Wed. vs Coyotes, Fri. vs Blackhawks, Sun. vs Oilers
- NHL 1st Star for October Craig Anderson
The first month of the season saw the Avalanche touring the far reaches of the NHL landscape. Colorado traveled to every Canadian city except Ottawa (Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary & Vancouver), winning each game except the last. They played on both coasts and in three mid-western cities, and in fifteen games played only four at home.
To be sure, the Avalanche petered out at the end of that long haul, losing games @ San Jose and @ Vancouver to wrap up their October road trip. And yet they retained the top spot in the Western Conference. This was due in large part to the stellar play of goaltender (and NHL 1st Star of the Month) Craig Anderson.
Never a number one goaltender until this season, Anderson led the league in Save Percentage and now owns the record for most October Starts by an Avalanche goaltender. He faced an incredibly high volume of shots and played without a true backup (as Peter Budaj sat out with first an injury and then the flu.) Hats off to Mr. Anderson.
Now the Avalanche have a schedule advantage and more points than the rest of the conference. Welcome to the first week of the rest of the season.
Wed, Nov 4th vs Phoenix Coyotes (7:00 MST)
Phoenix is not the pushover Coyotes of years past. They are a constant scoring threat, and virtually unbeatable in Overtime & Shootouts due to their offensive capabilities.
However, this squad still has big question marks on defense, and their goaltending is sub-par. The Avalanche prey on teams like this, because the Colorado game plan begins with solid defense and goes from there. Look for the Avs to work the Coyotes’ thin defense down early and score in spades late.
The Coyotes will score too. But back at home after another long road-trip, the Avalanche will push the action into the Phoenix end all night long, and the result will be another dubya for dem Avs.
PREDICTION: AVALANCHE 4, COYOTES 2
Fri, Nov 6th @ Chicago Blackhawks (7:00 MST)
The Chicago Blackhawks will have the pleasure this week of traveling to Phoenix on Thursday (after the Coyotes’ frustrating loss to the Avalanche on Wednesday) and to Colorado on Friday. They will have had five days off previous to those two games, having not played a game since a 3-2 victory vs Montreal on October 30th.
Some people think that lots of rest is good for hockey teams. Five days to relax, eat something greasy in downtown Chicago, and watch the Chicago Bears look really bad in a win over a team that is much, much worse (the Browns).
The reality is that hockey teams thrive on continuity, and a five-day absence from in-game competition is like hitting the reset button on the season. The Blackhawks came out flat to begin October, losing two of three before winning a couple of games in bonus time. Expect the Avalanche to jump on the ‘Hawks early and hang in late for the win.
PREDICTION: AVALANCHE 3, BLACKHAWKS 2
Sun, Nov 8th @ Edmonton Oilers (8:00 MST)
The Avalanche beat the Oilers soundly in Edmonton a week ago, and this Sunday should be no different. The Oilers have lost five of their last six games, scoring a mere three goals in those combined losses. Their only win was a shoot-out victory over the lowly (!?!?!) Detroit Red Wings, a contest that saw 10 regulation goals scored on a pair of terrible goaltenders.
The Red Wings got aging number one goaltender Chris Osgood back after that game, but the Oilers are still stuck with aging number one goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. The Edmonton defense is simply not good enough to make up for Khabibulin’s lack of speed across the crease, and the Avalanche will take advantage of that fact.
PREDICTION: AVALANCHE 5, EDMONTON 2
WEEK 6 PREDICTION: 3-0
**BONUS NEWS**
I know this happens every year, but Peter Forsberg is playing hockey again. After helping the Swedish National Team win Olympic Gold in 2006, Forsberg will again don the blue ‘n yellow for the Karjala Cup starting this Thursday.
Here’s hoping that Peter the Great gets himself into playing shape for next year’s Winter Games, because (as everybody knows) every time Peter Forsberg steps skate on competitive ice a penguin gets its wings.
