Avs Put Skate Down in Statement Win
Fri vs Predators, Sun vs Stars
Who are these Avalanche? With Milan Hejduk sidelined, a young Avs squad must redefine itself.
The Colorado Avalanche put their skate down and hard last night.
With the visiting Edmonton Oilers pumped up to put some more hurt on the division-leading ‘Lanche, it was past time for the Avs to dominate a lesser hockey team in no uncertain terms.
This was no ordinary blow-out win at home against a basement-dwelling divisional opponent. Edmonton had rocked the Avalanche in two of three meetings this year despite posting the worst record in the Western Conference. Their speed, coupled with some lucky puck rolls ‘n bounces, had stymied the Avalanche and made up for the Oilers’ awful defense & goaltending.
On this night at Pepsi Center, however, it was all Avalanche.
A 6-0 shutout of a bad team was exactly what Colorado needed after grinding out a win against the East-best Devils on Saturday. In fact, the Avalanche needed this victory every bit as much as they needed each of their four 3-2 wins over rival Calgary. Edmonton was never in contention for the division this season, but they were one of a handful of bottom-tier teams that had manhandled a surprisingly good Avalanche team. The Avalanche have made a habit of winning big games and losing little ones, and that trend had to end for Colorado to have a chance at winning the Northwest.
More than that, both Saturday day’s and Monday night’s victories were team wins in the keenest sense. Every line produced scoring opportunities, played tight defense, and outworked their counterparts.
Versus Edmonton, nobody took the night off, and the most usual suspect for off-nights against lesser teams was one of the biggest contributors. Wojtek Wolski got assists on goals two, three & four when the game was still a contested affair. He worked his butt off on defense, and spent much of the third period resting on the bench, a job well done.
Meanwhile, the Avalanche’s defeat of Calgary last week appears to have killed that team’s spirit.
I wrote last Tuesday about how the Flames looked like they were panicking in a tie game late in the third period. They had let this scrappy Avalanche team back into another contest after leading early at home, and they must have felt the icy hand of impending doom. Colorado harbored no illusions that they were winning in anything but a shootout.
So, while the Avalanche went into save-ass mode to preserve the tie, Calgary launched an awe-inspiring offensive blitz to prevent the extra period and then the shootout. Craig Anderson threw in some ninja flips (44 saves on 46 shots) and some flash-step flair, and Colorado proved that Calgary’s best wasn’t good enough for the win. That shootout loss was more than a heartbreaker for the Flames; it was a moral-killing spirit decimator.
The Flames have lost each of their four games since then, the worst a 1-9 drubbing last night at the hands of San Jose in which the Sharks scored three goals in each period. Calgary was a Cup contender a few weeks ago. Now they look like a shell of the team that sported the best defense in the West in the first half of the season.
The Avalanche may lead the division, and they may have solved the Flames & Oilers, but they still have to hold off the charging Canucks. Vancouver has dominated the Avalanche in three of four meetings this season, and the Avalanche may need to win both of the remaining home-and-away matchups against the ‘Nucks to grab the Northwest Division crown.
For now, the Avalanche’s front-loaded schedule continues to pay dividends, as Colorado prepares for another light workload this week versus Nashville & Dallas.
Fri, Jan 22nd vs Nashville Predators (7:00 MST)
PREDICTION: AVALANCHE 4, PREDATORS 2
Sun, Jan 24th vs Dallas Stars (6:00 MST)
PREDICTION: AVALANCHE 5, STARS 3
WEEK 17 PREDICTION: 2-0
**Bonus Coverage**
The Milan Effect
At times this season, the Colorado offense has been pushed, pulled & dragged willfully along by Milan Hejduk. He has been alternately a catalyzer, a game-changer, and a big finisher. Along with Captain Adam Foote, Hejduk has been the beating heart of this Avalanche hockey team.
So, after Milan went under for arthroscopic knee surgery, there had to have been be a tense moment in the Colorado locker room wherein this squad re-committed itself to team play as its means to victory.
The Baby Avs had been coddled along at times this season, sometimes disappearing altogether under the pressure of NHL play. But the effect of Milan’s 2-4 week exit from the ice was a system-wide effort by the Avalanche to play stronger, smoother hockey; to play better in the absence of a leader. Monday night’s win was reaffirming. The Youth Movement that has defined the ’09-’10 Avalanche was in fully dominant display.
Time will tell whether the Avalanche can win consistently without Milan, but last night’s big win over Edmonton at home showed that they are one helluva force in this league… even without The Duke.
