The Week That Was the Avs 12-16/12-22

The Avalanche come back from a horrid road trip against their Canadian division rivals to continue strong play at home. Sure, they gave up a few leads and thus gave back a couple points to other teams but despite still not having back to back regulation wins going back to last December they have tied the Avalanche record of 7 straight home wins, though admittedly 3 of those were in the shootout where the team is perfect this year and have won 17 of their last 18 games in the shootout. They will have a chance to break both the good and bad streaks before Christmas against Tampa Friday night.

vs. Capitals : In a low scoring affair that saw good goaltending stop a number of chances, it was a fluttering shot from the blueline that Neuvirth never saw that got things started. McLeod, along the boards at the blueline in a battle with the Caps, flipped a puck that lobbed toward the net and went right past the goalie before he ever saw it. The teams would trade chances and power plays before in the second Semin would tie things up. It was only a minute later though when a pass out to Erik Johnson at the point would be fired at the net, somehow passing through 6 bodies before beating the goalie for his first of the year. The teams would continue to play an exciting game and have chances on both ends, but great play from the top two lines especially O'Reilly and some quality saves from Giguere (who got the start due to a minor back injury to Varly) and the Avs would hold on to the win.

vs. Flyers : The Flyers came out hard and fast and controlled much of the play, not only early but through much of the game. Giguere held the Avalanche in the game despite the Avalanche getting a couple 2-on-1s in which they didn't even get a shot on net, until finally Landeskog got the stick up and drew yet another 4 minute high sticking penalty, the third such call in recent games in which no blood was ever seen on the player leading me to wishing there were more definite rules for 2 vs. 4 minutes on high sticking or at least clear proof for 4 minutes. None the less the Flyers would strike on the first of the two but get stopped on the second so no further harm in this case. In the second Johnson made a great play dumping the puck in and following it, something he seems to be doing a bit more and creating offense from it, and in this case a pass back to the point and then a great pass low to Landeskog coming across the goal tied things as Landy got his first goal at the Pepsi Center (and his first in 19 games). Then as the period was winding down an attempt to pass the puck out through the slot by Malone bounced of a couple players' skates looking like a two rail bank in billiards. Galiardi would get credit for the lucky goal and it would stand until about 20 seconds left in the game when around the Avs net the puck came loose and it seemed only Briere found it and he tied things up. Giguere seemed rather irate and in replays it looked almost as if a Philly skate may have held his glove agaisnt the net for a split second, but after the goal he and other Avs got after it with the Flyers behind the net. The resulting matching minors in a now tied game led to an incredibly fast paced and exciting 3-on-3 in overtime until the penalized players came out of the box, but the action didn't slow at 4-on-4. The shootout didn't see a single save as Hejduk, Duchene, and O'Reilly all buried their chances while Briere and Van Reimsdyk scored before Read rang one off the post. A happy Giguere saw the humor in it commenting that it was a fun win and he didn't have to make a save to get it. The all too fun Altitude crew not only mentioned Jagr's key to the rink but also had a minute or two when they marveled over Jagrs backside and how he just turns it to you with the puck on his stick and you just can't get around it. MileHighHockey also had an interesting stat in their live game chat, that being that since the first year in Denver the Avs have scored 7 or more goals 27 times in 15 years, however that first year in Denver alone they did so 11 times.

vs. Blues : Coming into the game the Avalanche had plenty of injuries to deal with. One of them however was healed, Quincey's slight groin problem. "“I missed last game because medical wanted to make sure I was 100 percent, but I could have played if it was a playoff game, for sure, but they decided to give me a couple practices first, and get ready for today. And I feel great. I feel like I did at the start of training camp.” he said, but he was still kept out in favor of Hunwick and the Denver Post reports he wasn't too happy with the decision. The Avs started out the game with good jump and jumped on the board early with a deflection by Stastny that went in off a defender. They would add to it shortly after as Elliott would try to play the puck to Shattenkirk but not get all of it and McLeod would get his second goal in as many games as he backhanded it back between the goalie's leg. The Avs carried much of the play early but penalty problems began, but the Avalanche PK would be excellent all night with JS Giguere bailing them out when he had to. Odd call of the night by the way was on Duchene for "throwing the stick" when Stastny lost his stick and Duchene bent down and tossed it towards Stastny. St. Louis would pick up the tempo and would eventually get the tieing goal from ex-Av Stewart, but late in the second after a good pass from rookie Brad Malone to McClement, it would be the ex-Blue that would get the game winner after his attempted centering pass would go off the defensemen and puck, defense, and goalie would all go in the net just as the net was dislodged. Called a goal on the ice it went to a lengthy review but the War Room was unable to tell if the net was off before the puck crossed or not so they let the call on ice stand. Brad Malone played another great game on the fourth line with good energy and speed and made a couple great passes to teammates. He also narrowly missed his first career goal on a breakaway. The rest of the team played well also but the star of the game had to be Giguere who has played incredible hockey for the Avs making big saves and keeping the team in every game. At this point he is outplaying Varly and giving the team their best chance to win. With the win the Avs have now won six straight against the Blues and nine of the last ten. The win is also the 7th straight victory at home for the Avs, matching the Avalanche record last done in 2003.

This season the Avalanche have begun acknowledging the fans after every win by going to center ice and raising their sticks. Recently a pair of members of the Mile High Hockey site got to sit down with Landeskog and ask him some questions after being asked to take pictures at a special event where he donated some of his earnings (and a matched contribution in gear from CCM) to the Foothills Hockey Association. While those interviews can be found over on the MHH site, a couple of interesting things can be read there including how this salute to the fans got started this season. Apparantly it wasn't decided ahead of time, but rather in the "huddle" after their first win someone said "let's go thank the crowd in the middle" and they just started doing it and have continued to do so.

On Tuesday the Avalanche made their annual visit to the Childrens Hospital. This annual event is probably one of the better things anyone can do as the team as a whole takes time out of their lives to visit children who are sick and they bring smiles and happiness to many. Pictures and video of the event can be found on the Avalanche main site.

News recently reports that Patrick Roy would be open to listening to offers from the Avalanche, however the Avalanche are still sticking with Sacco for now. Roy at one time wanted both the GM and coach jobs but the club would only give him a portion of the money he wanted for both jobs. Despite Roy stating he'd entertain offers, it has also been mentioned that he has been mentioned in talks about coaching the Habs and in fact Dater had an article that he was favored for the job ... in Montreal.

Josh Kronke recently had an interview in which he basically stated that he was a bit insulted that fans didn't believe he cared about the Avalanche and that he was a hockey guy. He argued his point and even played the "Avs fans were spoiled by the early success" card, which to an extent is true, and the Lacroix health scare card. He probably didn't do himself any favors in convincing the Avalanche faithful of his words however when during a shootout against the Sharks he sat in an office finishing a contract for "Nene" of the Nuggetts to the tune of some $67 million while guys such as Duchene and O'Reilly among others aren't signed for next season nor have there been any rumors of an extention yet. The interview however at least gave fans a brief glimpse into his mind and he came out and addressed the belief that he is a basketball guy with a hockey team tagging along, but each reader of the interview will be left to their own conclusions still and seeing some action in at least getting the young guys signed would help.

With all the press that the superstars such as Crosby get when they are out it is nice to see others occassionally mentioned. http://thehockeywriters.com/is-it-time-for-colorado-avalanche-peter-mueller-to-retire/ This article did a good writeup on Mueller and his current state, but as sad as it is at 23 it pondered the question of if it is time for him to retire already do to concussions.

Peter Forsberg during the week had an interview in which he had comments leading many to believe Sweeden threw a game in the 2006 Olympics to have an easier path to the gold, which they won that year. Later in the week he stated that his comments were taken out of context and there were no games purposely lost. Both articles can be found on the Post website, with the latest at this link... http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_19596099?source=skipframe-bleacherreport.com

Also from MileHighHockey a tidbit on the Avalanche organization giving back to the community and the homeless in a unique way, or one that I have heard of before. "A group of 12 local dentists formed a group to give back to the community. KSE set them up at the Can on Saturday to help them do it. One of the club level suites was converted to a dentists' office with four or five chairs set up. The dentists offered free dental care to poverty-stricken and homeless people living in the Denver area. As we saw them lining up, I noticed that the majority of the patients were children. The dentists did not limit the work they did; if the procedure was necessary, they performed it. KSE helped fund the actual procedures, but the dentists donated their time, as well as their money as they paid all of their assistants overtime for being there."

Stats of interest for the Avalanche as of this writing (9AM 12/23):

- Ryan O'Reilly leads the Avalanche in points with 23, followed by Hejduk and Duchene with 22 each. O'Reilly also leads the entire NHL in takeaways, a catagory he was top 10 in his first two seasons, and has taken the 9th most faceoffs in the league as well (53.5% win rate).

- Landeskog shares the team +/- lead at +5 with Ryan Wilson. Landeskog also leads the team in shots and hits, catagories he also leads all rookies in. He sits in 15th in the league in hits and 25th in shots overall. Landeskog is also taking a page out of O'Reilly's playbook and is tied for 12th in the entire league in takeaways.

- Danniel Winnik continues to lead FORWARDS in ice time followed closely by Ryan O'Reilly. (He doesn't lead all Avalanche, just forwards, and 4 defensemen sit ahead of him in average ice time.) The team has 13 players averaging over 17 minutes of ice time per game right now.

- The team sits in the low 20s in the league in goals for per game, goals against per game, and penalty kill. Their power play has dropped to fourth in the league overall being horrendous at home (24th) but 1st on the road at nearly 30% efficiency. The team is top 10 in shots per game, shots against per game, and faceoff percentage.