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?
The Colorado Avalanche traded struggling goaltender Craig Anderson to the Ottawa Senators Friday in return for Brian Elliot, the Senators’ own version of a struggling goaltender. With a 9 game skid and the season rapidly imploding, it’s not surprising to see the Avalanche make a move.
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.
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.
Colorado’s three victories have all come by a single goal, one of those in Overtime and another in a Shootout. The third saw Craig Anderson stop 41 shots on the way to a tough 3-2 victory in New Jersey.
Just over 24 hours after Paul Stastny & Brian Rafalski played as teammates in Vancouver, they will face off as competitors in Denver. Stastny will lead his Colorado Avalanche against Rafalski’s Detroit Red Wings in a rivalry game tonight.
With less than a week left before the Olympic Break, I’m shifting my Avalanche coverage to individual player profiles. Even in Denver, many of these Avalanche players are unknown for two main reasons.
