I've seen a lot of things in my life...

But that was AWESOME!

I haven’t been that excited since the Rockies got into the World Series. I was literally screaming at the top of my lungs, running through my apartment yelling “Oh my God” over and over again! (My apologies to my roommate and neighbors).

In the hundreds of hockey games I have watched in my life, I have never seen anything like that before. Dan Boyle thinks maybe the puck was deflected off a stick and then got past Nabakov, but I don’t think it hit anyone else. I think Boyle was just unlucky and put the puck into his own net.

As excited as I am for the Avs, I can only imagine how Dan Boyle must feel. To know that you are solely responsible for you team losing, especially when your team had 51 shots on goal and the opposition only had 16 shots on goal.

I think this last game will lead to one of two outcomes for the series. The first is that the San Jose Sharks will come back Tuesday night with more DETERMINATION than ever. San Jose is known as the team that “chokes in the playoffs,” and this might make them want to prove everyone wrong. It might also make Nabakov sharper in the remaining games so as not to allow any more fluke goals.

On the other side of the spectrum, this could completely DEMORALIZE the Sharks. They would never admit it, but subconsciously, players could feel like “Here we go again. This just isn’t our year.”

Ultimately, the Avs were lucky last night and I think they will have to play much better than they have the past 2 games. You can’t expect to win hockey games, especially not the Stanley Cup if you only have 16 shots on goal. You also can’t rely on your goaltender to have 51 save shutouts every game.

All I know is that Tuesday, Pepsi Center will ROCKING, I will be BOOING Rob Blake, and I will be chanting ANDY, ANDY, ANDY!!!

GO AVS!

Joe Sacco: Method to his madness??

With 6 games left, it is questionable whether or not the Avalanche will make the playoffs. The Avs are 2 points ahead of Calgary with one game in hand, but the Flames come to town Friday night. They could easily tie the Avs in points, and if that happens, I think it will be all downhill from there. Since St. Patrick’s Day, the Avs have been awful and have gone 1-5-1. We can blame Andy, or the defense or the offense, or individual players, but I think it all comes down to some of Coach Joe Sacco’s decisions of late.

SACCO AND GOALTENDING:
“Craig Anderson set a Colorado record for goalies playing in his 66th game Sunday in San Jose.” Then, surprise, surprise, Andy was in net again Wednesday night against the Ducks for his 67th game of the season with 6 games remaining. Patrick Roy is regarded as one of the best goalies of all time, yet he never played this many games during the regular season. Earth to Sacco, goalies need a break every once in awhile, hence the reason you have a backup. (His name is Peter Budaj in case anyone forgot. He also used to be our # 1 goalie and wasn’t too shabby between the pipes). My question is why doesn’t Sacco play Budaj more often? Typically when you have back-to-back games, your #1 goalie plays one game and the backup plays the other game. Apparently Sacco didn’t get the memo. Ultimately, I think Andy is tired both mentally and physically and he is starting the feel the pressure of getting this team into the playoffs. Even if the Avs manage to make the playoffs, Anderson will be tired and won’t be sharp. Sacco took the saying “one game at a time” too literally and didn’t think about the whole picture regarding goaltending.

SACCO AND THE DEFENSE
Don’t even get me started! One game, Liles is benched. The next game it’s Quincey. Then, oh I don’t know, maybe Clark sits out. After Wednesday’s loss to the Ducks, Sacco says he makes his decision based on what defensemen will give him the best chance to win. Well, let’s look at a couple interesting statistics. Against the Ducks on March 31st, Sacco’s defensive scratches were Clark and Quincey, but he kept Salei in the lineup. When Clark, who is regarded as one of the best shot blockers in the NHL, is scratched, the Avalanche are something like 1-5-1 (sorry, don’t have the exact stat but you get the idea). When Ruslan Salei is in the lineup, the Avs are 3-8-1. If you’re looking for the defensemen that will give you the best chance at winning, play Clark and bench Salei!!! Sacco needs to pick his best D men and stick with it because switching up the pairings every night is not the way to win hockey games. Hockey coaches and players always talk about “chemistry,” but if you’re scratching a different player every night, the defense won’t have any chemistry. Along with this, the defense is going to play tentatively out of fear that they are going to be benched next game.

SACCO AND THE OFFENSE:
Recently, the Avalanche offense is M.I.A. Not quite sure what Sacco can do to fix this other than switching up the lines. Luckily, the Avs will be getting Brandon Yip and Stephane Yelle back for Friday’s game against the Kings. Hopefully this will be just what the Avs need to change things up and get the offense fired up.

Sacco is a rookie NHL coach, and I think the past couple weeks have really shown that. Some people think maybe the Avalanche should “Tony Granato him.” This suggests that the Avs demote Sacco to assistant coach for a season or two and bring in a veteran coach to mentor Sacco. I think Sacco has incredible potential, but right now he is not making smart decisions. So to answer the question “method to his madness,” I am thinking absolutely not. I think his inexperience is showing and maybe he has gone into panic mode.

What do you guys think??

I’ll leave you with this quote from Sean Burke:

“It's too easy when you're not winning to look for excuses and point at others for reasons. You can say 'Oh well, it's this guys fault or they don't do this well' or you can say 'I've got to play better and contribute more'. You've got to find another gear and come up with big games."

Don't Stop Believin'

Hard to believe the Avalanche only have 10 REGULAR season games remaining. Up until now, it looked like a sure bet that the Avs would make the playoffs, but now anything could happen. Since the Olympic break, the Avs have 5 WINS and 6 LOSSES. Not quite what I was expecting. A previous blog of mine talked about the effect the break would have on the team. Well, here’s how things have played out.

Paul Stastny: After bringing a silver medal back to Denver, #26 has been on fire. He has had at least one point in all but one game since the break. After playing with some of the best in the league, he is feeling more confident on the ice and knows what it takes to win.

Craig Anderson: I thought the Olympics were going to serve as a great break for Andy to get some much needed rest, but it certainly doesn’t look that way. I realize the defense needs to be better in front of him, but I think he looks tired and not as sharp as he did earlier in the season. This could be from a number of factors including the two and half week break or too much playing time throughout the season.

Overall, the team is playing mediocre hockey at best and if they want to the make the playoffs, they are going to need to step it up these last 10 games because other teams like Detroit and Calgary aren’t going away. I am not quite sure why the Avs’ level of play has decreased, but I certainly have some ideas.

1. Sacco is switching up the lines all the time as well as scratching different defensemen every night. There doesn’t seem
to be a lot of continuity, which I think is needed with such a young team.

2. The team is young and it is possible that they are tired and worn down from the long NHL season. I look at the season
as a marathon, but some of the young guys like Duchene and O’Reilly started the season like a sprint, and their
production has slowed down recently.

3. This is a team that kept on winning when nobody believed in them. Chris Stewart was quoted as saying, “We just don’t
know any better.” Well, maybe now the Avs have started thinking about it and have stopped believing in themselves. I
Initially, they took it one game at a time, but it’s quite possible that they are already looking to the playoffs, forgetting
that the regular season isn’t over yet.

At the beginning of the season, no one believed in this team, and no one ever imagined they would be in the playoff picture. Now, people do believe in the Avalanche, and maybe that has thrown them off their game. Maybe we should use a little reverse psychology and stop believing in them so the Avs can prove us wrong once again!

And the winner is...

In honor of the Academy Awards, I have decided to give “awards” to the Most Valuable Player and the Most Improved Player. I realize there are still 17 games left, but these two players have helped the Avalanche all season long and their performances during the remainder of the season will be a determining factor in the Norwest Division.

Most Valuable Player: This is a no brainer, but in case you’ve been living under a rock all season, goalie Craig Anderson is by far the team’s MVP. All season long, “Andy” has been Sacco’s go to goalie. Even in back-to-back games, Sacco has put his faith in Anderson rather than giving Budaj a chance. Anderson already has 33 wins with 17 games remaining. The most wins for an Avalanche goalie in one season is 40 (done by Roy of course). If the Avalanche and Anderson keep playing the way they can, then I don’t see how Anderson won’t reach or surpass this 40 game mark (Don’t worry, I knocked on wood so I don’t jinx anyone). Finally, in almost every game thus far, Andy has always given the Avalanche the opportunity to win.

Most Improved Player: In honor of his first career hat trick Saturday night against the Blues, in my mind, Chris Stewart gets Most Improved Player. In 53 games last season with the Avalanche, Stewart only had 19 points. After getting off to a slow start this season, Stewart was sent to the minors for a couple games, but due to an injury on the Avalanche, Stewart was recalled after only 2 games with the Lake Erie Monsters. Since he was brought back to Colorado, Stewart hasn’t looked back. So far, Stewie has 27 assists and a team-leading 24 goals.

Thanks to Anderson’s strong goaltending and Stewart’s stellar offense, the Avalanche have surpassed all pre-season expectations. Let’s not forget, the Avalanche were picked to finish near the bottom of the Western Conference. Well, all season long the Avs have stayed in playoff contention and could possibly come away with the Northwest Division title and home ice advantage (knocked on wood again). But in reality, all I really care about is making it to the playoffs, and it would be fabulous if we could finish ahead of Detroit.

“Goaltending is a normal job, sure. How would you like it in your job if every time you made a small mistake, a red light went on over your desk and 15,000 people stood up and yelled at you.” - Jacques Plante

Can the Avs get that sellout streak going again?

Hello Avs fans!

Remember when the Avalanche sold out every game? They still hold the NHL record for longest consecutive attendance sellouts with 487 games. Well, that streak ended on October 16th 2006, and attendance hasn’t ever been the same. How can the Colorado Avalanche organization increase game attendance and grow their fan base??

Before the days of Carmelo Anthony, the Denver Nuggets couldn’t pay people to attend their games. Now, they regularly sell out thanks to players like Melo, Chauncey Billups, Chris “Birdman” Anderson, and JR Smith. Not only are these guys talented, but they each have a different personality that can draw people in.

For the Avalanche, long gone are the days of Patrick Roy, Ian Laperriere, Peter Forsberg, and Joe Sakic. Sure, the Avs have talent in Paul Stastny, Matt Duchene, and Chris Stewart, but these guys don’t bring anything “special” to the marketing table. These guys are young and adjusting to life in the NHL and haven’t quite found their voice and don’t attract the spotlight. Or maybe they are just all quiet by nature, but that won’t attract new fans or get fans fired up. However, fans are really connecting to CRAIG ANDERSON not only because of his stellar play thus far, but because he gives a good interview and shows his appreciation for the fans every time he is interviewed.

In order to increase fan attendance, the Avalanche marketing department needs to find ways to get the fans pumped up. “Birdman” and JR Smith have personalities that get the fans into the game, but the Avalanche don’t have anyone like that. Fans love fights, but the Avs don’t even have a good fighter right now since Koci is hurt.

With trading done for the season, the Avs made a couple of trades, but nothing huge. Wolski is gone, which I think some fans are pretty happy about because he wasn’t contributing has much as he could; the consistency just wasn’t there. Who knows what Mueller will bring the table, but I like that he’s young so he will fit in with everyone else. I must admit I am pretty happy the Avs got Stephane Yelle back!!! He was a fan favorite so I think it will get the fans fired up. I also think he is a valuable asset to the young guys like O’Reilly because he can serve as a mentor since he has been in the league for awhile and has won the Stanley Cup with the Avs.

My final point: the Avalanche need a new intro video at games. I don’t know about you, but when I go to games, pictures are so small and go by so fast and I have no time to cheer for my favorite players because their picture has already passed by. Let’s get a new video that shows each player individually so we can “meet” the players!

What do you guys think? How can the Colorado Avalanche get that sellout streak going again???

Olympic break: Good or bad?

Hello fellow Avaholics!

The NHL trade freeze is officially underway until February 28, and that can only mean one thing: the 2010 Winter Olympics are officially here. Avalanche fans, or more specifically John-Michael Liles fans can rest easy for a couple more weeks, but he could still be traded as the March 3rd trading deadline looms.

The Avs play the Phoenix Coyotes tonight and the Los Angeles Kings tomorrow night before the NHL takes a 2-week hiatus for the winter games. Will this break be a good thing or a bad thing for this young Avalanche team?

Rookie Matt Duchene has said he will coach junior hockey during the break, so at least he will be spending some quality time on the ice. I have heard of other players going on vacation and just relaxing. In order for this break to be beneficial, the players must stay in shape and be skating on a regular basis so they stay in “game shape.” The veterans like Adam Foote have been through this before and know what they have to do on their own. But what about the young guys like Chris Stewart, Ryan O’Reilley and others? Will they have the self-discipline to stay in workout on their own? I believe so because so, because they obviously have to have self-discipline to have made it to the NHL. However, I also think the Avalanche coaching and training staff must hold these players accountable and make sure they are completing their workouts.

There is one person who I think will benefit tremendously from this break: CRAIG ANDERSON. Anderson has played in 51 of the Avalanche’s 59 games thus far. He is by far the Avs’ MVP this season, but if they hope to make it to the playoffs and be successful, Anderson will need to be rested and ready to go.

Only time will tell if the Olympic break is a positive or a negative, but ultimately, I think it will work in the Colorado Avalanche’s favor because it will give the young guys a chance to rest up and be ready for the last 21 games of the season.

What do you guys think??

That's all for now! Go Avs! And remember, Red Wings Suck!