:: AVALANCHE 4, KINGS 3 (SO) ::

The Colorado Avalanche chased Los Angeles goaltender Jon Quick with 18 shots and a 3-1 lead after the first period, but the Kings battled back thanks to a late power play goal and tied the game to salvage a point in the standings. Once the Avs were dominated in the third period and out-shot 5-0 in overtime, Chris Stewart had seen enough. He went on to score the clincher in the shootout, and the Avs snuck off with a 4-3 overtime win and two crucial points in the standings.

The Avalanche head to Phoenix for a Saturday night game against Wojtek Wolski and the Coyotes, then turn around and play the Sharks in San Jose on Sunday night. The next home game is Wednesday, March 31 against the Anaheim Ducks.

That game is a special night for The Avalanche Guild, as we will be hosting the Battle for the Banner 3 Finals during first intermission. Realty Source Financial will take on Hatrick Swayze in an adult shootout for the prized Guild Banner! We are also hosting an After-Hours post-game skate between the Loan Sharks and the Red Lions.

ALL THINGS AVS is back on the beat and recaps the big win, but not before questioning the team’s ability to play in a conservative manner. ALTITUDE RADIO and Marc Moser posted their post-game podcast and had some more great audio as usual.

The newest AVALANCHE MAILBAG edition was posted this morning. Avs fans sent in their questions for the players and then Craig Stancher collected great answers from Craig Anderson, T.J. Galiardi, Matt Duchene, Matt Hendricks and more!

Dustin over at MILE HIGH HOCKEY thoroughly enjoyed the game, as most Avalanche faithful probably did, and had some love for the Kevin Porter – Matt Hendricks – Ryan O’Reilly line.

Alex over at LOST AMONG STATUES shot some cool videos of Peter Mueller and Stewart’s shootout goals. She also took a ton of photos of our After-Hours game, which we will be posting later on in the day!

We’re continually impressed with the hard work put in by THE BURGUNDY BLOG. Check out their post-game recap and this really solid feature on fans and the inspiration behind the EUROLANCHE FAN CLUB, the first and only Avalanche fan club based in Europe.

HOCKEYISM is hosting their second-annual College Hockey Championship Pick ‘Em contest, so be sure to head over there and download your brackets and send them to contests@hockeyism.com by midnight tonight (March 25)!

Earlier this week, the Avalanche signed Zach Cohen to an entry-level contract and promptly reported to Lake Erie. See how he fared over at AVS PROSPECTS and stay caught up on all the baby Avs!

THE AVALANGELIST had some positive things to say in particular about the return of a strong power play and Peter Mueller’s continued success in an Avs uniform.

Kara over at COLORADO AVALANCHE CONNECTION recaps the Avs’ month of March and never stops believing in the post-season dream! And finally, REAL DENVER SPORTS aptly wonders about the decisions Joe Sacco is making in regards to scratching a different defenseman every game.

Like I have been saying on the radio all week, there’s a huge, huge difference between playing panic hockey and playing urgent hockey. Playing with panic means a team lacks confidence. Playing with a sense of urgency means there is plenty of confidence.

Again, from a player’s and goaltender’s perspective, the only thing that matters is getting two points. It was very obvious that Craig Anderson was not going to slack off on any wraparounds, so it was good to see the defensive leader play with a stronger sense of urgency.

I see sporadic moments of panic, but this is not a team that lacks confidence. Rather, they simply need to elevate their collective intensity and effort. Someone needs to have a massive game, whether it’s three goals, a Gordie Howe hat trick, a shutout. Whatever way it takes for someone to ignite the team to play at a higher level, with a heightened sense of awareness.

And of course I would be remiss to not spill the stat du jour for this month. When Brett Clark is in the lineup this month, the Avalanche are now a solid 5-1-1. When Clark is scratched, the Avs are only 1-4-0.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that Clark has to stay in the lineup, regardless of his mistakes or effort. He’s ol’ reliable on the blue line and calms everyone else down. In every single game, a defenseman will make mistakes. You can find a reason to scratch all seven defensemen if you look close enough. But jumping back and forth between Liles, Salei, Cumiskey and Clark is really starting to affect the cohesion and communication between the pairings.

How can you expect the defensive effort in front of Anderson to be strong if nobody is on the same page? Keep the pairings the same. Choose six and run with it through the rest of the regular season. Make sure Clark is one of those six. Repeat as necessary.

:: Avalanche 5, Blues 3 ::

In a similar fashion to Sunday’s 5-3 win over Dallas, the Colorado Avalanche scored a huge power play goal and got timely goaltending in the third period to steal two points from the Blues on Tuesday night in St. Louis. Peter Budaj made his first start since Jan. 8, and in just his ninth game of the season, made 28 saves for the win.

The Avalanche flew home right after the game and will host the Calgary Flames Wednesday at Pepsi Center at 7:00pm.

The DENVER POST has an official game recap by Adrian Dater, while Marc Moser from ALTITUDE RADIO NETWORK checks in with the station’s post-game highlights.

David over at MILE HIGH HOCKEY points out the hilarity behind another Avalanche win that, well, wasn’t really earned and so does Sean from ANYONE BUT DETROIT. THE AVALANGELIST took a liking to the second line but made Budaj pay for his gaffe eight seconds into the game.

Despite Peter Mueller’s exceptional play and his potency on the power play with John-Michael Liles, there’s still some trade skepticism lurking out there. Check out REAL DENVER SPORTS and get Scott’s thoughts on Mueller’s future in Colorado. 

With this being Peter Budaj’s first game in months, I played close attention to his performance tonight. I thought he showed some good mental toughness in this game, but the rebound control is still not improving. But to be perfectly honest, I can’t blame him. A goaltender needs NHL games in order to improve technique and puck management. Practices help, but nothing works as effectively as true NHL minutes.

Regardless of his technical issues in the game, he battled hard and relied on his great work ethic to make it through a 60-minute game without giving up a costly goal. It was a big two points for him and the team, but during the post-game interview with Peter McNab, Budaj had a frustrated and somewhat unhappy demeanor. He could have been better, but at least he was more effective than Chris Mason.

It might not be Budaj’s last game as an Avalanche, but I think this game went a long way in showing the organization that he’s not developing as a prospect. He’s a decent backup goaltender, but not worth re-signing when Tyler Weiman is developing at a much faster rate, mainly due to the fact he’s playing almost every game for Lake Erie.

Simply put, a goalie needs to play in order to grow. And with Budaj rarely playing, his ability to develop has been slowed down to almost a standstill. Weiman, on the other hand, continues to develop at a good click and it will probably once again be proven in training camp.

:: Avalanche 3, Panthers 0 ::

Craig Anderson served up the perfect plate of revenge against his former team, as he made 27 saves to lead the Avalanche to a 3-0 victory over the Panthers at Pepsi Center on Thursday night. It was his seventh shutout of the season, which also ties him with former teammate Tomas Vokoun for first in the league.

The Avalanche Guild will be hosting a LIVE GAME CHAT on Sunday afternoon when the Avalanche take on the Dallas Stars. If you are part of the Blogger Network and would like to be a panelist, contact us now!

Some really good content was posted at ALL THINGS AVS after the game, including video interviews with Craig  Anderson and Matt Hendricks.

Hendricks, who scored on a partial breakaway with a few minutes left in the game to seal the victory, has come back from an injury and the Olympics break with some much-needed energy for the Avalanche. THE DENVER POST did an excellent fan ‘Q & A’ profiler on him today, so be sure to check that out.

David over at MILE HIGH HOCKEY handled their game recap, Matt over at THE BURGUNDY BLOG did the same and THE AVALANGELIST has a surprising Face Palm of the Game.

HOCKEYISM was inside Pepsi Center and had a brief comment on the game, from a fan’s perspective. ANYONE BUT DETROIT posted their thoughts on the win and weighed in on Kyle Quincey being a healthy scratch.

One final note – Ryan Stoa was sent back down to Lake Erie today, meaning Kevin Porter played well enough against Florida to warrant more minutes in the lineup. Check out Jori’s latest Signing Board at AVALANCHE PROSPECTS and get caught up on the baby Yeti’s!

Last night was one of the rare home games The Avalanche Guild had off, so I was excited to watch this game from home on HD. I was fairly impressed with a number of different aspects of this game, but I focused mainly on Craig Anderson and Kevin Porter. 

My scouting notes this season, for the most part, point out numerous flaws related to Anderson’s rebound control and puck placement/movement. Of course it doesn’t take anything away from his accomplishments this season, but it’s sheerly something a scout notices technically. Since the Olympic break ended, however, Anderson’s technique has been sharper than at any other point in the season.

Not only is he staying upright and on his knees more than usual, but that’s also allowing him to control hard shots a lot better. His absorption rate is going up. By that I mean he’s not just blocking shots, he’s saving them, holding onto them and not giving up any second or third chances. The glove hand is really active right now and he’s coming up with more of those timely, desperation saves.

Porter was clearly nervous in his first game, even hesitant at times, but extremely aware positionally, which is always the main focus of a player’s first NHL game. They don’t want to be a defensive liability or make mistakes, so Porter was very conscious of his surroundings when he had the puck. He has good size and brings a physical presence to the lineup and because he was defensively sound, he’ll get a nice little star next to his name in Joe Sacco’s book.

:: Avalanche Weekly Preview ::

Chris Stewart’s hat trick on Saturday night in the 7-3 win over the St. Louis Blues was the first by an Avalanche player in 199 games, dating all the way back to 2007 against, ironically, the Blues. It also gave Stewart the edge over Steve Stamkos in the NHL’s Three Stars of the Week award.

THE AVALANGELIST recaps Stewart’s week and why he was a perfect nomination for the league’s first star earlier today. We also have the following press release excerpt to post from our Avs info desk:

Stewart led all NHL scorers last week with nine points (five goals, four assists) in four games as the Avalanche (37-22-6) closed the week two points behind the first-place Vancouver Canucks in the Northwest Division title race. Stewart tallied one goal and one assist in a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings Mar. 1, recorded one goal and two assists in a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks Mar. 3 and notched his first career NHL hat trick and an assist in a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Blues Mar. 6. While the Avalanche rookie corps has earned well-deserved praise, the 22-year-old Stewart is enjoying one of the top seasons by a sophomore in the NHL. Colorado’s first-round choice, 18th overall, in the 2006 Entry Draft, Stewart leads the team in goals (24), plus-minus (+13) and shots (172) and ranks second in points (24-27–51).

Vancouver snuck away with a win against the Nashville Predators on Sunday night, so the Avalanche can’t take over the Northwest Division lead in Tuesday’s game. Even with a win, the tiebreaker goes to Vancouver since they have three more wins (40 to 37). Nevertheless, two massive points are on the line at Pepsi Center tomorrow night as the Avs try to keep at least a six-point gap between them and the Calgary Flames.

Along with Stewart’s fine performance on Saturday, it looks like fans are starting to recognize the legitimate talent oozing out of T.J. Galiardi, another rookie that is now getting first-line minutes. Paul’s Coffey from MILE HIGH HOCKEY made a great post on Galiardi’s play and gives a little credit to his underrated rookie season.

Like we explained in the last Blogger Roundup, Galiardi is not only a gifted scorer, he’s an amazing grinder. The hit he made on Erik Johnson on the boards against the Blues on Saturday was a momentum-shifting hit. Galiardi and the importance of body checks will be one of the topics on tonight’s AVALANCHE WEEKLY show!

A few other topics I’ll be discussing on the show is the Peter Mueller / Wojtek Wolski trade, Craig Anderson’s timely saves and the importance of getting rest during the Olympics, Stewart’s confidence and much more! Remember the show is every Monday from 6-7p MST on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1510! We are joined every week by Mike Haynes from Altitude TV so it’s a great show with a lot of quality analysis.

Adrian Dater from ALL THINGS AVS learned that Ruslan Salei is out indefinitely with another injury, but also noted that Kyle Cumiskey will be ready for action on Tuesday against Vancouver.

Sean from ANYTHING BUT DETROIT had some thoughts on the Lake Erie Monsters after their appearance on NHL Network against the Chicago Wolves. JIBBLESCRIBBITS takes the time to post some interesting news on the NHL2K video game series as well. We also found this hilarious post from the MS. CONDUCT blog with some enticing photos of new Lake Erie goalie John Grahame.

Avalanche fans can also send in their questions for Matt Hendricks to ALL THINGS AVS as they have a post open for comments through Thursday, March 11.

The Avalanche Guild is hosting another After-Hours game with the Beer and Blades adult hockey team following the Avs/Canucks game. Check back here tonight after the radio show for the event flyer and save on tickets to the game!