Avs Lose In St. Louis

Stefan Elliott has been playing better of late. Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Avs left Semyon Varlamov out to dry too many times during this game. Varlamov made a number of spectacular saves, but he was beaten three times. Two of those goals came on the powerplay for St. Louis, as the league’s worst road penalty kill team continued to fail. Colorado took a number of penalties in the first and second, and they only managed to draw two penalties out of the Blues.

Only 18 shots were mustered by the Avalanche, and while I think they were working hard, there just wasn’t enough “push”. Cody McLeod did at least save the team the embarrassment of being shut out, when he scored on a pretty wrist shot during a delayed penalty opportunity. St. Louis clinched their playoff spot tonight.

Other Thoughts

-Tomas Vincour, whom the Avs acquired at the deadline in exchange for Cameron Gaunce, played in his first game for the Avs. In six games with the Monsters, he had 11 points. He didn’t earn any points tonight, but I was impressed with a couple of plays he made. Initially Sacco had him on the fourth line, but when the team was down by three, Sacco began to switch lines dramatically, and Vincour saw a few shifts on the top line.

-Matt Hunwick played with a full “fishbowl” face mask. In the last game, David Backes’ stick literarlly took an entire tooth, root and all, out of Hunwick’s head. It has been replaced, but he will require a root canal when he returns here.

-Hunwick also said that he intends to represent the United States in the IIHF World Championship.

-Former Av Chris Stewart scored his 100th goal and 100th assist in tonight’s game. Because it wouldn’t be the Avs if a former player didn’t score.

 

Avs Lay An Egg

Yesterday I said that the Avs would score either 3 or 6 goals, and Minnesota would score 4. I was right about the score being 4-6, however I was wrong about which team had which number. Minnesota decided to go for the 6 goals. It’s just embarrassing at this point.

Jean-Sebastian Giguere started the game, and he did not “calm things down”. I know that the Avs allowed a lot of shots, but all four of the goals Giguere allowed were awful. For some reason, Joe Sacco refuses to pull a goalie until the intermission. He only called his timeout after the Wild scored their third goal. The timeout worked temporarily, when John Mitchell scored his 9th of the season, but then Giguere allowed the fourth.

In the second period, the Avs scored two quick goals with Semyon Varlamov in net. Minnesota called their timeout, and soon after scored against Varlamov. Those would be the only three goals in the period. In the third, Minnesota scored their sixth goal of the game on a semi-breakaway. Chuck Kobasew would get a goal with less than two minutes remaining in the period, but they were unable to put another couple in the net with the goalie pulled.

I had an uneasy feeling as the team was set to start this home and home series, that if the Avs didn’t earn at least three points, their chances were gone for the playoffs. At this point, they’d need to go 16-5, or 15-3-2, or 14-1-4 to get to 56 points, which would probably get them into the playoffs. I expect them to try for at least one of those records, but at this point, as a fan, I think things look pretty bleak.

Other Thoughts

-Joe Sacco ABSOLUTELY should have pulled Giguere after the second goal in six minutes. This isn’t some “oh we’re five games in the season, let’s let him redeem himself” situation, or a “we’re sitting comfortably in the playoff picture, let him have a chance to redeem himself” situation. This is a “we need to win this f*&^ing game, and you only get playing time if you’re helping” situation. When he didn’t pull Giguere, it sent a message to me that said “we’re still okay if we lose this game”.

-Giguere was awful, and Varly was just okay. It’s just not fair to them though, how many shots they’ve faced.

-Ryan Wilson missed this game with an ankle injury…sounds like he reinjured himself.

-Milan Hejduk also missed this game, but there was no word on a possible injury.

-Matt Duchene and P.A. Parenteau are third and fourth in the Western Conference in points (Duchene at 30 points is just behind Patrick Kane/Ryan Getzlaf with 31.)

-Aaron Palushaj had a really good game-keep him in the lineup. I want Olver in too, he’s a sparkplug too.

-Mitchell, Parenteau, Landeskog, and Kobasew had the Avs goals.

 

Avs Leave Chicago Broken-Hearted

Landeskog nearly willed a puck into the net in the third period. Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

Oh god. The Avs were 49 seconds away from a point at least. Suddenly, the Hawks were swarming the net, and Daniel Carcillo put the puck between Shane O’Brien and Semyon Varlamov’s legs. That’s right, Carcillo prevented the Avs from getting a point. The Avs remain stuck at 20 points. They have another crack at THE STREAK on Friday. As disappointing as this loss was, it’s hard to be mad at the Avs. They played an awesome game. There were a few mistakes, but there are always going to be mistakes. I think everyone worked really hard, and that makes it even harder to criticize the team.

In the first period, the Avs had a ton of opportunities. Unfortunately, the Hawks struck first on a powerplay. Cody McLeod took an ill-advised penalty (albeit, one that you expect him to take). The killers failed to get the puck out of the zone three different times, and eventually Andrew Shaw tipped the puck past Varlamov. Late in the period, John Mitchell got a little bit of redemption when he scored with a couple of nifty moves close to the net. In the second period, the Avs took the lead on a nice Matt Duchene shot that banked in off of Emery. Early in the third period, the Avs powerplay allowed a shorthanded Jonathan Toews goal. (I didn’t like how O’Reilly played it, and the referees missed a blatant slash from Bolland that left Jamie McGinn stickless and helpless when Toews was at the net.) The Avs continued to have some good chances, but it was Carcillo who scored the next, final goal.

I was really pleased with the Avs tonight, and I’m hoping that they bring a similar effort at home. If they do so, I think they have to get a break, and finally earn a win with their third stellar game of the season.

Other Thoughts

-Ryan O’Reilly got too much icetime for my liking. He’s adjusting, and playing better, but he’s still making more mistakes then we’re used to seeing from Factor.

-Jamie McGinn was really close to getting a goal several times in this game, if he had been able to break through, the Avs would have won.

-Greg Zanon played well in his return to the lineup…until the final minute.

-David Jones needs to be moved to the third line. He’s playing like he’s asleep out there, and I would rather have Palushaj or Mitchell on Stastny’s line. Jones is a good player, and he’ll work his way back up to the top two lines. For now though, his excessive icetime is hurting the team.

-Matt Hunwick had a pretty poor game. I’m guessing that he sits whenever EJ or Wilson is back, especially if EJ can return Friday.

Preview: Colorado At Detroit

Avs will face former teammate Kyle Quincey in tomorrow’s game. Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr

The Colorado Avalanche will head into Detroit to play the Red Wings tomorrow evening. This will be the first night in a back to back series, which will finish in Chicago.

It seems as though all games against the Wings are fun to watch (although not as much fun when the Avs lose). Even though the Wings have had continued success, while the Avs have struggled, players have been able to put forth a good effort whenever facing the boys from Detroit. This season, the Red Wings have encountered some problems, which is understandable given the retirement of Nick Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom. Still, they are sixth in the conference currently, and they have a solid goaltender in Jimmy Howard. The Avs need to come prepared (unlike the Columbus game), and ready to go. I’d like to see them pepper Howard and get off to an early lead, that way all four lines can be rolled (and I don’t mean sit back, I just mean equal ice time) throughout the third. The boys in burgundy need to win this game, in regulation, if they want to give themselves a fighting chance in Chicago the next night.

The last roadtrip resulted in only two points for the Avs. Right now, they have one, with two more games to go before coming home. I’d like to see them collect five, I’d be pleased with four, and okay with three. Anything less will put them in a much tighter spot than the one they already find themselves in.

Avs Visit Shark Tank

Avs will be missing this face tonight. Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Colorado Avalanche are heading into San Jose tonight looking for a big two points. The truth of the matter is, they need to earn two points in order to go .500 on this roadtrip, and to give themselves a shot at the playoffs. The team still needs 20 more wins by my count, and there are only 31 games left. Time to buck up boys.

No Update On Hejduk; Avs Heading To California

Hopefully Hejduk’s injury isn’t too severe. Photo: Christa Burns/Flickr.

The Avs have yet to release an update on Hejduk. I’ll add to this post when I do hear something. Hopefully he’s not out too long with this ailment which has been termed a “torso injury”. Still on the injury front, it appears that Gabe Landeskog may be returning to the lineup at some point on this California swing. He’s practiced with the team, he participated in the morning skate yesterday, and, perhaps most telling, the Avs allowed the media to talk to him. They’re usually very uptight about allowing injured players to talk to the media, so I think it shows he really will be ready soon that they allowed him to be interviewed. It’s expected that he’ll participate in tomorrow’s morning skate, and he might be cleared to play against the Kings that night.

Avs Win In OT

Jones continues to kill it in overtime, with the most overtime goals of any player since 2010. Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Colorado Avalanche hosted the St. Louis Blues in the last game of a two game homestand. The Avs won in overtime, and Varlamov shut out the Blues.

Avs Win Barn-Burner Over Preds

Dutchy is on a four game goal streak, killing it with the points. Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

This was one of the craziest game I’ve seen from the Avs. Luckily, they came out on top, winning 6-5. In the last game, Edmonton won 6-4, because playing loose, offensive hockey works to their advantage. In this game, the Avs had the advantage in a loose game, because Nashville pretty much never gets into wild games like this.

Preview: Nashville At Colorado

The face of frustration. Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr

The Colorado Avalanche are hosting the Nashville Predators tomorrow afternoon for the third afternoon game of the season. The Avs are 1-1 in these affairs so far, and are hoping to improve the record to 2-1.

Avs Blow Two 3 Goal Leads

Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Colorado Avalanche shot themselves in the foot tonight. They scored three different goals in the first, even though the Edmonton Oilers were the ones firing all of the shots (23 in the first). In the final seconds of the first period, Cody McLeod took an undisciplined penalty, and the kill allowed the Oilers to get on the board with a power play goal. Still, it was 3-1 after the first period. Things were looking up. Early in the second, John Mitchell scored a fourth goal for the team, giving them the second three goal lead in the game. The Oilers would score the next two goals in the period. In the third period, the Oilers came alive and scored three more goals (one of them in the empty net.)

Tonight was an absolutely unacceptable game. You cannot go up by three goals twice in a game, and lose the game. You can’t allow a team to score five unanswered goals. Semyon Varlamov still made 51 saves in the loss. He shouldn’t have to face 56 shots (an Oilers record for shots in a regular season game) in a single effort. The penalty kill allowed three goals. The defense had a bad showing tonight. Tyson Barrie had a mostly good game, but it was his poor play that led to Ales Hemsky’s second goal of the night. Ryan O’Byrne had another brutal showing, Shane O’Brien had some weak moments…it just wasn’t good enough. Just disgusting.

While there are some good things the players can take from the first half of the game, at the end of the day, this is is a night to forget.

Other Thoughts

-50 saves is the most Varlamov has ever made in a single game.

-This was Jamie McGinn’s first ever three point game.

-Duchene also had three points, Tyson Barrie had his first multi-point game with two assists in the first, and John Mitchell also had a two point night.

-Ryan Nugent Hopkins scored his first goal this season.

-Jordan Eberle broke his goal-less streak, scoring twice, for his first goals since the last time the Avalanche were in town.