In a move that echoes the end of the Sakic era in Denver, Adam Foote is signing a new contract, committing to just one season at a time with the Colorado Avalanche. The nearly 39-year old defenseman and team captain will be entering his 19th season in the NHL – not bad for a guy who plays with the physical tenacity that he does. The scorers – Sakic and the like – take less physical punishment and often have careers that last quite a long time, if they can keep the skills up. Not that Sakic wasn’t tough – but Foote plays with a physical vendetta against everyone. You try to rough up the star (first Sakic, now Duchene), you’re liable to have Adam Foote come at you and make you pay. That he plays with that style and has maintained such longevity is no small feat.

Foote’s deal comes with a relatively low base salary of $1 million, but is said to be laden with incentives to bring him closer to the 3.25 million he earned this past season with the Avs, a season where he logged minutes in 67 of the 82 games.

Articles similar to this:

• March 31, 2010 -- Anderson, Avalanche fall short as Calgary creeps closer (0)
  What it comes down to, is that the Avalanche need someb...
• January 12, 2010 -- Team Ninja… go! (0)
  There’s something extraordinary about this Avalanche ho...
• April 17, 2010 -- Colorado Avalanche @ San Jose Sharks Game 2 recap (1)
  This one is a game to think about and then forget. Eve...

When last I wrote I said: “It will take a perfect game or a crushing comeback to save the Avalanche at this point.”  Well 48 hours and 51 saves later Craig Anderson delivered that perfect game and now the Avalanche have a good chance to win the series.  I’m at about 55% in favor of the Avalanche right now.  I would need another strong performance from Anderson to feel really good about our odds.

The penalty kill was key too.  Colorado’s special teams defense killed 7 penalties.  That being said, 7 penalties is about 5 penalties too many to feel good about winning a game against the Sharks.  Staying out of the box is better than killing penalties.

As far as the Sharks contribution, it must be tough to have three game-winning goals and be down 2-1 in the series.  I find myself wondering if the Sharks are playing too hard; over-skating, over-thinking.  That might have been their problem all along.  They play well when it doesn’t matter, then get amped up for the playoffs and change what they did to get there.  (Shhh… don’t tell San Jose.)

1^st Period

19:25 Right off the faceoff Paul Stastny lets his stick get away from him.  2:00 Penalty High Sticking So much for staying out of the box.

18:48 Apparently Karma had to go through a rebalancing after the Dan Boyle own-goal.  Boyle rips from the right point PP Goal Sharks 1-0. Traffic in front, Andy couldn’t see.

13:35 The Avalanche are playing sooooo cautiously after the goal.  They aren’t sending anybody down the ice out of the defensive zone, and they’re keeping the third attacker near the blue line.  They’re trying to work in on their few offensive pressures rather than the dump and chase they are so good at.  And worst of all, 0 shots on goal.

10:41 The Avalanche’s first good pressure of the game is set up by a third line dump and chase.  Cody McLeod won a crucial board battle to earn a wrap-around attempt.  Couldn’t beat Evgeni Nabokov.

7:09 The third and fourth lines for the Avalanche are getting a lot of playing time in first period.  McLeod’s line has had the best play so far for the Avalanche.  Only a pair of shots, but they are spending more time in San Jose’s zone than vice versa.

2:54 The Avalanche seem to have found their legs finally.  They’re skating much harder now and are finally getting some good pressures.  Catching up in shots too.

1:55 Adam Foote skates into Marc-Edouard Vlasic during an Avalanche pressure in which Matt Duchene was skating circles (literally) around the Sharks and gets hit with a penalty.  2:00 Penalty Interference It’s not just the high number of penalties… they are bad penalties too.

End Period Sharks 1-0

The Avalanche penalty kill appears to be back and fiercer than ever after the first penalty.  The Avalanche are meeting the Sharks at the line and sending the puck down the ice nearly every attempted work in and outskating the Sharks on the dumps.  They also seem to have found some energy and look a lot more in the game than in the first 10 minutes.   5 more seconds for a kill.

The biggest deference in the game is the San Jose stick handling has been vastly superior to Colorado’s.  They do seem to have settled down after the goal and are playing more comfortably.

2^nd Period

19:55 Avalanche win the face off.  Kill

16:37 The Avalanche’s fourth line plays hard in the Neutral Zone to earn a pressure.  On a shot from the point Rob Blake checks Kyle Quincey to the ice 2:00 Penalty Interference Hard skating and throwing the puck on net pays dividends for the fourth line.

16:34 Stastny wins the faceoff to John Michael Liles on the left point, shot, tipped by Stas PP Goal Tied 1-1 Faceoffs matter.  Just ask the number one faceoff club in the league (Sharks).

15:29 First work in after the Goal, Joe Pavelski trips Marek Svatos coming into the zone.  2:00 Penalty Tripping. Svatos faked a long shot moving over the blue line which got Pavelski down on the ice and Pavelski just slid through Marek’s legs.

13:29 The Avalanche put together a good PP but Nabokov was brilliant.  Avalanche had 1 great chance on a pass in front to a knifing Cody Hendricks and a pair of open shots from the circles but Nabokov could not be solved.  Kill.

9:34 After the goal and penalties the game has settled back down to what it was.  The Avalanche are outskating the Sharks on the dump and chase and struggling with the work in.  The only change is the Avalanche are all of a sudden winning in the Neutral Zone.  When San Jose works it in the Avalanche zone they can keep it there and earn a shot or two regularly but they have been unable to get the puck in with consistency.

8:12 Devin Setoguchi misses the net by 4 feet on a 2 on 1.  Maybe they really are cursed.

5:40 The fourth line earns a pretty good little scoring chance after Darcy Tucker lays out Jason Demers with a brutal hit.  I think what Joe Sacco may be thinking is have the 3^rd and 4^th line just harass and frustrate and beat up San Jose and when they have nothing left send in the top lines.  After the play, matching minors for Jamie MiGinn and Stephane Yelle.  2:00 4 on 4 Roughing, Roughing.

3:40 Kind of a boring four on four.  Just skating and chasing the puck.  Full Strength.

0:52 Bad news.  The Sharks have figured out the Avalanche Neutral Zone defense and have once again started peppering Andy.  Avalanche look a little pooped.  Don’t know why, the top lines have been sitting on the bench so much.

End Period Tied 1-1

Apart from the final 4 minutes of the period the Avalanche looked like the better club the entire way through.  My favorite part of the period (other than the goal) was not having to go on the penalty kill once.

But the Sharks have found new legs at least for now.  They’re working it in effortlessly.  Now I know Andy has been the man before (see: April 18, 2010), but the game looked much more winnable when the Avalanche were spending most of their time in front of Nabokov.

3^rd Period

17:20 Both teams are playing it very cautiously to open the period.  They’re both allowing the work-in and then stack the crease to absorb bad shots.  Avalanche are Hitting though.

14:38 The Sharks are making use of one of their favorite strategies (and mine if you have the size and strength to pull it off).  They are putting the puck down into the corner and trying to muscle it in along the base line.  So far unsuccessfully.

10:43 I think what I am seeing right now is “Nobody make a mistake, in fact, nobody take a chance” hockey.  If both coaches and captains agree could we just go to overtime now, because with a cautious as the teams a playing, next goal is going to win anyway.  In all seriousness I don’t expect either team to play this way for much longer.  The pressure will get to somebody and a chance will be taken.

8:55 It gets to the Avalanche first.  They abandon their defense and almost give up an awful goal.  Andy had to be paying attention and on his game, but he made the save.

7:12 This fourth line for the Avalanche has really impressed me tonight.  Not many shots but they’ve caused loads of trouble.

6:27 Andy makes another huge save on Patrick Marleau moving right to left on a cross-ice pass.

6:05 After a freeze by Andy, Quincey and Marleau get matching minors for pushing and shoving.     2:00 4 on 4 Roughing, Roughing Either team could find their legs and find the open ice favorable.

4:05 Once again, a lot of chasing the puck.  Full Strength.

2:01  Avalanche are turning up the heat to close the period.  They’re skating hard.  The third line had another great shift with a shot and a pair of hits.

End Period Tied 1-1

That was easily the most boring period of the series so far.  The Sharks’ only chances to score came on Avalanche mistakes, and the Avalanche only really got good chances after they started skating hard and clogging the Neutral Zone towards the end.

I can’t see the Sharks changing their strategy.  They are on the road and under an enormous amount of pressure and have made mistakes in two game so far this series.  The Avalanche will probably ratchet it up in the first OT in hopes of taking a commanding lead in the series.

OT

18:43 The Sharks open with a flurry of shots.  I guess I was wrong about them hanging back.

15:04  The Avalanche follow with a flurry of their own.  The Sharks’ gambit has cost them a few chances, the most recent was from a Christ Stewart work-in drop pass to T. J. Galiardi.

13:54 Andy just made his 40^th save and pretty much every save in the OT has been on a good shot.  The Sharks are testing him.

11:18 San Jose just got caught in a long shift and committed icing; they were forced to call a time out.  A faceoff win here would be huge.  (San Jose wins the face off)

9:36 On a work-in up the middle, Doug Murray moves the puck in and draws two Avalanche defenders to him.  The puck gets tipped to the left and Pavelski collects it, wrist shot through traffic, top shelf glove side.  Goal Sharks 2-1 Game Over Perfect shot.

End Game Shark 2-1

This game could have gone either way and the Sharks just got the last break.  Avalanche hung tough and their reward will be the daunting task of winning 2 of 3 with 2 on the road.

Andy played well, and this game can’t be hung on his neck.  Even the last shot he really had no chance to save.  No, I put this loss on the slow play in the beginning of the third period.  The Avalanche were playing better hockey when they were forcing the issue.

This series really could go either way but I’m leaning toward San Jose around 66%.  I think the Avalanche win this series 1 in 3 times.  Finding a way to get the offense and the defense going at the same time seems to be the largest obstacle for Colorado right now.

Articles similar to this:

• April 17, 2010 -- Colorado Avalanche @ San Jose Sharks Game 2 recap (1)
  This one is a game to think about and then forget. Eve...
• April 17, 2010 -- Avalanche let Game 2 slip in OT scorefest (0)
  The baby Avalanche grew playoff brass in San Jose, taki...
• April 15, 2010 -- Avalanche upset Sharks to steal home ice advantage (2)
  The Avalanche blocked shots, scrapped mightily for puck...

So that brings up a question, one that I fear is impossible to answer – who had the most impressive performance this weekend? Just for fairness, I’ll put in Carmelo’s 42 against Utah, but we all know that pales to the greatness we saw on the diamond and on the ice.

Articles similar to this:

• April 17, 2010 -- Ubaldo Jimenez no-hits Braves, first gem in Rockies history (0)
  On a night when the Rockies were recovering from two of...
• May 6, 2010 -- Dodgers next after Rockies crack Padres in 12th (0)
  The win closed out a 2-1 series clinch for Colorado, as...
• May 4, 2010 -- Rockies’ Ubaldo maintains dominance on the road (0)
  Mark my words, these Rockies are ready to explode. And...

The Colorado Avalanche stole Game 1 in San Jose on a Chris Stewart shot that deflected off Sharks defenseman Rob Blake’s skate with 49.3 seconds left in the final period.

Game 2’s scoring began on a high, arcing bounce shot credited to Avalanche defender Kyle Cumiskey just over a minute in.  The Avalanche would go on to lose in Overtime, but San Jose never led until that sudden death game-winner.

Then we have Sunday night’s Game 3.

Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson stopped all 50 shots faced in the first three periods of play.  Andy would only need to withstand one more shot in Overtime before a bizarre goal credited to the poke-checking stick of Avalanche center Ryan O’Reilly ended the game.  Colorado scraped by with a 1-0 win for a 2-1 series lead over San Jose.

It was O’Reilly’s first postseason goal in a stellar rookie season, but the force of the ‘shot’ came from San Jose defenseman Dan Boyle.  Boyle attempted a clear around the end boards behind Sharks’ goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.  Working from the side boards to Nabokov’s right, Boyle tried to throw the puck around behind his own net to clear the zone.  O’Reilly, who had chased a TJ Galiardi dump into the Sharks’ zone, got a sliver of his stick on either Boyle’s stick, the puck, or both.  The puck sailed hard behind the bend in Nabokov’s right knee, the only place his leg pad was not set firmly against the post.

O’Reilly looked to the Pepsi Center’s vaulted ceiling, threw up his hands, and dropped his eyes back to ice-level in time to get mobbed by Avalanche teammates.

But the real story of the game was Craig Anderson.

Anderson’s performance on Sunday mirrored cross-town counterpart Ubaldo Jimenez’ no-hitter for the Colorado Rockies in Atlanta on Saturday.  Both men play the highest stress positions in their respective sport, and both tossed up shutout gems this weekend.

Craig stopped 8 shots in the 1^st, when the Avalanche were taking the play at the Sharks hard.  Periods 2 & 3 were all San Jose, though, and Anderson had to turn away 21 shots in each of the final two frames.  The Sharks came at Andy from every direction, using every trick in their extensive, possession-heavy book of attacks.  Anderson stopped 51 of 51 on the game before O’Reilly’s game-winning goal at 0:51 of the extra period.

When all was said and done, the rink clear except for an Altitude Sports reporter, Craig skated back onto the ice to accept his 1^st Star nod.  Instead of an interview, we got a solid minute of standing ovation as the best postseason goaltender to lock down the Pepsi Center since Avalanche legend Patrick Roy stood awkwardly, an enormous grin stretched across his face.

For those who have not had the pleasure of watching Andy work this season, Craig Anderson has arrived.

And for the Avalanche faithful who watched Andy carry this team from the season’s opener versus these Sharks at Pepsi Center (a 5-2 win) all the way to a playoff birth, through two epic games in San Jose, and back to Pepsi Center for a crucial Game 3 win, Craig Anderson has come full circle.

A career backup before coming to Colorado, Craig Anderson is a recognized hero at last.

Articles similar to this:

• April 21, 2010 -- San Jose Sharks @ Colorado Avalanche Game 4 recap (1)
  This series really could go either way but I’m leaning ...
• April 17, 2010 -- Colorado Avalanche @ San Jose Sharks Game 2 recap (1)
  This one is a game to think about and then forget. Eve...
• April 17, 2010 -- Avalanche let Game 2 slip in OT scorefest (0)
  The baby Avalanche grew playoff brass in San Jose, taki...

I must admit I only saw the final ten minutes of the Avs first playoff game as I was at the Rockies games that went through 10 innings.  From what I saw the game was very fast and San Jose looked tired.

A quick perusal of the stats and I saw it was a pretty clean game with each team only committing three penalties.  I do not expect this to be the same tonight.  If the Avs skated the Sharks around until they were out of juice in game one, I think the Sharks are going to try to beat up the Avs tonight.  The Avs being who they are (7^th in the league in fighting) won’t stand for it, and somewhere in the middle someone is going to the box.

Of course, the refs may just swallow their whistle today which would benefit the Avs.  The Avs win this game if they stay out of the penalty box and when they have the misfortune of landing there, they must kill penalties.  Not the most original opinion, but it is the right way to look at this series.

1^st Period.

Right out the gate the Avs are the beneficiaries of a bad goal.

A squeaker by Milan Hejduk that Evgeni Nabokov got a piece of with his glove hand (and should have caught) that just slipped through.  Goal 1-0 Avalanche. I find myself wondering if Nabokov is the new Turco.  Lights-out good from October 1^st to April 10^th and then disappears without actually leaving the ice.

Well it looks like I might be right about the Sharks making the game physical.  Joe Pavelski is charge with interference on Darcy Tucker on a dump and chase.  2:00 Penalty Interference. Pavelski didn’t even attempt to even find the puck… he just went straight for Tucker.

The Avs get a couple of decent shots off on the PP, but none that had a good chance of scoring.  The Sharks are clogging the middle with two and pursuing the puck with two it keep the Avs off balance and draws a really stupid holding call from Kyle Cuminski on Torrey Mitchell.  Kill.  2:00 Penalty Holding

The ensuing PK is spent chasing the puck back and forth across the ice with no shots and sloppy offense on both sides.  But the San Jose PP showed they intend to cause confusion with quick puck movement along the blue line; earned them two good shots.  Fortunately, Craig Anderson came to play, and makes good saves on both. Kill.

On a pass ahead to a work-in (or at least what looked like that and really turned out to be a dump and chase) the pass ahead goes right by Logan Couture and Adam Foote dumps him.  2:00 Penalty Interference. It looked to me like Couture touched the puck until the replay.  I can see why Foote dumped him.

The Avs adjust to the tactics of San Jose very well on this Penalty Kill and most of the time is spent outside the Avs zone.  Kill. That’s exactly what the Avs need in order to win the series.  Gaps would open and then close right before the puck would be passed through.

The Avs are getting some good minutes out of their harassment lines.  Cody McCloud’s line is spending most of their shift time causing trouble in the San Jose zone.

Joe Sacco gets unlucky and calls a line change right before a deflected pucks find its way into the Avs’ bench area.  2:00 Penalty Too Many Men. The Avs players and coaching staff need to focus and stay out of the box.  San Jose’s offense doesn’t need any more chances.

San Jose has changed its PP strategy, now they’re playing hard along the end boards and poaching the back side of the net.  It produces a great scoring chance for Dany Heatley to squander by hitting the cross bar of a wide-open net from eight feet.  The Shark keep the fight alive, though, and on the next pressure Manny Malhotra takes a rebound and lifts it over Anderson’s glove side shoulder from close range.  PP Goal Tied 1-1. The Avs Penalty Kill looked great until that backside poacher made a perfect shot.

The Sharks close the period playing keep away, apparently content to go into intermission tied at 1.

End Period Tied 1-1

The Avs lose focus one too many times and it burns them.  This series hinges on the Avs Penalty Kill vs San Jose’s Power Play.  The Avs will have a much harder time winning if they keep taking penalties.

All in all, the Avalanche look like they are playing the better brand of hockey, but the Sharks are in control of the pace (maybe having a quarter of the period to play man advantage has something to do with that).  If the Avs can start forcing the issue a little better and everything else remains the same, all signs point to a 4-2/5-2 victory for the Avalanche.

2^nd Period

Chris Stewart will not be denied.  Right out of the gate, a decent rush by San Jose ends disastrously.  Andy tracts down the puck in the slot and somehow everyone on San Jose forgets about Colorado’s most dynamic player.  Andy to Stewart, Stewart breakaway down the left slot, stick fake, wrist shot, five hole Goal 2-1 Avalanche. It doesn’t get any easier.

San Jose comes right back with some really good puck movement to get Rob Blake open in the left side circle, wrist shot over Andy’s glove side shoulder. Goal Tied 2-2. Debatable whether Andy should have stopped it.  What is not debatable is whether it was a perfect shot.

Avs turn to come back, Matt Duchene and Hejduk on the work-in from the left side.  Once again it’s all set up by bad defense on San Jose’s part.   Two defenders both check Duchene, easy pass across to Hejduk, and when Hejduk is alone in front of a goaltender he doesn’t miss much.  Wrist shot glove side Goal 3-2 Avalanche. Three goals before the first commercial break of the second period.

Sloppy play by the top line after a face off next to Anderson.  Lazy skating by an Avs defender lets Ryane Clowe skate around the back of the net and toss the puck out in front for Devin Setoguchi crashing the net.   Goal Tied 3-3. The top line hung Andy out to dry there.

Paul Stastny just cross checked Jason Demers from behind on a dump and chase.  2:00 Penalty Cross Checking. The Sharks had better numbers but the puck was in the corner and they were a good 5 seconds away from getting into position for a goal.  Bad penalty.

The Avs via some great blue line defense spend a considerable amount of the first 1:30 of the penalty kill in San Jose’s zone, and then in the final 10 second Anderson makes what could turn out to be save of the game on Setoguchi in the crease.  Kill. The Avs are showing some fight after the bad play to let the Sharks back in.

Rob Blake trying to break up a play on the left side of Nabokov puts Duchene into the wall with a knee to the thigh.  2:00 Minutes Kneeing. It could have been tripping or boarding too, but it was an obvious penalty of some type

The Avs tried to do what they are good at on the PP, dump and chase, and once they’re set up, work it down low and throw it on net from the side.  But nothing works on the PP, every bounce goes San Jose’s way.  Kill.

Brandon Yip on the left side take a Duchene rebound and skates in, hard wrist shot, forcing the puck in a narrow hole on the stick side on Nabokov.  Goal Avalanche 4-3. Just a gritty Muck goal.  The Avs will take it.

A lucky bounce off the boards puts the puck in the hands of Jed Ortmeyer from twenty feet in the slot.  Wrist shot easy save for Andy.  When Andy went to cover, Scott Nichol drove his stick just underneath Andy to tap it in.  Goal Tied 4-4. The Sharks even it with a muck goal of their own.

End Period Tied 4-4

Credit the first 4 goals of the period to defensive mistakes and the final two to garbage men doing their jobs.  Credit both the Avs and Sharks for having short memories and getting back to work after mistakes.

The play was much closer this period in both control of tempo and general game play.  I now think it’s anybody’s game.

To win this game, the Avalanche must avoid the Penalty Box and have to fix the defensive mistakes.  Just keep in mind the Avs shouldn’t even be here and the Sharks have everything to prove.  The pressure is all on the Sharks. Smart, solid play should win out.

3^rd Period

The Period opens with some hard skating by San Jose and some good, smart play from the Avs.  The Sharks are clearing trying to out-work the Avs and the Avs are letting the Shark wear themselves out.

A Neutral Zone take away by Ryan Wilson gives the puck to Stastny on the work-in with Stewart.  The Sharks were entirely out of position to deal with this.  Stastny cross-ice to Stewie, wrist shot along the ice to the far side Goal 5-4 Avalanche.

Coming across the Neutral Zone on the first drive after the goal, Ryan O’Rielly gets tangled up with Couture and is whistle for tripping 2:00 Penalty Tripping. Just one of those unlucky moments and now the Avs have to kill off another.

The AVs one a pair of board battles for clears early on to kill off most of the Power Play.  And then the new possible save of the game, a jam in on Andy’s glove side so close a few Sharks raise their hands in victory and the play is reviewed.  The puck may even have gone in through the narrowest of nooks, but no conclusive video evidence.  Kill

Immediately following the Kill, the Sharks get a great rush with numbers and position, but on the finish Setoguchi bowls over Andy on the way to the goal  2:00 Penalty Goal Tender Interference. It was close… kinda feel like the Shark got the shaft there.

1:20 into the PP, T. J. Galiardi beats Blake down the left side on a work in pass and Blake has no choice but to check him, 2:00 Penalty Interference. 40 Seconds of 5 on 3 coming.

The Avs 5 on 3 is pathetic; 0 shots, 2 blocked shots.  Bad puck movement, bad shot selection.  Kill. The remainder of the PP isn’t much better, the Shark are stacking the line and the only option is the dump and chase.  The Shark outskated every Avalanche dump and Chase. Kill. The Sharks play big in a big moment and keep themselves in the game.

Five and half minutes left and the Avs have stepped up the energy.  The Sharks don’t look quite pooped yet, but with a goal lead and the game close to its end no reason not to.  This game is Andy’s to win if he can throw up the wall.

Less than a minute later and the Avs have turned the slot into a mess of bodies.  Won’t help Andy see, but not a lot will get though.  Galiardi and Dan Boyle get into it a little after the play.

Brandon Yip on a dump and chase over skates the puck turns around and slashes Setoguchi.  2:00 Penalty Slashing This could be a blessing in disguise.  Sure a success here on the PP put the game in jeopardy, but this is pretty much Last Chance Charlie for the Sharks.  It’s tough to see them finding any confidence to score later if they fail here.

The Avs defense comes up big.  The Sharks got off three shots, two long ones Andy saw all the way and a slow moving puck in front that Andy turned away.  Kill. The Sharks will use a timeout and pull the goalie next.  But this looks like another good year followed by a bad playoffs for the Sharks.

A defensive zone turnover gives the Sharks numbers coming across left to right.  Heatley finds Joe Thornton alone in the slot, wrist shot stick side, save, rebound to Pavelski Goal Tied 5-5. One lapse in focus on a clear and now the game is up for grabs in overtime.

End Period Tied 5-5

Once again the Avs played the better brand of hockey in the period but a late mistake leaves them in a tie.   I feel like the Avs should win this game, but now everything can go wrong on one play.  I suppose I was premature in declaring the Sharks as fish food.  Props to them, they came back every time and even got a vengeance late goal. But no coming back from the next one.

Obviously special teams will want to be avoided by both teams.  Now defensive play becomes critical.  The Avs have the advantage here.  I expect both teams to come out cautiously to see what the other will do.  This also favors the Avs since the Sharks figure to be more worn with the hard skating all game.  The Sharks have the momentum and the crowd.

Good game though.

OT

So much for a slow cautious start. Both teams are flying around trying to end this thing quick.

After a furious opening for both teams, Foote is whistled for Interference. (I looked at the replay and didn’t see a penalty on either player, the contact was incidental).  2:00 Penalty Interference. Bad penalties in these situations can really cause trouble.

Another defensive zone turnover, give the puck to Clowe who skates to the left circle, turns and fires, tip-in by Setoguchi.  PP Goal Sharks 6-5. Game Over.

End Game 6-5 Sharks, Series Tied 1-1

The Sharks lead the game for exactly 0 seconds but that’s all they needed.  The Avs defense hung Andy out to die on 4 of the 6 goals.  Factor in the Sacco penalty and this game could easily be a 5-1 rout.

This one is a game to think about and then forget.  Every time the Avs had a chance to put the game out of reach they made a mental mistake and let the Sharks back in.  More important is the way the Sharks won… the constant comebacks will give them confidence in future games.  I think that the Avs just lost this series.  It will take a perfect game or a crushing comeback to save the Avs at this point.

Articles similar to this:

• April 21, 2010 -- San Jose Sharks @ Colorado Avalanche Game 4 recap (1)
  This series really could go either way but I’m leaning ...
• April 17, 2010 -- Avalanche let Game 2 slip in OT scorefest (0)
  The baby Avalanche grew playoff brass in San Jose, taki...
• March 28, 2010 -- Avalanche battle hard at Sharks, come up empty to finish road swing (0)
  Devin Setoguchi scored the deciding goal for the Sharks...

The Colorado Avalanche were 0:32 away from taking a 2-0 series lead back to Denver when San Jose’s Joe Pavelski tied the game at 5.  Devin Setoguchi would give the Sharks their first lead of the night with the Overtime winner 5:22 into the extra period.

Everything that happened before that game-tying goal late, late, late in the 3^rd Period defied any kind of hockey sense.

The San Jose Sharks, masters of defense in the regular season, allowed 5 Avalanche goals on 22 shots.  The Colorado Avalanche, whose young forwards struggled for much of the year in their own end, fought back the rolling tide of big, physical Sharks attackers with a grit and toughness that was shocking given their lack of playoff experience.

Craig Anderson, who was playing in his second postseason tilt, faced 45 shots before San Jose scored that fateful 5^th goal.  Evgeni Nabokov, who has played in 66 Stanly Cup Playoff games, had a dismal .773 save percentage on the night.  As is often the case in the playoffs, the goaltenders reveal the rudiments of the plotline.

Digging deeper, we see an Avalanche squad whose rookies are outplaying the Sharks’ seasoned playoff veterans.

Chris Stewart, who played in only a handful of games last season, netted the first and last goals for the Avalanche.  He’s not a rookie by strict definitions, but has played less than a regular season’s worth of games.  In the postseason, he’s playing at a championship level.  Stewie also scored the game-winner with 49.3 seconds left in Wednesday’s Avalanche win.

True rookie Brandon Yip had a goal and two assists for Colorado, spending much of his ice time banging with the hefty Sharks along the boards.  His goal came on a slamming put-back late in a 2^nd Period that saw 3 tallies for each team.  Fellow rookie Matty Duchene had assists on consecutive goals in that period, his second the only helper on Yip’s score.

Rookie TJ Galiardi pestered San Jose all night long through 22:44 of ice time.  Galiardi was the biggest player on the ice Friday night, his physical presence often the only thing stopping San Jose from skating freely in the Avalanche zone.  TJ was the thorn in the Sharks’ side, and his numerous cuts and bruises from the first two games of this series tell the story of a 1^st year player getting under the skin of one of the most experienced teams in this league.

There are a lot of ways to look at this loss.  Colorado certainly choked up a shoulda-been win in San Jose.  This young team finally bent under the constant pressure that these Sharks level against even the best defensive teams.

But the Avalanche matched these Cup-favorites stride-for-stride two games solid.

Colorado took the lead in Game 2 in one of the most hostile environments in hockey, and they didn’t relinquish it until the 66^th minute.  For a young team that fought injuries all season in one of the toughest division in the league and still made the playoffs, this game was more than a moral victory.

The baby Avalanche grew playoff brass in San Jose, taking the big boys to task and stealing home ice from the playoff-challenged Sharks.

Now the series heads back to Pepsi Center.  The house that Joe built.  The land of Roy.  Peter’s playground.  The Can has a history that San Jose can only dream of… Championship history.

And now Colorado has the privilege of watching a new generation of Avalanche take playoff ice in Denver.  Can they defend their home rink against the Sharks’ onslaught?  Can’t wait to find out.

See a full recap of Game 2 here

Articles similar to this:

• April 21, 2010 -- San Jose Sharks @ Colorado Avalanche Game 4 recap (1)
  This series really could go either way but I’m leaning ...
• April 17, 2010 -- Colorado Avalanche @ San Jose Sharks Game 2 recap (1)
  This one is a game to think about and then forget. Eve...
• April 15, 2010 -- Avalanche upset Sharks to steal home ice advantage (2)
  The Avalanche blocked shots, scrapped mightily for puck...

The San Jose Sharks have lost the opening game of their last 4 playoff series, each time on home ice.  This time it was the Colorado Avalanche destroying a full regular season’s worth of San Jose’s work in a single night.

See the Series Preview and details on the Sharks’ playoff woes

Colorado’s Chris Stewart launched a shot off San Jose Defender Rob Blake’s left skate with 49.3 seconds remaining in the 3^rd Period to send the Sharks faithful streaming for the exits.  Stewie’s goal capped a 2-1 road victory for the Avalanche in a game they entered as decided underdogs.  Colorado suffered a series of injuries to core forwards throughout the season, and the result was a decent from #1 in the West to #8.

Still, the 8^th spot is good enough for a birth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and San Jose’s epic postseason struggles prove that the competition is wide open in hockey’s second season.  The Avalanche went from worst in the West in ’08-’09 to a playoff team in ’09-’10 to an opening-game victory in San Jose Wednesday night.  Better yet, the Avs’ victory was no fluke; they played the Sharks even throughout the game.

San Jose came out strong to open the 1^st period, logging 7 quick shots, 6 of those coming on a Power Play that started 0:28 in.

Fresh off the Penalty Kill, Colorado opened up, taking the next 6 shots of the game.  The slugfest had begun.

That 1^st Period was a very tradition Cup Playoff contest, with neither team able to score.  The momentum simply swung back and forth, with both goaltenders making outstanding saves in the clutch.

Then, with 12:38 gone in the 2^nd Period, Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles broke the ice with a laser from the blue-line to the top right corner of the San Jose net.  Liles was the subject of trade rumors prior to the trade deadline, but has been redeeming himself ever since.

On the goal-scoring play, Liles moved right to left across the blue-line with a San Jose defender closing on the play.  John-Michael wound up and shot across his body in an amazingly graceful, powerful & athletic movement.  The shot was partially screened, and Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov saw the puck too late to stop it.  Avalanche lead 1-0.

Colorado dominated the majority of that 2^nd Period with a tenacity that had been missing since the halfway point in the regular season.

Here’s my theory on why the Avalanche saved their A-Game for the playoffs…

The Avs suffered a major spat of injuries around the middle of the season, and suddenly Colorado stopped diving into corners for loose pucks.  They backed off high in the defensive zone instead of charging and blocking shots with their bodies.  In short, Coach Joe Sacco was not interested in losing the most ice-time in the league to injury.  (As it was, the Avs finished 2^nd to Edmonton in that dubious category.)

Then, like flipping a switch, Colorado took the game to the Sharks.

The Avalanche blocked shots, scrapped mightily for pucks, matched the physical Sharks hit-for-hit all game long, and rolled their 3^rd & 4^th lines with the same regularity as their 1^st & 2^nd lines, especially in the first half of the game.  Only 4 of 18 Colorado players failed to log a shot through this total team effort.

The result was Colorado beating San Jose at their own game, and throwing in a healthy dose of youthful Neutral Zone speed in the 2^nd Period to really set the Sharks back on their heals.  But San Jose would not go quietly…

With 12:00 left in the game, the Sharks’ Ryan Clowe put an ugly deflection shot past Craig Anderson to tie the game at 1-1.

That goal, which navigated three bodies worth of traffic in front of Anderson on its way to the net, was the only shot on the night that Andy couldn’t stop.

After a solid month of questionable goaltending, the real Craig Anderson stood tall his first playoff game.  Craig looked liked the goaltender that sparked this young Avalanche team to the top of the West a month into the season, and he only had to face 25 shots.  That is well below his 30+ shot average from the regular season.  Anderson looked fresh late in the game as a result of tenacious defense and shot-blocking by Colorado defenders.

Return now to Chris Stewart’s game-winning goal with under a minute to play.

We have to remember that Rob Blake knocked the Avalanche’s top late-season forward, Peter Mueller, out of the last week and at least the first two games of this series with a dirty blind-side hit that resulted in a concussion.  And so, it was only fitting that Stewart’s bad-angle shot (Stewie specializes in these) would carom off of Blake’s skate and past the San Jose netminder for the deciding goal.

Rob was brought in to shore up the San Jose defense, but the aging blue-liner only slows them down.  A statue in front of the net, Blake never moved as Stewart skated around the net and unleashed the game-winner.  Rob Blake posted up outside the crease, a relic of a bygone era of hockey, and the young Avalanche exposed the disadvantage of a big, veteran defender with limited movement in his own zone.

And with that, San Jose’s home-ice advantage in this series evaporated into the thick California air.  Game 2 is Friday night in the Shark Tank at 8:30 pm MST.

Articles similar to this:

• April 21, 2010 -- San Jose Sharks @ Colorado Avalanche Game 4 recap (1)
  This series really could go either way but I’m leaning ...
• April 17, 2010 -- Avalanche let Game 2 slip in OT scorefest (0)
  The baby Avalanche grew playoff brass in San Jose, taki...
• April 12, 2010 -- Stanley Cup Playoffs Series Preview: Colorado Avalanche vs San Jose Sharks (5)
  The top-seeded Sharks play incredibly well in San Jose,...

Avs rookie phenom center Matt Duchene will be ready to play Game 1, and David Jones will miss Game 1 but should be ready for Game 2 on Friday.

Articles similar to this:

• April 12, 2010 -- Stanley Cup Playoffs Series Preview: Colorado Avalanche vs San Jose Sharks (5)
  The top-seeded Sharks play incredibly well in San Jose,...
• April 6, 2010 -- Avalanche clinch playoff birth with gutsy SO win in Vancouver (0)
  The Vancouver Canucks matched the Colorado Avalanche go...
• March 17, 2010 -- The Wolski-Mueller trade two weeks later (0)
  Wojtek may yet win some games for the Coyotes. He’s an...

The Colorado Avalanche had the worst record in the Western Conference in 2009.  Now they have the worst record of the 8 West contenders for Lord Stanley’s Cup.  That is an impressive leap for one of the youngest teams in the league.

But can Colorado manufacture a first-round upset in hockey’s second season?

Starting this Wednesday, April 14^th the Avalanche will travel to San Jose to open their 12^th trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Colorado began their surprise season with a 5-2 thumping of the Sharks on the same night that the Avalanche retired Joe Sakic’s #19 to the Pepsi Center rafters.

In fact, Colorado split the season series with San Jose 2-2 on the strength of that opening win and a 5-4 OT victory on April 4^th.  The two games between were tight, evenly-matched affairs that ended in 1-3 & 3-4 losses at San Jose.

The top-seeded Sharks play incredibly well in San Jose, and the Colorado Avalanche will need to find a way to win a close game at the Shark Tank to steal the series.  For all the Sharks’ regular season success in San Jose, playoff demons lurk there as well…

San Jose Sharks recent playoff history

San Jose has made an early exit from the playoffs every year since their ascension to NHL elite status during the 2003-2004 season.

2003-2004 the Sharks upended the Avalanche on their way to the Western Conference Finals.  San Jose lost that series in 6 games to the Calgary Flames, and their playoff troubles have been well documented ever since.

2004-2005 season was cancelled due to a league-wide lockout.  The Sharks would have had considerable momentum going into that season, and the labor dispute definitely played a part in killing San Jose’s newfound playoff mojo.

2005-2006 ended with a 6-game loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the second round after the Sharks took a 2-0 series lead.  The Oilers would go on to play in the Cup Finals.

2006-2007 fizzled as well, as the Sharks dominated the Nashville Predators for the second consecutive season with a 4-1 first round domination, only to give up a 2-1 series lead to the Detroit Red Wings in a 6-game series loss.

2007-2008 was another disappointment with the Sharks ceding to the middling Dallas Stars in another second round fade that carried on the home-ice killing tradition of losing in 6 games to lesser teams.  Head Coach Ron Wilson was fired as a result, and Todd McLellan took over in the offseason.

2008-2009 may have been the most damaging playoff series in San Jose’s history (remarkable considering the history) as the Sharks dropped another 6-game series on the road to the division rival Anaheim Ducks.  That loss to the 8^th-seeded Ducks came after winning the President’s Trophy for the best regular season record in the NHL.

Upset Special, Made to Order

The Colorado Avalanche are a matchup nightmare for the Sharks for a lot of reasons.  Chief among them is San Jose’s propensity for losing to scrappy young opponents in the playoffs, but just as important is Colorado’s offensive depth.

Because of a season filled with injuries that have effected every single scoring line, the Avalanche can roll out a wide assortment of forwards that have well-established chemistry.  Each line is capable of rolling through the neutral zone with incredible speed, and even the team’s muckers sport a surprising scoring touch.

The Avalanche have nowhere near the defensive fortitude that the Sharks have, but they can score on anybody.

The Avs can throw their own recent playoff history out the window.

This Avalanche squad bears only a vague resemblance to teams of playoffs past.  And that resemblance is born out only in the grizzled visage of veteran blue-liner Adam Foote, and the still-youthful speed of Milan Hejduk.  Even with the re-acquisition of former Colorado stalwart Stephane Yelle, the new Avalanche are young to the core.

The Avs’ Centers read like a who’s who of North American Junior & College Hockey over the last 5 seasons.

Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly, Kevin Porter, Paul Stastny & Ryan Stoa are all under 25 years old.  Only Chris Durno (mucker), Matt Hendricks (hammer) and Yelle are older.

The Youth Movement extends through the team’s wingers as well.

Cody McLeod & David Jones toe the line at 25 years old, while TJ Galiardi, Peter Mueller, Chris Stewart & Brandon Yip are younger.  The rarely-used David Koci is 28 and speed-demon Marek Svatos is 27.  Only Darcy Tucker (35) and Hejduk (34) could truly be considered veterans out of the team’s 10 wing-men.

And while the Avalanche defense is thick with veterans, three of eight defenders stand out as shockingly young.  Kyle Cumiskey (23), Kyle Quincey (24) & Ryan Wilson (23) each skate in a defensive pairing with a much older teammate, and they facilitate the speed-first attitude of this Colorado team.

Which brings us to the #1 reason why the Avalanche have a very viable opportunity to upset the San Jose Sharks.

Colorado is fast.  Really fast.  And the Sharks are slow.  Really slow.

San Jose predicates its game on disciplined movement out of their defensive zone, and methodical, cycling hockey in the offensive zone.  The Sharks are a hulking team that prefers to set up screened shots high and post mammoth centers up front.

But the Avalanche have within them two great assets against such a strategy: dedicated shot-blockers that have the speed and gall to disrupt up high, and a quick, agile goalie that, at his best, sees the puck through screens and eats up rebounds with regularity.

Now, Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson has had a rough time over the last 15 games, and there is very real possibility that he carried too much of a burden through the regular season (most ice-time and most shots faced in the league).  No doubt, Colorado will need Andy to be at the top of his game against the Sharks, or San Jose’s superior puck control and defense will steamroll the Avalanche into submission.

But the ingredients are all there for Colorado to extend San Jose’s playoff woes.  If Peter Mueller can come back healthy at 100% for this series, and Anderson can step up the way he did in the first half of the season, then the Avalanche could be looking at Saturday, April 24^th at Pepsi Center (Game 6) as the day they swallowed the Sharks.

COLORADO AVALANCHE VS SAN JOSE SHARKS SERIES SCHEDULE

Wed, Apr 14 @ San Jose 8:30 PM MST on Versus

Fri, Apr 16 @ San Jose 8:30 PM MST on Versus

Sun, Apr 18 @ Colorado 7:30 PM MST on Versus

Tue, Apr 20 @ Colorado 8:00 PM MST on Versus

Thu, Apr 22 @ San Jose 8:30 PM MST on Versus

Sat, Apr 24 @ Colorado TBA

Mon, Apr 26 @ San Jose TBA

Articles similar to this:

• April 15, 2010 -- Avalanche upset Sharks to steal home ice advantage (2)
  The Avalanche blocked shots, scrapped mightily for puck...
• March 28, 2010 -- Avalanche battle hard at Sharks, come up empty to finish road swing (0)
  Devin Setoguchi scored the deciding goal for the Sharks...
• March 22, 2010 -- Needing 2, Avalanche get 1 in LA to set up 10-game finale (0)
  This game was a battle for 6th & 7th in the Western Con...

It wasn’t all that long ago (February 9th here at ProSportsColorado.com) that John-Michael Liles was being held out as trade bait, if not by the organization then by the media. It was inconceivable that a player making over $4M per year that was spending more games as a healthy scratch than on the ice would not be moved at the trading deadline. Across the media, it was a foregone conclusion that if a trading partner could be found, Liles would be on his way out with nothing but a “don’t let the door hit ya” from media and fans alike.

Instead, the Avs held the line on Liles and instead sent Wojtek Wolski to Phoenix in exchange for Peter Mueller, who immediately began to light up the scoreboard for his new team. Kevin Porter joined Mueller in coming to the Avs, but Liles stayed put.

The major knock on Liles was that while he plays well from the point, he’s a defensive liability. While you can’t think that every issue Liles had is gone just like that, his play in recent games has gone a long way toward bringing him back into the good graces of the Avalanche top brass. No play is more indicative of this phoenix-like return (the mythical bird, not the hockey team) than his skate-from-behind poke check on Sedin in last night’s Vancouver game. Sedin had a sure fire one on one against Anderson, and as good as Anderson has been, you have to give Sedin the advantage in that situation. Liles caught up from several feet behind, and cleanly poked the puck right off of Sedin’s stick and harmlessly to the side, all this while avoiding contact which would have drawn a costly penalty.

As the Avs head into the playoffs (is it bad that I hope they stay in the 8 seed because I’d rather see San Jose than Chicago or Vancouver?), all eyes will be on Liles and his newfound defensive tenacity.

Articles similar to this:

• March 5, 2010 -- Wolski, Coyotes nip Avalanche day after trade (0)
  Wojtek Wolski tried not to sound like he enjoyed it aft...
• April 4, 2010 -- Rob Blake must die… but Avalanche down San Jose in OT (21)
  Unfortunately, the big win against the West’s best team...
• March 17, 2010 -- The Wolski-Mueller trade two weeks later (0)
  Wojtek may yet win some games for the Coyotes. He’s an...