Said Foote to the Avalanche faithful and his teammates after his final game at Pepsi Center, “Thank you for your support, and I love you all.â€
In this episode, the second part of our conversation from this week, Ian Cerveny, Preston Underwood, Dan Olson, and I (Jason Ackerman) talk about the Avalanche – we start with a little Foppa-related nostalgia, then we talk about the two major trades – the Craig Anderson deal, the Stewart/Shattenkirk for Johnson/McClement deal, and we wrap up with some talk about what has happened to the Avs, and is Joe Sacco to blame?
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.
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.
Unfortunately, the big win against the West’s best team was marred by a dirty blind-side hit on Mueller by ex-Av Rob Blake. You may remember Blake as the shifty creep who screwed the Avalanche into paying him while he played for the LA Kings. Now, he will also be remembered as the slow old defender who couldn’t keep up with Mueller and the rest of the speedy Avalanche forwards… so he took the coward’s way out again.
What it comes down to, is that the Avalanche need somebody, anybody to force this team forward ahead of Calgary’s charge. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long offseason for the Colorado hockey faithful.
There are some players who are elites and some player who are merely good. The difference between them is when the season comes to its end, the good player maintain while the elites raise their game. I’ve yet to see Anderson raise his game.
The Avalanche are as dangerous as any team in the league playing from behind. The Coyotes maintained an excellent flow from shift to shift right up to the closing minute of the 2nd Period, but Colorado never quieted down. The Avs continued to fight hard and that transitioned to good Offensive Zone possessions.
This game was a battle for 6th & 7th in the Western Conference, and both teams knew it. Los Angeles & Colorado came out to play, with the game featuring lots of give ‘n take play to go with tit-for-tat scoring.
The Canucks game is the first in a week of marquee matchups for the Avalanche. Tuesday’s game versus Vancouver is followed by the Florida Panthers’ first visit to Craig Anderson’s new digs since they let him dip to Colorado in the offseason.
