Avs vs New Jersey Devils Sat, Jan 16th (1:00 MST)
Devils at Avalanche 01/16/10 (1pmMST)
They used to be the Colorado Rockies, before that they were the Kansas City Scouts, now they are the New Jersey Devils, and they’re coming to Denver this weekend as the top team in the Eastern Conference.
This Devils team is flat-out dangerous, and has been cracking heads since dropping their first two games of the year at home. Since that opening homestand, they’ve only lost nine games. Better yet, they have the impressive distinction of being the only team in the league that has not yet allowed 100 goals on the season. New Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur and heir-apparent Yann Danis have only allowed 94 shots into their collective net, good for a +32 rating for the team.
The Avalanche, on the other hand, have allowed 134 goals in ’09-’10. They have a paltry +4 as a team, and that only due to their outstanding goal-scoring total of 138.
And yet…
The Avalanche just knocked off the former East-leading Sabres in Buffalo. Colorado has proven to be quite the big-game challenge for any opponent.
If Craig Anderson is up to the task of matching skills with Marty “Greatest Statistical Goaltender in the History of the Game” Brodeur, then this should be a huge home W for the ‘Lanche. If Danis plays instead (Brodeur hasn’t taken a game off since December 19th), then the Avalanche should have no trouble outscoring the Devils in this nationally televised slugfest.
what a game. Anderson made some brilliant saves. When this team is on – they are FUN to watch.
Anderson is the unquestioned MVP of this team. He actually plays better in games where the shot total quickly rises into double digits in the first period. Once he’s warmed up and found his zone, he routinely stops everything but the perfect shot.