Seven Game Ones have been played in the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.  All seven games have been won by a single goal.  Two were decided by late 3^rd Period goals (Red Wings at Coyotes & Avalanche at Sharks), and two were decided by Overtime goals (Canadiens at Capitals & Kings at Canucks).

Four series saw the lower seed upset the higher seed in a road opener, including both 8 seeds overcoming their Conference’s top-seeded team.

At the heart of these tight games and unpredictable upsets is more than just parity.  Hockey’s second season is simply a completely different brand of NHL play, with higher stakes accelerated by a singular desire to hoist the greatest trophy in sports history.

Lord Stanley’s big silver cup is the Holy Grail where the NFL’s Lombardi Trophy, the NBA’s Larry O’Brien Trophy, and MLB’s Commissioner’s Trophy are just shiny rip-offs of the One True Cup.

That’s why you see these NHL players elevate their game to Olympic levels every April.  What is at stake is a place in history engraved alongside the names of the game’s greats.  No other major sport remembers its Champions in this way, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs take on an epic tone as soon as the puck drops.

Compared to the me-first flavor of the NBA Playoffs, the NHL postseason exemplifies a purity and sporting excellence that has been exorcised from professional basketball.

The Cup Playoffs are destiny discovered shift by shift, hit by hit.

The NBA Playoffs are exciting for sure, the story unfolding in a series of highlight-reel scores & denials made by some of the greatest playmakers on earth.  But the whole event is mitigated by whistle-happy referees under the barely-concealed control of NBA Commissioner David Stern.

The show is the thing, fair competition is secondary.

The tight controls placed on basketball’s playoffs come as a stark comparison to the Cup Playoffs.  Hockey referees routinely receive criticism for swallowing their whistles in the postseason, but the result is a return each year to hockey’s gritty roots.  Steps have been taken to protect players in a sport played at increasing speeds, but the average penalty is called less as the passion and ferocity is jacked up a level with each step closer to the Cup.

In the humble opinion of this lover of all things sport, it is competition perfected.

Every moment of every game is contested, ever momentum change accompanied by a palpable shift in the energy on the ice.  This feeling is so profound that it can be sensed in High Definition through a flat screen TV.  Incredible.

MLB’s playoffs are always nail-biters, but the tension is felt in the moments when nothing is happening.  That 3-2 count with a running in scoring position and the game on the line is absolutely intense.  But baseball’s most exciting moments are felt when all movement is stopped on the field.  Hockey’s hottest games are a non-stop thrill ride; a war parsed out into a thousand battles large and small all over the ice.

The one-and-done appeal of the NFL Playoffs has made pro football’s postseason the most watched per game among North American sports.  But the final two minutes of a contested NFL playoff tilt pales in comparison to the 3^rd Period of a Game 7 in any NHL Playoff Series.  And when the Cup Finals stretch to that highly anticipated final frame, two teams battling for immortality in silver, the result is nothing short of awed breathlessness for 60 minutes of unparalleled sporting excellence.

With Game One finished in 7 of 8 Conference Quarterfinal Series, NHL audiences have already seen what makes the Stanley Cup Playoffs the premier event in pro sports.

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Two weeks ago today Peter Mueller came to Colorado from Phoenix and the Avalanche shipped Wojtek Wolski off to the Coyotes in return.  The move was highly criticized by the Avalanche faithful, but it may have been a key move for a Colorado squad looking to make a playoff run.

At first glance, the trade for Peter Mueller didn’t make a lot of sense.

Wojtek Wolski was reportedly cast out by Colorado Head Coach Joe Sacco because of his poor work ethic.  However, Wojtek had outscored Peter by a wide margin this season, and also has the benefit of two extra years playing at the NHL level.  Maybe Mueller was the best the Avalanche could get for Wolski in the trade market, and so the Colorado front office pulled the trigger.  Wojtek had spent a lot of time as a healthy scratch anyway, so why not grab a fellow underachiever in trade?

At second glance, the trade deadline swap looks like a wash.

Wolski is a big-game player with big potential, but he disappears for weeks at a time.  Mueller had an outstanding rookie campaign, but struggled in his sophomore campaign with Phoenix.  Coincidentally, the Coyotes were in desperate need of a clutch offensive playmaker, and the Avalanche were looking to balance scoring production across their top three lines.  Wolski scored the game-winner in his first game with the Coyotes… against the Avalanche in Phoenix.  In Mueller’s first game with Colorado he scored the crucial 3^rd goal in a 4-3 win over the Ducks in Anaheim.

At third glance, unloading Wojtek Wolski was the exact right move for Colorado.

Since the trade two weeks ago, Wojtek has displayed his trademark streakiness.  In six games, Wolski has 2 goals and 2 assists.  In seven games with Colorado, Mueller has 4 goals and 7 assists.  Peter has at least one point in every game he’s played with Colorado, and the icing on the Mueller cake was a 2 goal, 1 assist night in St Louis on Tuesday.

By trading Wojtek, the Avalanche got rid of a problem child.  By receiving Peter, Colorado got another hard-working point producer at right wing.  On a team full of talented left wingers and centers, Peter Mueller fills a crucial niche.  (Especially with RW Brandon Yip out with an injury.)  Mueller may not score a lot of game-winning goals, but the Avalanche have that in their various rookie talents.  Peter gets the goals in between.

Wojtek may yet win some games for the Coyotes.  He’s an exceptional talent for sure.  In the meantime, Peter Mueller will be developing along with the rest of the young Avalanche forwards.  He’s a much better defender than Wolski, and his addition adds depth in a game that is much more about team-wide production than individual stats.

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Tue @ Blues, Wed vs Flames, Sun @ Ducks

This could be a sweep week for the Avalanche, but odds are that Colorado will lose a game to one of these three non-playoff teams.

Tue, Mar 16^th @ St Louis Blues (6:00 MST)

The Avalanche have dominated the Blues this year and last, scoring almost at will on St Louis.  The Blues will play goaltender Chris Mason again, and it would not be surprising to see Colorado chase Mason from net for the third time this season.

PREDICTION:  AVALANCHE 4, BLUES 3

Wed, Mar 17^th vs Calgary Flames (7:00 MST)

Four matchups between the Flames and Avalanche, four 3-2 victories for the Avalanche.  Each game, the Avalanche have gone down early only to roar back and beat Calgary.

On January 11^th, the last time these teams met, Craig Anderson stopped 44 shots and the Avs netted the win in OT.  What followed was nothing less than an epic collapse by the Flames.  They went from first in the Northwest to out of the playoffs with a nine-game losing streak.

PREDICTION:  AVALANCHE 3, FLAMES 2 (SO)

Sun, Mar 21^st @ Anaheim Ducks (6:00 MST)

The Avalanche have had considerable difficulty versus the Ducks in years past, but did manage a 4-3 victory earlier this month in Anaheim.

The Ducks are the most bi-polar team in the league, going from unbeatable defense one night to slow, sloppy 3^rd tier offense the next.  Sometimes both halves show up in the same game and things get really wild.  This time, I expect the Real Ducks to stand up and play their trademark shut-down defense.

PREDICTION:  AVALANCHE 1, DUCKS 2

WEEK 23 PREDICTION:  2-1

**Bonus Coverage**

Check back tomorrow for a re-hash of the Wolski-Mueller trade two weeks in… looks like the Colorado front office got exactly what they were looking for.

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The story of the day was Paul Stastny’s first line on Sunday in Dallas.

Down 3-2 in the 2nd Period of a game that was a must-win for the struggling Stars, the Avalanche looked like they might be in for more Dallas disappointment.  Then Paul Stastny tipped in a shot by Peter Meuller on the Power Play and the Avalanche found a comfort zone.  The Stastny line would score two more unanswered goals spanning the last ten minutes of the 2nd and the first 10 of the 3rd.  Chris Stewart tucked a bad-angle shot inside the leg of Dallas goalie Marty Turco, and Paul got his second on a breakaway 1 on 2 drive.

The subsequent two-goal lead was too much of a shock to the Stars, who were buzzing before Stastny took a bad Dallas pass to the house against both Stars defenders.

Aside from scoring three goals, the Stastny line took the ice for much of the final five minutes of the game.  That stretch saw Dallas initially struggle to get past the Neutral Zone Trap employed by Avalanche forwards.  When the Stars finally locked into the Colorado Zone, they were able to draw a penalty on Avalanche defender Scott Hannan.  And it was Stastny at Center for the ensuing 6 on 4 (Stars pulled their goalie) that closed out regulation.

In that last five minutes, and really throughout the game, Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson played exceptionally well.  He set an Avalanche record for most shots faced in a season, stopping 48 of 51 Dallas shots in this game.  Good for a 5-3 win.

Winger Matt Hendricks was the third member of that Staz line.  An unsung hero all year long, Hendricks drew two fights and generally pummelled Stars all day long.  His physical play allows his linemates, Stewart and Stastny, to skate freely out of corners and generate chances in front of the net.

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Alexander Ovechkin was ejected from Sunday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with 7:44 remaining in the first period for a high-speed hit from behind that launched Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell into the boards behind his own goal, leaving him stunned on the ice for several minutes before heading to the locker room.  (Video of the hit here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je9nEbQASNc) Ovechkin received a major penalty for boarding and game misconduct. He will be subject to possible suspension for the hit.

The hit comes just days after NHL general managers recommended a rule change to eliminate “lateral, back pressure, or blindside” hits to the head. Hits that a player can or should see coming will not be outlawed, but many of the side hits will be subject to either a 2 or 5 minute penalty, and all such hits will be subject to supplemental discipline.

Avalanche fans are more than familiar with the escalation that hits to the head can reach. In 2004, Avalanche center Steve Moore hit Canucks captain Markus Naslund hard in the head, though the hit was ruled clean both by the referee on the ice and the league office. The Canucks took exception, however, and the next time they played, Moore was lured into a fight and ultimately, while trying to avoid a fight with Todd Bertuzzi, ended up getting attacked from behind. Bertuzzi eventually faced legal action, and Steve Moore never played hockey again due to the injuries sustained in the incident (fractured vertebrae, concussion, lacerations).

The new rule changes were agreed to by a unanimous vote of general managers, and now goes to the competition committee this summer for final adoption.

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Avalanche defenseman Ruslan Salei, fresh off of a season-long injury, is back among the ranks of the unavailable. Salei played for his native Belarus in the Olympic Games, and has been back on the ice for Avalanche, picking up one assist in six games. This time the injury is a generic sounding “torso” injury, and according to team he’ll be on the bench indefinitely.

The “indefinite” nature of the injury points to something more than just a common bump or bruise, and could spell the end of Salei’s tenure with the Avs, thanks to his $3M per year expiring contract.

On the other side of the injury coin, Kyle Cumiskey is set to return Tuesday against the Canucks. Cumiskey, suffering the after effects of a concussion, is in the midst of a breakout year, playing in 44 games and notching 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists).

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St Louis Blues goaltender Chris Mason had been unbeatable over his last five games, all wins.  That streak included shoot-out victories against the rising Red Wings and league-best Capitals.

Mason didn’t make it past the second minute of the second period in this game, as the Avalanche began to score their goals in bunches.

After St Louis took an early 1-0 lead on a redirection goal, the Avalanche needed only 0:11 seconds to tie.  Just over a minute later Colorado took the lead on the first of Chris Stewart’s three goals.  Stewart and the Avalanche never looked back, stretching their lead to 5-1 before the Blues could re-compose themselves.

Chris Stewart recorded his first career hat trick in what has been an absolutely shockingly good season for the strong, quick forward.  Stewart has 44 points in 48 games since scoring his first NHL goal against Detroit on October 24^th, 2009.  Chris also has seven goals in his last eight games.

More amazing than his eye-popping statistics was the way that Chris logged his first career hat trick.

After scoring on a wrister in the first period and a slapshot in the first minute of the second period, Stewart was tripped down on a breakaway in the final minute of the second.  Chris was awarded a Penalty Shot on the play, and he made it a no-doubt wrister over the glove of Blues backup Ty Conklin.  The Colorado crowd flooded the ice with hats in honor of Stewart’s big game.

The Blues didn’t back off, though, recording the first goal of the third period to make it a 3-6 disadvantage.  The Avalanche buckled down on defense, and added an empty netter with just over a minute left to seal the blowout win.

Interestingly, the Denver University Pioneers played their final regular season game at the same time in the same state.  For a while, both the Pioneers and Avalanche were enjoying 6-3 leads, and each game ended with 7-3 wins.  DU will go into the WCHA tournament as the #1 seed after knocking off the Colorado College Tigers a night after losing 1-2 to their front-range rivals.

Meanwhile the Avalanche will get ready to take on their own rivals, the Northwest leading Vancouver Canucks, in Colorado on Tuesday night.  The Avs and ‘Nucks have 80 points each at the moment, making Tuesday’s contest the biggest game of the season for both teams.

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Wojtek Wolski tried not to sound like he enjoyed it after the game, but you know he relished the opportunity to down the Avalanche a day after Colorado traded the talented Left Wing to Phoenix.

“It was tough playing against my old team, but I put that behind,” said Wolski after downing the Avs with a game-winning goal 0:22 before the end of the 3^rd Period.

Wojtek has never played for any NHL team other than the Avalanche, the club that drafted him in the first round (21^st Overall) of the 2004 Entry Draft.  He put four shots on net, tied for the most by a Phoenix player.  Wolski also logged more ice time than any other Coyotes forward, and was out almost all of both Phoenix power plays.

Colorado gave up a weak goal early, but brought Phoenix down to the wire before folding in the final minute.  The slow, defensive game favored The Coyotes from the beginning, although the Avalanche got off to a much better start than in their previous two games against Detroit and at Anaheim.

In fact, returned hero Stephane Yelle put an early shot off the crossbar in his first action with the Avalanche since 2002.  Yelle was part of another trade deadline story yesterday, the most active deadline day in NHL history (56 players moved).  He spent 6 years with the Flames before signing consecutive one-year deals with Boston & Carolina.  His return to the Avalanche fits the pattern of moves made by Joe Sacco & Co this season.  Stephane is a strong, veteran defensive forward presumably brought in to settle down a young team going into the season’s stretch run.

On the night that Wojtek Wolski put down his former team, the winger he was traded for also had a strong game.  Peter Mueller notched the best assist on the Avalanche’s only goal, a Power Play tally in the 2^nd Period by John-Michael Liles.  Wolski & Mueller were both slapped with penalties in what must have been an intense game for each player.

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In 1960, the US Men had to play the Soviets (above) two days after knocking off Canada

Fifty years ago at Squaw Valley, California, the US Men won their only Olympic Hockey Final Round game against the Canadian Men.  On February 25^th, 1960, the USA beat Canada 2-1 on it’s way to sweeping the medal round-robin.  That scrappy group of amateur league & college players came in laughable underdogs and came out Gold Medalists.  If the Americans do it again in Vancouver, Canada will never forgive US.

On February 28^th, 2010, a scrappy United States squad consisting entirely of American Collegiate-branded NHL players will take the ice against a powerhouse group of Canadian NHL All-Stars.  And like their 20^th Century predecessors, these American Men will try to outwork, outdefend & outcheck their favored Canadian brothers.

If this fresh generation of American hockey players have it in them to take Vancouver on the 50^th Anniversary of Squaw Valley, it will surely be Olympic Hockey for the Ages.  Gold in Canada would be a triumph for US Hockey the likes of which this sport has rarely seen, and it will only come from the tough, disciplined hockey that has gotten the upstart Americans to the Final Game of the 2010 Olympics.

Team Canada will not give up anything easily with the magnified pressure of winning Olympic Gold on home ice.  (Especially since the Canadian Women have already fulfilled their prophecy.)  Team USA will have to fight for every inch, and a win will require some manner of heroics from this quick, aggressive group of forwards.

More than that, it will take another transcendent performance from US Goalie Ryan Miller to stop a loaded Canadian attack from blowing the game wide open.  The US outscores Canada in this game only one way: tight checking, body-sacrificing defense, and capitalizing on the few good chances generated against a big, fast goaltender in Canada’s Robert Luongo.

The US Men have already proven themselves to be shot-blocking dynamos.  They limit chances with active sticks and persistent pursuit.  They get chances when they pass well, and this group knows their system so intuitively that great passes come in tight spaces with amazing consistency.

Really, the biggest offensive gaffe for this US Team has been their tendency to make too many passes.  Getting a shot off & crashing the net has been their most effective method for scoring so far this tournament, and they’ll need to be disciplined enough to mix up their attacking style to keep the Canadian defense from settling in.

In the end, this game should come down to the closing minutes, if not an extra frame.  The United States will need another hero in this game, as Brian Rafalski was in Round One, and as Zach Parise was in the Quarterfinals.  (My hopeful pick: Chris Drury)

I believe in the US win at Vancouver enough to pick them over the Canucks.  Anything less would be a letdown as history threatens to come full circle.

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Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Drafted: 2005 NHL Entry Draft, 34^th Overall

Vital Stats: 6’ 3”, 213 lbs, born April 13^th, 1987

The Colorado Avalanche made Ryan Stoa their third rookie Center call-up of the ’09-’10 season in December, but Stoa’s first year has not panned out as nicely as that of fellow rooks Ryan O’Reilly & Matt Duchene. He was demoted back to the AHL, returned to the NHL, and then succumbed to a shoulder injury January 29^th at Dallas that placed him on injured reserve indefinitely.

Stoa was back in Lake Erie with Colorado’s AHL affiliate Monsters a week after his first call-up, but returned in January due to injuries in the Avalanche lineup.  He has played well enough in his time in the NHL this season, but his success in the AHL and NCAA suggest that Ryan is due for a breakout season in coming years.

Ryan Stoa spent three full seasons with the University of Minnesota after being drafted by the Avalanche in 2005.  A fourth year (’07-’08) was cut short by injury after two games.  After Ryan’s final season in 2009, he was named a First-Team All American by the American Hockey Coaches Association, College Hockey News and Inside College Hockey.  That season, Stoa rounded out what had been above-average offensive numbers with solid defensive play, and was named the Captain of his Minnesota Gophers.

In his 41 games with Lake Erie during their ’09-’10 campaign, Ryan logged 18 goals.  At the time he was recalled to the Avalanche, Stoa led the Monsters in that category.  Unfortunately, his success in the minors never translated to success in the majors, and Stoa has yet to score his first NHL goal.  He did record an assist for his first NHL point on January 22^nd against Nashville in Denver.

Ryan Stoa also played considerable time with the US National Under-18 Team from 2003-2005.  He scored 10 goals in 42 games his first year with the team, and then exploded for 10 goals in just 15 games played (plus 13 assists) in his second season.

Expect to hear see name ‘Stoa’ in Avalanche box scores next season, as Ryan should be ready to join O’Reilly & Duchene in forming a trifecta of young Avalanche Centers.

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