Tue. @ Oilers, Wed. @ Flames, Fri. @ Sharks, Sun. @ Canucks
Colorado Avlanche rookie Matt Duchene
To begin this week’s column I’d like to offer a shout-out to the NHL scheduling crew, who saw fit to set the Avalanche up for failure…
October 1st thru November 1st, the New Look Avalanche kicking off the next era in Colorado pro hockey. Fifteen games. Eleven on the road (73%!) Two against the Red Wings. Two against the Sharks. And a total of nine against ’08 playoff teams.
Well kiss our pucks, NHL schedulers. The Avs are on the war path now, and it’s all thanks to you.
This week’s stretch of games will undoubtedly be the toughest yet, even as good as the club must be feeling about their chances. Each of these games could be a loss, and one of them is almost guaranteed to be.
Tue, Oct 27th @ Edmonton Oilers (7:30 MST)
There are two main reasons that this should be an easy win for the Colorado Avalanche:
1)Â The Avalanche are the better team.
2) Colorado will be looking to avenge the loss of Darcy Tucker to Injured Reserve after Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu’s cheap shot resulted in a severe concussion.
Ruutu was given a game misconduct and will not take the ice against the Avalanche again until January 8th, 2010. As such (and this is really unfortunate for the Oilers) the Avalanche will be looking to play tough hockey for the next few games, as they did against Detroit on Saturday, to dispel any myths that such behavior is acceptable.
A pure speed game, as is typical of the Oilers-Avalanche matchup, favors Edmonton more because they are a team of burners with great puck-handling skills. But the Avalanche have predicated their early-season success on rough ‘n tumble defense and forechecking that wears opponents out and leads to transition chances.
With the added motivation to look like a squad of bruisers, the Avalanche will slow this game down to a crawl and prey upon the Oilers in the neutral zone.
PREDICTION:Â AVALANCHE 4, OILERS 2
Wed, Oct 28th @ Calgary Flames (7:30 MST)
Going into Detroit a week and a half ago there was not a chance that the Avalanche were going to come away with a victory. Well… the same goes for this game.
The Flames are going to challenge the Avalanche for the division lead all season long. They are a talented, deep team with great goaltending and veteran leadership throughout. Calgary will bring the game to the Avalanche early, as the Red Wings did, and the only glimmer of hope is that the Avs will muster another huge final period. This will once again depend on the young talent that seems singularly determined to turn Colorado into an offensive powerhouse. Here’s why a win in our first trip to Calgary is even remotely possible…
Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly, both 18-year-old rookies, have played extraordinarily well in an experimental call-up that could have easily led to two weeks up and the rest of the season down in the minors.  Instead, Matt & Ryan are giving the Avalanche an incredible boost and a chance to win every night.
Add to that success the continued and exciting development of young players like T.J. Galiardi, Wojtek Wolski & Paul Stastny, and you have a full-on youth movement in the Avalanche forecourt. Yet the Flames will still be the toughest out of our young season. My prediction will call for a loss, but bear this in mind…
Darcy Tucker went down, and 28-year-old Center Chris Durno is coming up. Durno has been thriving for two straight seasons in Lake Erie as a Monster, and this is his big chance to prove himself worthy of the Burgundy & Blue. If the Avs win, I’d bet money that this guy has something to do with it. Keep an eye out for #45 but…
PREDICTION:Â AVALANCHE 2, FLAMES 4
**GAME NOTE: Should the Avalanche lose by two goals, it will be the first time this season. Should the Avalanche fail to lead at any point during this game, it will be the first time this season. Losing games happens. The only thing that matters is that trends like those noted above continue immediately afterward.
Fri, Oct 30th @ San Jose Sharks (8:30 MST)
The Avalanche shocked the hockey world when they beat the Sharks in the opening game of the season on October 1st. A win at the Shark Tank four weeks later would be only slightly less shocking.
Then, the Avs won 5-2 on the strength of a Pepsi Center full of good vibes after the pre-game Joe Sakic Retirement Ceremony. This time, the Avalanche will be slogging through the back-end of a brutal road trip that has them playing three games in four days with another one two days later.
Now, the Sharks have had trouble dealing with the Avalanche for a few years, and even last season’s palpable awfulness was punctuated by a thrilling win in San Jose. We seem to match up well against this team, as their slower defensemen have trouble keeping up with our speedy forwards. But the Sharks have been scoring a lot of goals lately, and even in the best-case-scenario of a three period scorefest I don’t see this game ending as a win. We’ll call it an overtime ending and a point gained from a tough road loss.
PREDICTION:Â AVALANCHE 4, SAN JOSE 5 (OT)
Sun, Nov 1st @ Vancouver Canucks (10:00 MST)
Some time this Saturday the Avalanche are going to get together as a team and huddle around a schedule that details the remainder of their season.
They’ll see that they have to play another tough road game at Vancouver the next night. They’ll see two games in five days against the very dangerous Chicago Blackhawks. And then, inexplicably, they’ll all begin to laugh. Quietly at first, but then in great roars and guffaws. Soon the whole team, from players to staff, will be laughing uproariously.
A passing Zamboni driver will ask a trainer standing on the outskirts of the crowd, “What’s all that aboot?â€
To which the trainer will reply, “It’s only Halloween, and the worst part of our schedule is already behind us! Pauly just offered to buy a round, and our two best forwards can’t even drink yet!â€
The mirth and merriment will carry over to a very defensive-minded shootout win over the vulnerable Vancouver Canucks on November 1st, and that will wrap up the Avalanche’s first month of hockey.
PREDICTION:Â AVALANCHE 2, VANCOUVER 1 (SO)
WEEK 5 PREDICTION: Â 2-2
