McCormick has played against him before. He had a rather infamous shift where at the end of it he came skating off and Altitude (maybe it was Fox back then) caught him yelling at Bertuzzi going off the ice, “I don’t give a fuck who you are”. If I recall there was some awkward silence by the broadcasters and then an immediate change of subject. Anyway, McCormick has always wanted a piece of Bertuzzi but Bert won’t go.

DD, the defense was a mess. Forwards were helping out so deep and so long that they just dumped the puck and shifted out. You’re right, Finger did play on the left side for a few shifts. I cannot believe that with six defensemen, Q and Co. decide they need to rotate defensemen pairings. I really, really don’t get this. The lines are laid out at the beginning that Hannan will play with Cumiskey. But two shifts in and Hannan is playing back on the left side of Finger. Hannan is getting double shifted with all of the defenensemen. It’s really interesting to me that Q will put Skrastins out on the ice for 21 minutes to lead all defensemen, he will mix and match all the other D to keep Cumiskey limited to 11 minutes of even strength ice time. Then, at critical points in the game he will rely on Cumiskey to be out there. For a young guy trying to get a feel for the NHL game I can’t say that that’s a positive development. Q is always preaching consistency but he can’t even be consistent with his pairings.

Budaj has had to steal three of the last four games because the defense in front of him is just a mess. I think all the players have solid qualities and abilities. I just don’t care for how they are being used.

If anyone is interested, watch Karlis Skrastins closely while he’s on the ice. His act is total Russian Roulette for an NHL defenseman. The most dangerous part of the ice is the back side of the net. It’s where cross ice passes guarantee goals if they are made. It’s where McCormick snuck in for his goal. Anyway, when the puck is on the other side of the ice, it’s in the defenseman’s bible that you stay positioned in front of your net and put your head on a swivel for pinching defensemen that your forwards might miss. Karlis gets mesmerized by the puck and will abandon this duty. The other thing to watch with Karlis on the ice is which side of the ice he’s on and how it effects his defensive partner. He constantly switches up sides of the ice by chasing the puck. Since he doesn’t TALK, his partners have to constantly be vigilant on how they have to reposition themselves. Watch these things and tell me you don’t feel a bit sorry for Clark or whoever else is his partner.

I think everyone played hard for the most part. I was really impressed with Hlinka and his defensive commitment during the game. I was sick to my stomach watching Wolski hover in front of the net while Hensick and Svatos battled in the corner. Really Wolski? Why not just shift off right away instead of waiting for them to lose the puck? Why waste the time?

Budaj is playing like he’s Luango on the 2002 Florida Panthers. Save % near 950 and points earned by his sheer will. He looked exhausted by that last goal. He just put on a goal tending clinic.

I’ve had a couple of people tell me that. I’m not sure that I’m 100% happy with this one either, but I was having too many issues with the last one. Stick around long enough, and I’m sure I’ll change again. Maybe the next one will be better!

I think the first time I was muttering his name was when he tried this ballet move to knock down a puck in the air. If it had worked, it would have allowed the Avs to get back into the zone. Of course, it didn’t, and he ended up chasing a 2 on 1 the other way.

For the life of me, I can’t remember the 2nd episode.

Skratch was wretched in his own end, and seemed to think that he was Hlinka with a couple of the no-look passes. Are they roomies? If so, they need to be broken up before it gets worse.

For a game featuring about half of our AHL club due to injuries, the Avs (Boots specifically) managed to steal a point. Hopefully, Leoprone’s injury woes aren’t rubbing off on the rest of the team and they can get back to full power soon.

I’m a pretty anonymous blog watcher, who reads this stuff cus he lives in Holland, and isn’t blessed with money (you know how hard it is to be a student:P).
So of course, I haven’t seen Skrastins (what I think could only be a) blunder.
Why isn’t there an affordable way of just watching avs games when one lives in Europe, without having to stay up untill 4am via sopcast.

I’ll be in anonymous mode again from now on.
Keep up the good work.