“Is this the same team?”
That’s the question my wife had after watching the Avalanche go through the motions on Sunday. The Avalanche were blanked by Marty Turco and the Dallas Stars on Sunday 3-0. They looked like a completely different team than the hustling group that came back against Dallas on Saturday. This version, facing a fired up opponent, started out flat and never turned things around. Both teams were playing for sole possession of first place in their division; obviously, only one team wanted it badly enough to try.
Injury news continues to dominate on the Avalanche front. Peter Forsberg missed the game with a groin injury. Adam Foote missed both weekend games with a hip injury. And the 3rd deadline acquisition, Ruslan Salei, suffered an eye injury after fighting Steve Ott early in the first period. Of the three, Salei’s injury seems the most severe - he’s flying back to Denver to be re-evaluated, while Forsberg and Foote may play on Tuesday in Atlanta. Colorado also lost Jordan Leopold at the same point as Salei (Steve Ott leveled Leopold into the boards, and Salei’s injury came after challenging Ott in retaliation). Leopold appears to be okay. The Avalanche were forced to play most of the game with 4 defensemen. It speaks volumes that the Stars’ announcers either didn’t mention the injuries or I didn’t hear them, yet I didn’t notice any fall off by our defensive squad.
Even if Salei’s injury is a long term injury (the fear is broken eye socket), defense is not the problem with this club. Our key forwards have been inconsistent at best, invisible at worst. The only forwards to notch more than one shot last night were Milan Hejduk, Ben Guite and Cody McLeod. Guite and McLeod were the two most consistent players last night; when your best players are a 3rd line winger and a 4th line center, you have issues. It is time for our star players to start playing like star players.
Lines
With Forsberg out, Jaroslav Hlinka returned to the lineup after 9 games as a healthy scratch. I can’t say that he had much of an impact, although really most of the Avalanche forwards were non-existent, so I don’t know that one can make a fair assessment from that one game. One thing to watch for: Wojtek Wolski was dropped from the Sakic line to the 4th line. How he earns the trip to the doghouse when everyone around him is playing just as bad is beyond the reasoning powers of my tiny brain.
Quick Hits
- A day after I complained about Sakic’s draws, he went 7 of 8 in the faceoff circle.
- In the two games played in Dallas this year, the Avalanche were outscored 9-1 [my math has been fixed] and outshot 52-37.
- Scott Hannan played 32:14 and had 5 blocks.
Next Up
The Avalanche visit the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday, one of two non-divisional games remaining on the schedule. After hosting the Oilers on Wednesday, the Avs welcome the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The rest of the way, it’s all NW teams.
Why does the recap title say the Avs scored? Are you still hung over from watching that putrid showing last night?
I ALMOST went to that game. I’m so glad I didn’t…
Well, bad as that may have been, you can’t expect a team to win every game. If you had offered a 2-1 record for the 3 games against the Ducks and Stars, then I would have taken it.
Obviously, the manner of defeat is disappointing, but I think they can bounce back. Also worrying is the injury situation, but that isn’t really anything new…
title is fixed. no idea where that “1″ came from.
I thought you were referencing 1st period shots
The good news is that they lost to the Stars, not the Canucks, Flames or Wild. It could have been worse. Well, worse in the standings, not worse on the ice. That was as bad as it gets.
I said I would be thrilled to see the Avs go 2-1 in these past 3 games, and they did. BUT, I guess I wasn’t projecting that they would come out of it with 4 more regulars, including the 3 keys to their resurgence, all out with injuries. Suddenly I’m not so thrilled.
And Dan, Hlinka is Czech for “softer than hell.”
this team’s offense is in such bad shape I don’t even know where to begin. the PP is almost unbearable to watch! these are not bad players, this is a coaching issue imo. Granato and/or Q must be held responsible for this.
And the injuries…ugh. Why did Ott not get a penalty for charging or roughing? a late hit where he left his skates? either would have worked.
“In the two games played in Dallas this year, the Avalanche were outscored 12-1 and outshot 52-37.”
Unless I’m reading this wrong, it can’t possibly be true. We didn’t lose 9-1 in the other game, did we?
Definite charge. The fact that he left his feet in order to make contact with Leopold’s head, and ended up injuring him on the play, should have made it a 5-minute major and game misconduct. But as usual, NHL refs are gutless and will rarely make the right call, especially on the home team. Seriously, when will the league get serious about protecting guys’ heads? Ott showed a complete lack of respect for the game on the play. Which is nothing new for him.
“Unless I’m reading this wrong, it can’t possibly be true. We didn’t lose 9-1 in the other game, did we?”
geez, it must be Monday or something. sorry. 6-1 was the other game. I thought I could do that difficult math in my head, but, obviously, I’m not up to the task.
There are 3 types of people in this world. Those who can count, and those who can’t.
I’ve never heard that one before. Too funny.
one other thing I neglected to mention in the recap - with the Sauer and Salei fights, the Avs now have 10 separate players with fighting majors (Foote had one with the Blue Jackets). That’s a big leap from the 3 (Lappy, Rycroft and Finger) last year.
Ah, the refs…. Where else can you have a tripping penalty (or slashing, or hooking) called at the same time as a dive ? I like it when I get to have my cake and eat it too!!