With apologies to Will Ferrel and Christopher Walken, the Avs have a fever, and the only prescription, is more Foppa.
Colorado will need to remanufacture their road dominance from 2010 if they hope to make it back to the postseason. With five home games versus eight road games in both February and March, the Avalanche will need to dig deep to stay afloat in the tight Western Conference playoff race.
A week that began with a rousing 4-3 win over the league-best Vancouver Canucks sputtered into futility after it was learned that speedy Czech winger Tomas Fleischmann will miss the rest of the year due to blood clots in both lungs.
Let us not mince words; the Vancouver Canucks have manhandled the Avalanche so far this season. The ‘Nucks sit at the top of the NHL with 64 points, and their +40 goal differential is +18 better than their closest Western Conference competition.
Tim Tebow threw for 205 yards and 2 TD’s, and rushed for 94 more and another TD. But his late comeback attempt fell just short and the Broncos locked up the #2 pick in the 2011 NFL draft.
The fact that Joe Sacco & Co. have put managed to put out a scrappily effective defense most nights, and especially lately, is another sign that the Avalanche front office chose wisely when they promoted Sacco to head coach from his post at the Lake Erie Monsters.
I’m running out of ways to talk about how competitive the NHL West is this season. To stay afloat, the Avalanche will need to beat some good teams this week… starting with a home-away series versus the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.
the Avalanche have made their bi-weekly trip out of the 8-team Western Conference playoff field. The ongoing flux of West contenders should have Colorado back in the hunt by week’s end, but the second half of their east-coast road swing stands in the way.
Both new Avalanche acquisitions are red-heads. Teams with a healthy dose of the fire-brood win hockey games. Do not underestimate this indisputable fact.
After forwards Daniel Winnik & Chris Stewart went down with early injuries, Mauldin saw a lot of ice time versus a Wild club that has stymied Colorado in recent seasons.
