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.
Now the Avalanche get Anderson close to 100% in a stretch of games that will determine whether or not Colorado keeps its tenuous hold on the Northwest. This week is all about division play, and it starts tonight as the Avs travel to Vancouver to take on the 2nd place Canucks.
Injuries and inconsistency aside, the Avalanche are lucky to be 8-7-1 in a Western Conference that features only two clubs with losing records.
When a visit from the Calgary Flames elicits a sigh of relief, you know the Western Conference has gotten rough. Through 13 games Colorado is hanging tough in the middle of both the Northwest Division & the Western Conference.
Colorado had an outstanding Week Three, scoring 14 goals over three games. The Avalanche stole a point in an OT loss at Vancouver before blazing through Calgary and dominating Columbus at home.
It’s de ja vu all over again for the Avalanche who returned from a successful road trip against tought teams for a lackluster homestand against… well, tough teams.
