SB Nation - Ruslan Salei

Game 31 Preview: Avalanche at Blue Jackets

David Driscoll-Carignan — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:37:22 -0000


Colorado Avalanche	5: MT / 7 ET / 12 GMT	Columbus Blue Jakcets
15-9-6	December 5th, 2009	13-10-5
36 pts	Nationwide Arena	31 pts
t-4th in West	Columbus, OH	10th in West

The Avalanche continue their 5-game trek tonight with their first visit to the fine city of Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets. For whatever reason, these matchups always seem to be entertaining. There's been some chippy games and some back-and-forth games in the last few years. There's that annoying cannon, of course, and, if you happen to watch the Columbus feed you'll be watching two of the biggest homers in all of sports. Actually, analyst Danny Gare left after last season, so I don't know that new analyst Bill Davidge will be as bad, but given that he played for (*sigh*) The Ohio State University and coached at Miami of Ohio and that he's paired with pom-pom-toting Jeff Rimer, I think it's a fair guess. Neither team is playing well right now (both teams are3-4-3 in their last 10)

There's added intrigue in the game as it's the first return to Columbus for Adam Foote since his "controversial" trade to Colorado in 2008. When Foote missed both trips to Columbus last year, we was quietly (and not-so-quietly) accused of having a touch of Columbus flu to avoid any controversy. Sadly, I have another engagement tonight and will not be able to see the game until tomorrow. I won't have a recap up for this one.

Craig Anderson (neck) is not expected to play tonight, which should give Peter Budaj his 2nd straight start. Statistically, he's the better goalie. Columbus' Steve Mason has had a tough sophomore season, with a 3.46 GAA and an .888 save percentage. In his 22 starts, he's allowed 3 goals or more 14 times. The Jackets are 3-7-4 in those games, so I think the Avs goal tonight is clear: score.

As strange as it is to see the BJ's goaltending collapse (they went from 9th in the league last year to 29th so far this year), it's nothing compared to what happened to their powerplay. They had the worst PP in the league last year (yes, even worse than ours). This year? #1. They have almost doubled their PP efficiency so far, improving from 12.7% to 24.8%. Amazing.

Besides Andy, the Avalanche will be without the usual suspects tonight - David Jones, Ruslan Salei and Kyle Cumiskey. The BJs are without Rusty Klesla, Derek Dorsett, Andrew Murray, Frederik Modin. Raffi Torres and Marc Methot are both questionable.

Avalanche vs Blue Jackets coverage

The Cannon

Colorado			Columbus
7th	36	Points	15th	31
9th	2.97	GF/G	7th	3.04
21st	2.93	GA/G	29th	3.46
17th	19.7	PP%	1st	24.8
18th	79.4	PK%	23rd	78.2
30th	26	S/G	17th	29.4
26th	33.1	SA/G	23rd	31.4
29th	46.7	FO%	13th	50.2
16th	14	PIM/G	20th	14.4
Stastny	30 pts	Top Scorer	Nash	30 pts

Avalanche Olympic Preview

David Driscoll-Carignan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:00:15 -0000

Around SBN, each of the hockey blogs is running a little preview of the Olympics with a look at who has a chance to make the Olympic rosters. We're still about a month and a half away from when the rosters are announced (Canada announces on December 31st, USA on January 1st), but here's a look at how the Avalanche are shaping up as of today. Remember, in 2006 the Avalanche sent 11 players to 8 different Olympic squads, tops in the league. The list won't be as big this year.

Team USA

Craig Anderson was not invited to Team USA's orientation camp in August (Tim Thomas, Ryan Miller and Jonathon Quick got the nods), but his strong play to date has to put him in contention to make the roster. Fairly Safe Bet

Paul Stastny did attend the orientation camp and figures to have a solid chance at making the roster. Fairly Safe Bet

John-Michael Liles was not one of the 12 defensemen named by Team USA GM Brian Burke, so it would seem doubtful that Liles will get a chance to repeat his 2006 Olympic participation. Work To Do

Team Canada

No Avalanche players were invited to Team Canada's camp in August. Actually, two were invited...but Ryan Smyth got traded and Joe Sakic retired. The Avalanche have some good Canadian-born players, of course, but no one strong enough to crack a very deep Team Canada squad.

Team Czech Republic

Milan Hejduk already has a gold medal (1998) and a bronze medal (2006) to show for his 3 Olympic appearances. Figure him to be on the team once again. Pack Your Bags

Team Slovakia

Peter Budaj played in the 2006 Olympic games (he was 2-1 with a 2.01 GAA) and is a good bet to make the team this year as well. He's likely to be battling Jaroslav Halak for the starting position. Nearly A Lock

Marek Svatos also played for the 2006 team. I'm not sure that he's a lock; perhaps they need an enforcer? Fairly Safe Bet

Team Belarus

Ruslan Salei is a lock...assuming he's healthy. Pack Your Bags

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 Preview: Avalanche at Oilers

David Driscoll-Carignan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:41:51 -0000


Colorado Avalanche	7 MT / 9 ET / 2 GMT	Edmonton Oilers
13-5-3	November 18th, 2009	8-10-3
29 pts	Rexall Place	19 pts
2nd in West	Edmonton, AB	12th in West

The Colorado Avalanche won a big, big game last night but we don't have a lot of time to celebrate. Tonight, the Avalanche complete their 4th set of back-to-back games this year when they take on the Oilers in Edmonton. So far, the Avs are 7-0-0 in back-to-backs. I hope I didn't jinx anything there...

Last night's effort was terrific and much-needed. As an added bonus, it pissed off the Flames so much that someone allegedly called out Dion Phaneuf. Man, I just hate to see stuff like that happen. The Avalanche showed that, while they aren't the most offensively gifted teams in the league, they can win with hustle, hard work, defensive commitment...Craig Motherfucking Anderson.

Speaking of Anderson, Joe Sacco hasn't named his starter tonight (as of yet). But since Anderson has already started - and won - all of the previous back-to-back starts, I can't imagine Sacco will make a change. I'll update this once ~~Anderson is confirmed~~ a starter has been named. [UPDATE: Budaj is in net tonight. -Joe] Likewise, no word yet on the status of Adam Foote, T.J. Galiardi, John-Michael Liles, Ruslan Salei, Matt Hendricks, Jimmy Hoffa or that annoying guy in those old Dell commercials. We'll probably have news on at least a few of those guys as the day progresses. (And, since I'm off today, I'll actually be able to make timely updates).

After a solid start to the year, the Oilers are struggling big time. They have just one win in their last 8 games. Unfortunately, I think you all know who that one win came against: the Colorado Avalanche (thanks to, approximately, 87 power play goals). Their possibly-accurate HockeyCentric line combos are here.

I don't know why, but I have a feeling this is going to be a wild one.

Avalanche vs Oilers coverage

The Copper & Blue

Where is Tyler Arnason Today? For some reason, I think it might be fun to keep track of Tyler Arnason as he sleepwalks through Russia. Today, Arnason and his teammates (including Riga captain Sandis Ozolinsh) are in Moscow to take on Spartak.

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Game 20 Preview: Canucks at Avalanche

David Driscoll-Carignan — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:24:41 -0000


Vancouver Canucks	8 MT / 10 ET / 3 GMT	Colorado Avalanche
10-10-0	November 14th, 2009	12-4-3
20 pts	Pepsi Center	27 pts
t-9th in West	Denver, CO	2nd in West

The Avalanche host the Vancouver Canucks tonight, a game Joe Sacco has called "must win" (geez, he throws that phrase around like our own Joe does*). But this game is really about one thing: the jerseys. The Avs wear their new ~~revenue source~~ third jerseys tonight for the first time. We've all seen them by now, but this will be our first chance to see them on the ice. For those of us who can stay up that late, that is. (For the record, no recap from me tonight)

Craig Anderson will start for the Avs. Tom Preissing could make his season debut (I think he will) and Milan Hejduk could return as well (bank on that). Ruslan Salei took part in a full practice Friday, so he's close to returning too - but I don't think we'll see him yet. John-Michael Liles and TJ Galiardi are getting closer, but they won't play. Philippe Dupuis has been returned to Lake Erie.

For the Canucks, Roberto Luongo is back and he's the presumed starter tonight (thank goodness, as I don't think I could stomach getting shut out by Andrew Raycroft again). One of the Sedins is out (no, not that one, the other one. Or is it? I can't tell). The Canucks still have a very potent powerplay but are so-so at even strength. They have 18 goals at 5 on 4 and 28 at 5 on 5. The Avs have 11 PP goals and 36 5 on 5.

I am very excited today as we're taking the kids to Boston to see Star Wars in Concert. I've heard nothing but raves about this, and my kids are stoked (even my daughter who is under the weather). Why am I mentioning this? I actually do have a reason. My wife and I debated going to this for quite some time, as tickets were something like $60 each. To me, that was a lot of money for a concert. While we ultimately relented (and I'm glad we did), it occured to me later that that's considerably less than I would pay for one hockey game. To see the Bruins, only a handful of shitty seats are under $60. Where we're sitting for Star Wars (Loge 9), B's tickets cost $130 (plus fees) to see the crap teams and $150 to see the good teams. To me, that is an insane amount of money to spend on one hockey game. Playoff game? Sure. Beyond that, I can't justify spending $300 for tickets alone for my wife and I to go to a game (nevermind the price for parking, food and street hookers). We've been to 2 hockey games in the last 5 years, and both were special occasions (once for my birthday and once as a Christmas present for my wife). I really don't mind spending all the wads of cash I rake in from this site (ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha), but $300 for a single hockey game? Not worth it. I know lots of you have weighed in on the reasons for the Avs' attendance woes. As of this 10am this morning, I could buy tickets for great seats next to the glass (sect 130, row 1) for tonight's game...at $216 a pop. To me, that's just simply too much. Call me when tickets are $20.

*[Geez, you make a mistake two years ago and they never let you hear the end of it. Tough crowd. -Joe]

Canucks vs Avalanche coverage

Nucks Misconduct

Preview

Beware Of The Canuck Killer: Canucks-Avalanche Preview

Sean Zandberg — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:00:30 -0000

GAME TIME: 7:00 PST

TV: CBC

THE ENEMY: Mile High Hockey, Jibblescribbits, Jerseys and Hockey Love

The Province put out an article called "Canuck Killer On The Loose" on April 1, 2008. At that time, Milan Hejduk, who began his career in 1998, had scored 32 goals in 54 games in his career against Vancouver. 9 of those goals were game winners. That was and still is more than Joe Sakic or even Jarome Iginla have scored against us. I decided to dig into his stats a little further, but could only start at the 2001-02 season, as that was how far back Hejduk's game-to-game stats would go on ESPN's site.

Since that season, Hejduk has played 46 games against the Canucks. He has scored 23 goals, 19 assists and 42 points. The Avalanche have a 25-19-2 record against us since then. Colorado won 13 of the games where Hejduk scored a goal. They have won 18 of the games where he registered at least a point. Since that Province article came out, Hejduk has 2 goals and 5 assists in 8 games against Vancouver. Canuck killer indeed.

So why all this Hedgeduck talk? Well, barring him getting hit by a bus or an errant Canuck fan's bullet, he should make his return to the Avalanche lineup tonight after missing 2 games with a sore back. Colorado lost both games in his absence.

The Avs could see the debut of Tom (Not-So Discount) Preissing as well. TJ Galiardi, Ruslan Salei and John-Michael Liles remain out of the lineup.

Coach Joe Sacco is putting the heat on his team, saying Friday:

"We talked briefly after practice and it’s a must-win for us," said Sacco. "It’s a team that’s played well against us. The last time we played them in Vancouver they took it to us. We need to respond with a good effort tomorrow night."

This is the last game of Vancouver's 5-game road trip. They are currently 1-3. After this game, they travel home for a 5-day layoff and will meet the Avalanche again on the 20th. There should be some bad blood brewing after these 2 games. After the game on the 20th, Vancouver will not play the Avs again until March 9. Thank...god? We'll see.

Craig Anderson will start in goal for the Avs. Despite 2 setbacks against the Oilers and Canucks recently, his stats are still super, as is his play. Concerning for Canucks fans, as Van can't score! You never know what will happen though.

-Avs are 6-1-0 at home this season.

-AV looks to use the same lines and line-up tonight:

Kesler-Hank-~~Wellwood~~ Raymond

Samuelsson-Wellwood-Burrows

Bernier-Rypien-Pettinger

Glass-Johnson-Hansen

Mitchell-Bieksa

Edler-Salo

Schneider-Ehrhoff

-Vigneault told The Province that he liked what he saw from Wellwood last game and that, of course, he needs to start scoring.

-Colorado unveiled their new 3rd jersey on Friday and will don them for the first time against the Canucks. Nice-looking uni's I must say, except for the damned clowns wearing them.

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

Various Avalanche Moves and Injury Updates

David Driscoll-Carignan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:02:02 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

The Highlander is set to return Wednesday (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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In honor of our lovely new site design, the Colorado Avalanche are undergoing a slight redesign of their own this week. Lots and lots of interesting updates, some (all?) have been reported already, but here they are all in one place.

First, the Highlander will return on Wednesday. That's the good news. The bad news? He's skating on a line with Matt Duchene and...Marek Svatos. Enough said.

To make room for McLeod, Brian Willsie was reassigned. Willsie put 4 more games under his belt and is now just 20 games away from qualifying for a full NHL pension.

Peter Budaj, who was rocking a little beard on the bench on Sunday, will finally get his first start of the season on Wednesday. And there was much rejoicing.

On the walking wounded front, Tom Preissing took part in full-contact practice for the first time this season which means we'll soon have an answer to the following question: What the hell are we going to do with Tom Preissing?

Darcy Tucker took part in many of the practice drills today. Matt Hendricks and Ruslan Salei skated with Tucker before practice, but did not stick around for the drills (slackers).

The Avs' Current Lineup

David Driscoll-Carignan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:50:10 -0000

This is probably as much for me as it is anyone else, but with the flurry of roster moves over the past week, I wanted to break down who is on the Avs roster and who is on the IR. That's 28 players - a little more than I can keep track of in my little head. Here's what I have, with the line combos that Joe Sacco started Saturday's delectable game with...

Jones - Stastny - Hejduk
Wolski - Duchene - Svatos
Galiardi - O'Reilly - Stewart
Koci - Hensick - Hendricks

Extra: Brian Willsie, Chris Druno

IR: Cody McLeod (10/21), Darcy Tucker (10/23)

Quincey - Hannan
Cumiskey - Foote
Wilson - Clark

IR: John-Michael Liles, Ruslan Salei, Tom Preissing

Anderson
Budaj
Weiman