SB Nation - Darcy Tucker

Game 35 Recap: Avalanche 3 - Flames 2

David Driscoll-Carignan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:27:53 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

8 days ago: Calgary Flames left winger Eric Nystrom, front, skates past as Colorado Avalanche players Kyle Quincey, Wojtek Wolski, of Poland, Chris Stewart and Matt Duchene celebrate Wolski's power-play goal in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Denver on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Final - 12.13.2009	1	2	3	Total
Calgary Flames	0	1	1	2
Colorado Avalanche	1	2	0	3

Complete Coverage >

Wow.

The Avalanche are back in first in the NW division after knocking off the Calgary Flames 3-2 tonight. I wanted to see if the Avs would show up, and they did. In spades.

Right out of the gate, the Avalanche were ready to play. If I had to use one word to describe them tonight, it would be "relentless". Thanks in part to 5 PPs given up by a reckless, headhunting Calgary club, the Avalanche launched 20 shots on Mikka Kiprusoff in the 1st. Kipper had an extraordinary game and kept his club in it, and the Avs only managed to get one goal in the first, a Wojtek Wolski one-timer on a 5-on-3 for his first PP goal of the year.

Colorado kept it up in the 2nd, and a great play by Wolski to regain the puck after his breakaway attempt was stopped so that he could dish it to Chris Stewart and Paul Stastny led to a Stewart goal and a 2-0 lead. Rene Bourque cut the lead to 2-1 just a minute or so later, but then Darcy Tucker scored the eventual game winner with a tip-in that knuckled over Kipper late in the 2nd. The Avalanche have been absolutely incredible at keeping the puck inside the blueline the last couple of games, and it's really paying dividends on both shots for and shots against.

After two periods, the Avs had a decided 33-14 shot advantage and I was already thinking of ways to work in metaphors about 60 minutes of effort in this very recap. But, once again, they petered off a bit in the 3rd. The Avalanche were better in the 3rd period than they've been in previous games with a lead, but they still need to find a way to generate more pressure than 2 shots. Colorado had a 3-1 lead going into the 3rd and started off playing pretty well, but then gave up 3 PPs to the Flames. Even though Avs PK hadn't allowed a goal to Calgary all year, you can't keep giving them chances like that. Sure enough, Mark Giordano scored a PP goal with just under 7 minutes left. And the nail biting could officially commence.

Craig Anderson was nowhere near as busy as his counterpart was tonight (just 21 shots, the 3rd straight game the Avs had given up 22 shots or less), but he came up with a couple of big saves in the 3rd to preserve the lead. T.J. Galiardi and Ryan O'Reilly had a couple of great late-game shifts as well. Still, enough with the hang-on-for-dear-life endings, okay?

This was a big, big victory for the Avalanche. The team had 7 rookies in the lineup and it wasn't a detriment at all. In fact, the rookies were the difference. Galiardi had one of his better games as a pro. O'Reilly had a great game defensively. Duchene overcame getting mugged 3 times in the first period to have a solid game. Ryan Wilson's thunderous hit on David Moss was highlight reel material (and he assisted on Tucker's game-winning goal). Seven different Avs had a point tonight. Six of those scorers are under 25. These kids aren't riding the bus, they are driving it. And they are doing a hell of a job.

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

10 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

18 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.

Billy and the Kid: Pens beat back the Avs 4-1

Hooks Orpik — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:03:25 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

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Avalanche vs Penguins coverage - Mile High Hockey

The newspaper will say 4-1 tomorrow, but that really doesn't do justice to how tight a game it was. For the majority of the game, real estate was tight to come by. The television guys accurately called it "marking up" as if guys were playing defense like they were on the soccer field. There wasn't much open room for good chances. The difference was a quick whistle and the Penguins power-play finally coming through.

T.J. Galiardi opened the scoring for the Avs on the power-play when he steered Darcy Tucker's effort past Marc-Andre Fleury. Jay McKee was in front of the net with Galiardi and has to do a better job to take the man or the stick out of the play.

It appeared Colorado would take the lead into the intermission until the impromptu line of Mike Rupp - Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin struck. Malkin upped the puck up and Rupp and Crosby passed the puck twice and #87 put it in an empty cage past a beaten Peter Budaj. 1-1 at the first break.

There'd be no more scoring until the third period; which was a huge break for Pittsburgh. It appeared Galiardi had his second goal of the game, between Fleury's legs, but the referee from the side angle whistled the play dead, all the while the puck was in motion, and in the back of the net. Unfortunately it's a play that can not be review. It ought to have been a goal. But it wasn't. Just a bad break for Colorado. Things have a funny way of evening up in a long 82 game season and hopefully they'll get the good end of a call soon to make up for it.

With the game still 1-1, the Penguins got a two man advantage. They couldn't quite take advantage of it, but Crosby faked a shot and wired a perfect pass to Bill Guerin for a slam dunk goal.

That effectively ended the scoring, with Jordan Staal and Crosby tacking on empty netters to make the score look wider than it was.

Pittsburgh was no doubt lucky to catch a break on the disallowed Colorado goal, but they also earned the win by out-shooting the Avs 14-1 in the final period of a tie game. They were the better team late.
Crosby set up the goal with a new tool in his offensive arsenal: the fake shot. Teams have to respect him pulling the trigger, he's now tied for second in the league in goals.
Last year, it took until January 30th before Crosby got to 19 goals....This year he's there on December 3rd, almost two months better.
The Pens racked up 38 hits, everyone on the roster aside from Mark Eaton and the two goalies recorded at least one hit.
Ruslan Fedotenko is starting to turn things around...4 shots on goal (and 3 more misses, including a post) show he's firing away. When he shoots, he plays well and produces. He's getting there.
That T.J. Galiardi is quite impressive. In addition to his goal on he night, he had a should-have-been goal and won 71% of his 17 faceoffs.
Matt Duchene might be the future, but the future was not tonight. No points, a plus/minus of -3 (even though he was on the ice for both empty netters), two shots on goal in 18:50.
Paul Stastny, he of a Team USA future, also had a rough night in the final stat-line: No points, -3 (again on ice for both EN), just one shot on goal and only won 36% of his 28 faceoffs.
Both goalies played well, Budaj was tested more than Fleury, but both did well and did not allow any soft goals. Any time the two goalies combined for three goals against, you can be sure both made some saves.
Evgeni Malkin had a somewhat quiet night, but still rang up three assists and helped the power-play get on the board. It was a good night.

It was a good night indeed. Crosby and Malkin put three points in their pocket and the team gets 2 of their own in the standings. It was a quirky, hard-fought one that wasn't easy it looks at the end of the day. But it's still a win.

Now onward to Saturday...I hear an old friend is ready to say hello again...Perhaps you remember him..

Game 26 Recap: Wild 5 - Avalanche 3

David Driscoll-Carignan — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:11:23 -0000

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

25 days ago: Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ryan Wilson (44) goes to the ice after a check by Minnesota Wild right wing Cal Clutterbuck, right, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Nov. 27, 2009, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

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Final - 11.27.2009	1	2	3	Total
Colorado Avalanche	1	2	0	3
Minnesota Wild	1	2	2	5

Complete Coverage >

My motto's always been; when it's right, it's right.
Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night.
When everything's a little clearer in the light of day.
And you know the night is always gonna be there any way.

-The Starland Vocal Band, Afternoon Delight

Unless you are a fan of the Wild or an NHL linesman, this one wasn't much of an afternoon delight. The game was kind of a sloggy, stop-and-go affair with a ton of stoppages. There were 70 faceoffs - 18 more than were in the Avs OT game against Nashville on Wednesday. I'm sure the Wild will take it, however.

The Avalanche jumped on the board first. Matt Duchene was relegated to the 4th line today, but was a factor early. On just his 2nd shift, he moved the puck off the right wing boards. As his winger, Chris Stewart, drew the attention of a couple of Wild players, Duchene smartly dished it back to a wide open Kyle Quincey. Quincey hesitated a second before burying it past Nik Backstrom.

Minnesota tied it up about 4 minutes later when Owen Nolan was the first to a rebound in front of the net. It figures; he always seems to score against the Avs.

In the 2nd, Chuck Kobasew and his porn mustache (the Wild are growing mustaches for charity) made the game 2-1. Kobasew and Kyle Quincey collided in the corner. Quincey got to his feet, but let Kobasew go to pressure Derek Boogaard with the puck in the corner. Bad idea; Boogaard dished the puck to a now wide open Kobasew for an easy goal.

Both teams then traded quick PP goals, with Paul Stastny and Kobasew scoring goals with the man advantage. The Avalanche tied it late in the 2nd when Wojtek Wolski and Chris Stewart got a breakout when Shane Hnidy misplayed the puck and turned it over after a faceoff. Wolski streaked down the ice and made a tremendous pass to Stewart who slammed home his 2nd goal of the year.

While it was great that the Avalanche could tie the game, they had to have been kicking themselves a bit as both Matt Duchene and Paul Stastny had a beautiful scoring chance ring off the post and then TJ Galiardi's swat at a loose puck in the crease ended up knocking the puck out of the net instead of in. If any of those chances go in, the Avs are up 4-3 after two and have a chance at at least grabbing a point.

Instead, the teams were knotted up going into the 3rd and only one team seemed interested in changing that. Hint: it wasn't Colorado. The Avs were woefully outplayed in the first half of the 3rd with Minnesota getting several extended shifts in the offensive zone. Somehow, the Avalanche held on and had a chance to break the tie 8 minutes in when Marek Zidlicky went to the box for tripping. This being the Avalanche powerplay, the crucial opportunity was squandered. And, less than 20 seconds after the Wild killed it off, Darcy Tucker used up the last of the goodwill he had stored up in September by taking a slashing penalty. I was kind of unsure how to proceed there for a while when Tucker was actually playing well, but now that he's back to playing bad hockey I no longer feel conflicted as a fan. Anyway...shockingly, Minnesota scored on their powerplay when Mikko Koivu created a goal by coming out from behind the net with the puck (something he's done about 16,000 times against the Avs) before dishing to Andrew Brunette on the backside.

That was the winner. The Avalanche woke up late and had some sustained pressure with Craig Anderson off for an extra attacker, but they just couldn't get it past Backstrom. Eventually, the dam broke, Koivu got a breakaway and selflessly waited for Kobasew to get open so that he could collect the hat trick (I think they should have waved that one off - he was clearly in the crease!). The Wild aren't the greatest team in the NHL right now, but for the 2nd time this year they've shown the Avs that you can't take any NHL team for granted. The Avs have mailed in two opportunities against the Wild, and they have two losses to show for it. Let's hope they come out with a little more effort and consistency tomorrow.

Lines

The lines were completely changed around tonight (and bore no resemblance to what Altitude listed on their ticker at the start of the game). Matt Duchene started on the 4th line, but he and linemate Chris Stewart had solid games and played their way into good ice time. Wojtek Wolski and Cody McLeod played the early part of the game together, but seemed to switch sides frequently, something Sacco's done off and on all year. Milan Hejduk did not play in the 3rd period after suffering some sort of knee injury.

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

Hannan - Quincey
Wilson - Liles
Clark - Preissing

Quick Hits

Thanks in part to substantial PP time, Chris Stewart had 16:21 of ice time, the most minutes he's had since the 2nd game of the year
Paul Stastny took 32 of the teams 70 faceoffs today.
Tom Preissing had no PP ice time at all, and has had just a smattering of PP shifts after his debut in the 8-2 Vancouver debacle. With our PP struggling, would it be such a terrible idea to give him a shot?

Video Highlights

Next Up

The Avalanche host the Wild tomorrow night, in Denver.

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 19 Recap: Blackhawks 3 - Avalance 2 (SO)

David Driscoll-Carignan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:33:13 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

about 1 month ago: Colorado Avalanche's Matt Hendricks, right, fights with Chicago Blackhawks' Colin Fraser during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Chicago, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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Final - 11.11.2009	1	2	3	OT	SO	Total
Colorado Avalanche	1	1	0	0	0	2
Chicago Blackhawks	1	0	1	0	1	3

Complete Coverage >

Of course it was going to a shootout.

Man, I wish we could play the Blackhawks 82 times a year, as the three matches between the clubs so far have been dandies. Tonight's game was a lot of fun to watch. Craig Anderson is a freaking monster. Matt Duchene was marvelous (and, still scoreless). Kyle Cumiskey learned that he doesn't need to think before shooting (but then forgot later on in the game). The Avs' powerplay still needs work, but at least they stayed out of the box tonight.

I would have loved to see more than 3 shots in the 3rd period, however. I also would have loved to see someone other than Darcy Tucker take that 3rd shootout try. I still would like to see better linemates for Duchene (how about TJ Hensick, who is playing very well). And I certainly could have done without the Altitude graphics person misspelling the word "Sargeant"...especially on freaking Veteran's Day. But, you can't have it all. The game was exciting, the Avs got a point. I'm moderately happy.

Cutting this short to again try for a game of mini golf. Kudos on breaking a thousand in tonight's game thread. You guys rock.

Oh, and our favorite Chicago radio personality - chiavsfan - was covering the game. Here's his terrific radio recap.

Game 19: Avalanche at Blackhawks

David Driscoll-Carignan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:11:47 -0000


Colorado Avalanche	6:30 MT / 8:30 ET / 1:30 GMT	Chicago Blackhawks
12-4-2	November 11th, 2009	9-5-2
26 pts	United Center	20 pts
2nd in West	Chicago, IL	3rd in West

It's a light week for the Avalanche, with tonight's game being the weekday tilt. Hopefully, they can make it count. The Avs are coming off a sputtering loss to the Oilers on Sunday, a game in which they took roughly 270 penalties and gave up 67 power play goals. Those numbers may not be accurate, but it sure felt like a lot on this end. Maybe I should start keeping better notes...

I suppose you all read Craig Stancher's updates over at Ye Olde Official Website, but that won't stop me from cribbing them for my own personal use. Darcy Tucker is expected to return tonight and will likely skate on a line with (wait for it) Matt Duchene and Marek Svatos! Woohoo. Happy to have Tucker back, could have done without seeing this line reuinited though. If there's anyone who needs to be paired up right now with some skilled players, it's Matt Duchene. Heck, I wouldn't mind seeing him thrown on the left wing with Paul Stastny for a few games, just to give his game a boost. Milan Hejduk, who missed Sunday's game with a sore back, will probably play. If not, TJ Hensick skated in his place on the top line in practice Tuesday. [UPDATE: Not. Hejduk is out.]

Tom Preissing is back with the club after a two-game visit to Lake Erie. Joe Sacco has said he hasn't made up his mind yet as to whether it will be Preissing or Ryan Wilson. Personally, I think he has, but is trying to build suspense. Or something. Either way, Johnny Hot Pocket (aka Liles) did not make the trip to Chicago (if he's injured, who will model the new jerseys tomorrow?). Ruslan Salei practiced a bit, but he's still out.

The Blackhawks have some players returning from injury as well. Jonathon Toews has returned recently and Ben Eager was activated from IR on Monday. Here's their recent lines, courtesy of hockey centric. Get a good look at the Hawks tonight, as it's the last time we face them until the next-to-last game of the season.

It will be Craig Anderson for the Avalanche again. Cristobal Huet got the win on Monday, so figure him to get another shot under the Quenneville Goalie Rotation Carousel System (TM). Check Left Wing Lock during the day for updates. [Update: Huet is confirmed].

From the Good Thought But Kind Of Tacky Department, the Blackhawks will wear "historic" camoflauged jerseys during warmups. I will not be wearing anything similar in honor of Veterans Day (aka Armistace Day aka Rememberance Day), but do wish to express my most sincere gratitude to all of you who have served. As John Kelly would say, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Finally, Happy 37th Birthday to Steve Konowalchuk.

By the way, as I was typing this, Alan Parsons Project's "Sirius" came up randomly on my PC. Twice. Not really sure what my PC was trying to tell me. Despite being an absolute kick ass song, it's also curiously appropriate, as it's the song the Chicago Bulls used to play before games. I say "used to", but it's possible they still do; I haven't watched a basketball game in 36 years. Or so. Maybe it's less than that. Maybe I should start keeping better notes...

Avalanche vs Blackhawks coverage

Second City Hockey

Game Notes (Now with Tom Preissing goodness!)

Colorado			Chicago
2nd	26	Points	3rd	20
10th	3.00	GF/G	15th	2.88
3rd	2.28	GA/G	5th	2.31
16th	19.4	PP%	17th	18.8
9th	82.3	PK%	2nd	86.2
28th	25.5	S/G	4th	32.9
25th	32.8	SA/G	1st	22.4
30th	45	FO%	2nd	53.4
12th	12.9	PIM/G	8th	11.2
Stastny	18 pts	Top Scorer	Kane	16 pts

Today in Colorado History: November 11th, 2007. Paul Stastny records his 100th NHL point in his 99th NHL game.

Game 18 Preview: Oilers at Avalanche

David Driscoll-Carignan — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:17:19 -0000


Edmonton Oilers	6:00 MT / 8:00 ET / 1:00 GMT	Colorado Avalanche
7-8-1	November 8th, 2009	12-3-2
15 pts	Pepsi Center	26 pts
t-11th in West	Denver, CO	t-1st in West

The Avs try to continue as the only NHL team undefeated at home this year as they host the Edmonton Oilers this evening. If you're the type of person to believe in omens, my iTunes just served up two straight classic AC DC songs as I was writing this preview. Clearly, that bodes well for our chances, right?

Actually, if you glance at the tale of the tape below, these teams are quite similar statistically with the obvious exception being penalty killing and goals agaisnt average. Once you get beyond those (admittedly key) statistics, they are more or less the same. Both teams are middle of the pack scoring-wise. They are 29th and 30th in the league in terms of shots taken and are both near the bottom in shots allowed, so something will have to give tonight. And they both absolutely dreadful in the faceoff circle. Figure tonight's game to be a close one, similar to their meeting on October 27th when the Avs won 3-0 (it was 1-0 until midway through the 3rd period).

The Avs will again be without the services of John-Michael Liles. He is day to day with a shoulder injury suffered in the Chicago game. We wondered out loud if the Avalanche would recall Tom Preissing from his conditioning assignment to replace Liles tonight, and our question was magically answered by Craig Stancher on the Avs website. Preissing will remain with Lake Erie (they play tonight) and will rejoin the Avs on Monday and Ryan Wilson will play in Lile's absence. In other injury news, Darcy Tucker and Ruslan Salei both practiced Saturday wearing non-contact jerseys.

The Oilers have some injuries as well. Shawn Horcroff, JF Jacques, Ladislav Smid and Sheldon Souray are all out and Ales Hemskey is listed as day-to-day. The hockeycentric line combos are here.

Craig Anderson is the confirmed starter for Colorado. Nikolai Khabibulin is the presumed starter for the Oilers.

Oilers vs Avalanche coverage

Copper and Blue Preview

Game Notes

Edmonton			Colorado
22nd	15	Points	1st	26
14th	2.81	GF/G	10th	3.00
21st	3.06	GA/G	1st	2.12
16th	19.7	PP%	14th	20.6
20th	78.7	PK%	2nd	86.1
29th	25.2	S/G	30th	25.1
27th	34.2	SA/G	25th	32.8
29th	47.2	FO%	30th	44.4
17th	14	PIM/G	11th	12.1
Penner	19 pts	Top Scorer	Stastny	16 pts