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...

The ceremony was just what you would expect for Joe – classy and impactful, without excessive flash. He carried himself with the appropriate humility, but also accepted his place in history and seemed genuinely appreciative of the night’s festivities. As he entered the arena, cameras followed him through the locker room (where his locker stall is enshrined – not even Patty Roy got that treatment) as he greeted the current team, then through the tunnel and onto the ice. He clearly relished every moment – as he should. Watch the view from Section 144 as the banner gets raised -

[kaltura-widget wid="fvsb4tetz4" width="260" height="260" addpermission="" editpermission="" /]

And lest you forget… there was a hockey game last night. It’s just nice to see hockey back in the picture. Joe dropped the puck for the ceremonial face-off, which oddly enough involved Adam Foote and Rob Blake. Then, the future of the team, Matt Duchene, took the opening faceoff. No pressure, huh kid? Just jump in at 18 years old and take the faceoff that belongs to Joe Sakic. And while you’re at it, you want to quarterback the Broncos too? But let me say this… that kid, and his kid buddy O’Reilly, look good. They play with unbridled energy. We’ll see how the grind of an 82 game season against the best in the world affects that, but if this is what we have to look forward to, there’s going to be some good hockey at the Pepsi Center once again, and it will be sooner than you think. It’s LaCroix’s version of the Kid Rocks… what do you call them? The Snowballs? Either way – this young team looks promising. The defense played with tenacity, and Anderson was *gasp* great in goal. 19 saves in the 3rd period (gotta love every appearance of 19), many of them acrobatic, and many of them shorthanded. San Jose at a full 2 minutes of 5 on 3, and the Avs killed it off brilliantly. It’s been a long time since the Pepsi Center crowd has chanted the name of the home team goalie, but it happened last night.

That’s right – hockey is back in the Rocky Mountains, and while this team may not contend seriously for the playoffs this year, the future is bright for the boys in burgundy, and I for one can’t wait to see how it goes.

Articles similar to this:

• October 20, 2009 -- Avalanche Week 4 Preview: at home on the road (0)
  [caption id="attachment_669" align="aligncenter" wi...
• October 14, 2009 -- Avalanche follow the trend by defying expectations (1)
  [caption id="attachment_672" align="alignright" width="...
• March 14, 2010 -- Days after NHL reviews hits to head, Ovechkin ejected (0)
  Alexander Ovechkin was ejected from Sunday's game again...

It is opening weekend for the NFL – you might have forgotten amidst the purple haze that has once again captured our fine city. Just like Shanahan in 07, McDaniels has the luxury of dealing with his crap while the city is busy with another team that is riding the wave of playoff contention. And as soon as baseball wraps up, the Nuggets are waiting in the wings to reprise their amazing run from last season. Don’t talk to me about the Avs. (unless you want to talk to me about where I’ll be sitting opening night for Joe’s retirement ceremony — I won’t give details, but if you guessed Section 144 Row 9, I wouldn’t deny it)

Back to the Broncos (see how easily it is to distract?) … Even during the “Bridge Years” (that would be the Wade Phillips era – Reeves to Shanahan), we had Elway. And you pretty much knew how the scheme would look. The team wouldn’t completely suck, it would always play its division rivals tough, and home field advantage was just that – an advantage. Now we’re facing a scenario we haven’t seen since the pre-Elway days – a team that stands a real chance of losing every time it takes the field. Now I’m not saying this is a 0-16 team– not by any stretch. Just that every victory they get, be it 1, 2, or more, will have to be hard-fought, regardless of opponent, regardless of location. Denver will not be the favored team very often. Be honest – no one is saying the same thing about the Steelers, the Patriots, the Eagles, the Giants. Even the once lowly Falcons are getting some cred right now.

So how do things look at Dove Valley, from where I stand? I stand in the same place most of you do – interested, but with no insider knowledge, only what the local media sees fit to feed me. I stand in a place where I want to be optimistic, but I’m cautiously pessimistic. And how things look is UNSETTLED. That’s the only way I can describe it. You have the new coach, who by all accounts is a brilliant football mind, but seems lost at times. He made some seriously gutsy moves, and now is staring down the throat of a city who’s team he just pulled the bottom jenga block from, and now it’s teetering left to right, and we’re all holding our breath waiting to see if it falls. The hoodie, the cone-of-silence act, those have to go. I’m ready to accept him as coach, he’ll be here a while, but the half-assed Belichick impersonation has got to go. But Josh has one thing on his side right now – ok, two things: 1. Pat Bowlen. As long as Pat likes you, you’re in. 2. the regular season. As of Sunday, the games start to count, and each tick in the W column cements Josh’s place as coach, while each tick in the L column is the gentle breeze blowing on the jenga tower… enough of those, and down it goes and Josh goes with it.

But overall, it just feels like an organization that was rocked much harder by the loss of Shanahan, then the loss of Cutler, than it wants to admit. They might say everything is fine, this is just what they had in mind, but this whole organization is still struggling to find its identity again. There are no more ties to the old days, save Steve Antonopolous, who Lord willing will be taping the ankles of Broncos players until the day he dies. This team needs to find out who they are, and only the regular season will do that. Are they going to the playoffs? Don’t count on it. But I’m not ready to predict a 2-14 debacle just yet… I think this team has what it takes to win just enough games to keep Josh in town (probably 5), and then you can count 2010 as the real test. Josh might be coach, but he ain’t coach for life just yet.

Finally, there was word from Adam Schefter that the Broncos were in talks with Marshall on a new deal. That’s surprising, and none of the Denver outlets seemed to want to pick up the report, which makes me wonder. Schefter usually has his ducks in a row… but I wonder how solid this is. This gives us hope that maybe Brandon will play his brains out this year, then we can deal with all this at the end of the season. That being said… don’t be surprised if Brandon gets shipped off in a flat-rate postal box for a couple groundskeepers and a ticketing sales rep to be named later.

And of course – through it all, I will be there, every Sunday, with my orange Elway jersey (#7 is MY quarterback!) cheering and cursing to the bitter end.

Articles similar to this:

• October 11, 2009 -- Broncos win Hoodie Bowl I (2)
  ALERT: In case you were wondering, the Broncos schedule...
• January 11, 2012 -- First test of new overtime rules no test at all (2)
  It was the first time the NFL's new overtime rules for ...
• November 7, 2011 -- Fox has his QB in Tebow (0)
  Time will tell how far John can ride Tim’s limited but ...