3 weeks, that's gone away. Although they are still high in the standings, they are looking more and more like last year's team - no scoring, defensive lapses, inconsistent goaltending. With another bad week, the Avs could be out of the top 8 altogether (they are just 5 points ahead of the 11th place Canucks).

Personally, I think the next few weeks are going to be very interesting. As we approached the start of the season, it seems like most of us fans felt that this season wouldn't be so much about winning as losing as it would be about effort and player development. That's going to be put to the test shortly, I'm afraid. Will we be frustrated with repeated losses? Or will we really be content to watch guys like Wojtek Wolski, David Jones and Kyle Cumiskey who are having career years (Cumiskey has already set a career high, and Jones needs just 2 more points to do the same) as well as seeing kids like Matt Duchene, Ryan O'Reilly and Ryan Wilson blossom? It will be an adjustment for sure, but not all that new for us. After all, we were 3 games over .500 and in 8th place as late as January 10th last year. I think we all know how that ended for us.

Game 22 Recap: Oilers 6 - Avalanche 4

David Driscoll-Carignan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:38:56 -0000

More photos » by John Ulan - AP

about 1 month ago: Edmonton Oilers' Ryan Potulny, left, and teammate Liam Reddox celebrate his goal against Colorado Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj, of Slovakia, during the third period NHL of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, in Edmonton, Alberta. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Ulan)

Browse more photos »

Final - 11.18.2009	1	2	3	Total
Colorado Avalanche	2	2	0	4
Edmonton Oilers	1	2	3	6

Complete Coverage >

I'm a little bit country
And I'm a little bit rock 'n roll
I'm a little bit of Memphis and Nashville
With a little bit of Motown in my soul
I don't know if it's good or bad
But I know I love it so
I'm a little bit country
And I'm a little bit rock 'n roll

- The Osmonds

Divisive.

There is no Avalanche player on the roster today who is more divisive than Peter Budaj. Some guys come close (Brett Clark, for example), but Budaj takes the cake. When he plays, our normally kumbaya community goes to their respective corners. Some have faith in Budaj, no matter what happens on the ice. Others blame Budaj for every goal, no matter what happens on the ice.

In reality, Peter Budaj wasn't very sharp tonight. Then again, you can say that about pretty much everyone wearing an Avalanche unipron not named Duchene, Jones, Cumiskey or Hejduk. But Budaj is the goalie, and he's got to be better than that. He's certainly got to be better than the other goalie, especially when it's a backup WHO'S GOT A HYPHEN IN HIS NAME. Budaj wasn't.

So, Budaj detractors can do their little Tyler Weiman dance tonight and I, a devoted Budaj backer, won't complain. But I think you should know one thing: Budaj isn't the only reason we lost.

A funny thing happened tonight. Well, not "ha ha" funny, but I think you'll get the idea. Even though the Avs weren't playing at their best (perhaps due more to fatigue than anything else), they have a 2-gpal lead at the midway point of the game, thanks mostly to the 4 guys named two paragraphs up. When Kyle Cumiskey embarrassed Deslauriers to make it 4-2, the Oilers were pissed. And they started to unravel. They started cheap-shotting our players. Some, like the brutal Gilbert Brule board on Paul Stastny or about 3 cheap shots from Jason Strudwick, didn't get called. Others, like the Sheldon Souray cross-check across Wojtek Wolski's face, did. Edmonton was coming undone.

The Avalanche had two courses of action available to them. They could stoop to Edmonton's level of immaturity and give them the goon right back to them, or they could take the high road and convert on the 5 on 3 powerplays handed to them on a silver platter. Instead, Colorado went with option C - none of the above. I'm sorry, folks, but C is the wrong answer.

While I'm disturbed that the Avs could not score on the powerplay, I'm not really surprised. The Avalanche have made some strides in that area, but there's still lots of work to be done (obviously). The Avs have slipped to 16th overall in PP efficiency, and even Peter McNab is whispering in his company-mandated-shiny way that the team needs to get better there. What really gets me, though, is that the Oilers took shots at our players all night long and no one did a thing about it. David Koci? Planted firmly on the bench for the final 35 minutes of the game (does he even bother to come out of the locker room for the 3rd periods?). Cody McLeod? I know he played, because he was -4, but he certainly wasn't taking care of business. Tucker? Stewart? Anyone? This is really the one area where the Avs have taken a significant step backwards this year. Last year, someone would have stepped in when Stasny is getting slammed face first into the boards, or when Marek Svatos is getting cross-checked to the ice after three straight whistles. Is it as simple as missing guys like Lappy or Cody McCormick? Is it a coaching thing? I suspect it might be more of the latter, as Chris Stewart had about 5 fights at this point last year, while he just had his first one last night. And, of course, David Koci may be talented but he can't protect anyone from the bench. I'm all about playing disciplined hockey, but our guys have been getting pushed around all year and I'm sick of this team turtleing. I'm also angry that I don't know how to spell turtleing. Oh well.

I'll say this: if we lose 6-4 but I watched our tough guys answer the bell in the 2nd period, it would still be a loss, but I'd be much less disappointed in the team right now.

Lines

Wolski - Stastny - Jones
Tucker - Duchene - Hejduk
McLeod - O'Reilly - Stewart
Koci - Durno - Svatos

Quincey - Hannan
Cumiskey - Clark
Preissing - Wilson

Quick Hits

The Avalanche won the faceoff battle for the 2nd straight game
The McLeod, O'Reilly and Stewart line was a combined -9 with 2 shots.

Video Highlights

Next Up

The Avalanche are in Vancouver on Friday. Oh joy.