The Colorado Avalanche announced Friday that the club would be honoring members of the military during Military Appreciation Night on Friday, February 10th as the Avs take on the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m.

“The Avalanche organization is proud to honor those who have served and continue to serve our country,” said Avalanche General Manager/Executive Vice President Greg Sherman.  “It will be an exciting night for our team and all of our fans, but more importantly a chance for us to give back to the men and women who have given so much to us.”

The first time event will feature an avalanche of activities including an auction featuring camouflage jerseys and t-shirts, a special pre-game ceremony celebrating Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta – a Medal of Honor recipient – miniature flags for the first 8,00 fans in the doors, and more.

There will also be tickets purchased and donated to military organizations by Paul Stastny, Ryan O’Reilly, Peter Mueller, and Matt Duchene. Season ticket holders will be able to donate their seats for the game to military members and Altitude Authentics will be offering a special 15% discount to those in uniform or presenting an active military ID upon checkout as well.

Fans are also encouraged to participate in a special Twitter contest by submitting a 60-90 second video to @avalanche on Twitter – including the #AvsMilitaryNight hashtag on the tweet – or via email to avalanche@pepsicenter.com. One fan will win a pair of tickets to the game and a team-signed camouflage jersey.

For more information on the event and the promotions, or how to donate, check out the Avalanche website.

Also, stay tuned for a special Burgundy Brigade offer for the same evening.

What do you think?

After a successful home stand that saw the Avalanche win four in a row and break a franchise record for consecutive wins on home ice, the Avalanche traveled to Minnesota for a huge test.

David Van Der Gulik - Courtesy of Lindsey Akiyama

Coming into tonight’s contest, the Avalanche had not won a road game since October 22nd and were 1-9 against divisional opponents. That made tonight’s game that much more important.  With a loss the Avalanche could kill all of the momentum that they had built up but a win would put the Avalanche just one point out of a playoff position.

The game got off to a quick start and saw some good hitting from both sides, giving both teams some early power plays. The Wild managed to crack through the Avalanche penalty kill late in a Cody McLeod major penalty when Pierre-Marc Bouchard put a puck past Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov. McLeod got a five minute major and a game misconduct for his hit on Jared Spurgeon.  He’ll most likely be hearing from Brendan Shanahan in the coming days.

The Avalanche started out the second period slowly, but eventually earned a power play of their own.  Colorado would make the Wild pay when Matt Duchene, playing on the point, made a fantastic slap pass to Ryan O’Reilly who directed it into the back of the net to tie the game.

Erik Johnson helped Minnesota gain some momentum back with a turnover a little more than a minute later. Mikko Koivu centered a pass to Cal Clutterbuck who buried the puck into the gaping net to put the Wild back up by a goal.

The Avalanche would overcome this lead again with some hard work behind Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom.  TJ Galiardi and David Van Der Gulik forced a turnover that ended up on the stick of Gabriel Landeskog, who quickly put the puck behind Backstrom to tie the game again.

The third period was all Avalanche.  After some hard work, Van der Gulik got the puck back to O’Reilly who made a beautiful centering pass to an opportunistic Jan Hejda. Hejda made no mistake burying the puck in the empty net, putting the Avalanche up for the first time in the game.

Colorado continued to play solid defensive hockey in front of Varlamov and Galiardi helped the club pull away when he picked up a puck in his own zone and carried it all the way into the Minnesota’s.  Gali showed great patience, streaking across the attacking zone and allowing his teammates to get to the front of the net to provide a screen for the shot that he buried over Backstrom’s blocker.

Colorado put the clamps on the rest of the way to end their road losing streak and gain their second divisional win of the season.

Minnesota has now lost seven games in a row and have come crashing down to earth after leading the NHL in the standings for a decent portion of the season.

Colorado is just one point out of the eighth seed in the West and looks to move into playoff position when taking on the Winnipeg Jets at the Pepsi Center tomorrow night.

What do you think?

After a strong showing against the Sharks at home, the Avalanche traveled to San Jose looking to keep their good fortunes going. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the case.

The game got off to an inauspicious beginning when Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov made a horrible clear attempt straight to the stick of San Jose’s Logan Couture.  Varlamov managed to make the first save, but gave up a big rebound to Ryan Clowe, who buried the puck.

The Avalanche managed to bounce back with authority once on the power play. Paul Stastny cleanly won a face-off right back to Erik Johnson, who put a beautiful shot on net. Stastny deflected the wandering puck right over Antti Niemi’s blocker to tie the game.

The Avalanche got another power play chance a bit later when TJ Galiardi drew a penalty late in the period.  Some great puck movement and a spectacular shot from Stefan Elliott led to a rebound landing right on Ryan O’Reilly’s stick. O’Reilly buried the second power play goal of the period and the Avalanche took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

San Jose got another early goal in the second period after a bad turnover in the defensive end. A couple of quick passes later and Michal Handzus put it by Varlamov to knot the game at two goals.

The Avalanche swiftly retorted when Matt Duchene turned on his A-game.  He drove hard to the net and one-handed a pass out to the front of the crease that bounced off of Daniel Winnik and onto Stastny’s stick.  Stastny buried a beautiful backhander for his second goal of the game.

Later in the period, Winnik would be rewarded for going hard to the basket as he took a pass from Stastny and put it top shelf to give the Avalanche a 4-2 lead heading into third period.

Then the wheels came off.

After dominating the entire game, Colorado was suddenly passive and unable to clear the puck. Jan Hejda made a horrendous clear attempt that ended with Brent Burns potting the puck and putting the Sharks within one.

A little more than a minute later, Avalanche killer Joe Pavelski finished a rebound, unmolested. Goals don’t get much easier than that one. Not longer after that, Couture easily deflected a shot past Varlamov for the eventual game winner.

For as outstanding as the Avalanche played in the first 40 minutes of the game, and they were spectacular, they were equally bad in the third period when the game was on the line. Varlamov was hung out to dry.

The Avalanche need to build on the positives of the game and bring that into Saturday’s home game against the Washington Capitals.

What do you think?

The Colorado Avalanche just returned home from a horrendous road trip through Western Canada, losing all three matches against divisional opponents. They came into tonight’s contest against the San Jose Sharks really needing to bounce back before things got out of hand.

The Avs got it tonight, playing a tough game from start to finish.

The first period was very even and nearly ended scoreless but Stefan Elliott went coast to coast and lasered a shot past Antti Niemi’s blocker to give the Avalanche a one goal lead going into the first intermission.

Colorado came out strong in the second period as well, but ended up shorthanded a couple of times.The Sharks would make the Avalanche pay after TJ Galiardi took a penalty for high-sticking Patrick Marleau. Dan Boyle made a strong play to keep a puck in the offensive zone and sent a fantastic feed to Jamie McGinn who redirected the puck through Semyon Varlamov’s legs to knot the game at one.

After another strong flurry by San Jose, and the Avalanche being unable to clear the puck out of their zone, Boyle caught Matt Duchene napping and took advantage. He snuck right behind Duchene and buried a loose puck past Varlamov’s blocker.

The Avalanche began to turn the tide in the third period which saw the play begin to open up. With both teams down a man, Daniel Winnik made a nifty backhanded wrap-around to tie the game up at two, Niemi unable to control the rebound off an Erik Johnson slap shot.

Not long after that, the Avalanche converted on their only power play opportunity of the evening when Duchene received a sweet pass from Milan Hejduk and roofed the puck. It looked like the Avs were going to take the win home until Logan Couture laid a beautiful pass on Marleau’s stick. With just 22 seconds left in the game, Marleau managed to squeak one by Varlamov.

After an uneventful overtime, the Avs and Sharks went to a shootout. Neither team had lost in the shooting contest coming into tonight’s match.

Milan Hejduk and Joe Pavelski managed to pot goals, extending the shootout through the first three shooters. After a series of missed chances and stellar saves Gabriel Landeskog buried his first ever shootout opportunity allowing Varlamov one last save to give the Avalanche their fourth straight home win.

The Avalanche play in San Jose on Tuesday in the back half of a home and home series. Let’s hope that the Avalanche are able to put together another a similar effort.

What do you think?

The Avalanche went into Sunday night’s game with two superb wins under their belts and needed to have a strong performance against the Detroit Red Wings if they wished to push that streak to three.

Detroit came in to Denver red hot, winners of their last seven games, and were hoping to continue their winning ways.

The first period was rather inauspicious for the Avalanche who didn’t really start fast out of the gates.  Detroit spent a lot of time in Colorado’s zone, and though Colorado had an early powerplay, it didn’t result in many chances.

The Wings soon ended up with a powerplay chance of their own and capitalized on it when Johan Franzen received an excellent pass from Pavel Datsyuk and had the entire net to shoot at.  Varly never had a chance, attempting to slide across his crease.

The second period saw the Avalanche jump right out of the blocks and absolutely smother the Red Wings. Gabriel Landeskog made a great individual effort on the fore-check to gain a turnover behind the Detroit net. He made a perfect pass to Ryan O’Reilly who roofed the puck stick side to knot the game at one.

Not long after that, Colorado found themselves on another powerplay. Paul Stastny finally buried one when Matt Duchene alertly threw the puck at the net from a strange angle, catching Red Wing netminder Ty Conklin out of position. Stastny beat Nicklas Lidstrom to the puck and buried it to give the Avs a 2-1 lead.

The Avalanche completely dominated the second period, outshooting Detroit 19-4.

The third period saw some pretty good action back and forth, with Detroit tying the score at two just past the five minute mark of the period.  Danny Cleary managed to get a nifty deflection through the smallest of holes short side on Varlamov.

The Avalanche would not be denied, though.  On a penalty kill, their second of the period, Gabriel Landeskog found a chance to break out offensively and ended up with a partial 2-on-1 break with TJ Galiardi. Landeskog fed Galiardi a perfect pass which Gally rifled past Conklin far side for the Avs’ fourth shorthanded goal of the season.

Ryan O’Reilly added an empty netter for his second of the game to seal the deal for the Avalanche late, and give the Avalanche their third straight win.

Things to note

Though Stastny scored, Mike Chambers is reporting that Paul Stastny went out of the game in the third period with what the Avs are calling a torso injury.  Chambers also says that Adrian Dater will have more on this at practice tomorrow.

The Avalanche are now tied for the second most short handed goals in the league, with 4.  It’s nice to see this type of aggression from the penalty kill.  This was Gabriel Landeskog’s second short handed point of the season, both assists.

Semyon Varlamov continued his stellar play, stopping 27 of 29 shots tonight.  With his third straight win, Varly has allowed no more than two goals in each of his last six starts.  He is playing with confidence and making some big saves.

Though he isn’t showing up on the stat sheet, David Jones played a very strong game tonight.  He worked very hard in the corners and was strong on the puck most of the game.  This is nice to see out of Jones and hopefully the goals will start coming again for him.

Stefan Elliott saw just under nine minutes of ice time, partially because the Avalanche welcomed back defenseman Erik Johnson tonight and played with seven defenders and partially because he gave up a turnover that lead to a breakaway.

Shane O’Brien and Kyle Quincey led the Avs with a +3 rating.

The Avalanche are on the road next against the Vancouver Canucks to kick off a vital swing of three divisional games right in a row. Let’s hope the Avs can keep things rolling.

The Colorado Avalanche came into last night’s game desperately needing a good showing in order to pull off a divisional win for the first time this season.

It looked like that wouldn’t be the case after Shane O’Brien made a bad turnover at his own blue line allowing Sam Gagne to pull Semyon Varlamov out of his net. Gagne fed a pass to Ladislov Smid for his first goal of the season.  Varly was unable to regain his crease tripping over O’Brien.

The Avalanche were quick to respond as Ryan Wilson laid an absolute bomb of a hit on Taylor Hall.  Upset about the hit, the Oilers wanted to have words but Matt Duchene kept playing, sending Chuck Kobasew on on a breakaway.  Kobasew was stopped by a fantastic poke check from Devan Dubnyk, but the sprawling Dubnyk fell out of the play. Jay McClement managed to clean up the rebound to tie the game.

Early in the second period Jan Hejda made a very foolish attempt at a pinch that led to an Edmonton odd man rush.  Varlamov made the initial save on Eric Belanger, but a big rebound squeezed through his arm and sat right in the crease. Ryan Jones was there for the tap in to put Edmonton up by one.

Colorado finally got things going with some good effort in the third period, drawing a few penalties, one of which led to some Shane O’Brien redemption when he tied the game on the power play.

Less than two minutes later, and shortly after he made a brilliant play to break up a 2-on-1 in his own zone, Stefan Elliott put the exclamation mark on his NHL debut by scoring the game winning goal on a perfectly placed wrister from the point.

Later in the period David Jones made a great hustle play to beat out an icing call that led straight to a goal from Jan Hejda, also hungry for a bit of redemption. Hejda’s shot found its way through a screen and some legs and moved through Dubnyk’s five hole to give the Avs a much needed two goal lead.

Paul Stastny would later bury an empty net goal from center ice, giving the Avalanche a 5-2 victory and their first divisional win of the season.

Things to note:

Stefan Elliott made his NHL debut tonight and was absolutely everything the team could hope for. Forgetting his game winning goal, Elliott was frequently involved in offensive rushes but was still very responsible defensively.  With this type of play, it’s going to be a tough decision on who the odd man out is on the Avalanche blue line.

Semyon Varlamov got his first victory since October 30th against the Los Angeles Kings, stopping 31 shots.  He played well against Vancouver in that loss, and seems to be regaining his confidence in net.

Line juggling continues, but the OWL line (Ryan O’Reilly, Dan Winnik, Gabriel Landeskog) was back together tonight, as was the Stastny, Milan Hejduk, Duchene line.  The best line of the night, however, was McClement, Kobasew, and Kevin Porter.

The Avalanche are now 2-2 halfway through this homestand and will play the Kari Lehtonen-less Dallas Stars on Monday. Colorado beat Dallas 3-0 last time the two teams played.

What do you think?

Coming off of a 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild, the Colorado Avalanche looked to establish dominance against the Dallas Stars, starting an eight game home stand on the right foot.

Playing a solid all around game, the Avalanche managed to ride another evening of superb goaltending to a 3-0 decision, just their third home victory this season. On the second night of back to back starts, netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned away a paltry 24 shots, remaining strong in the crease again.

Chuck Kobasew got the Avs on the board early, scoring what would be the game winning goal off a tip from a Ryan Wilson rocket from the point. Stars keeper Kari Lehtonen did his best to keep his team in the game, stopping a 42 shot barrage overall. He couldn’t do it alone though, surrendering a late third period powerplay goal to Paul Stastny that served as the nail in the coffin. Matt Duchene would get the empty net goal, on another powerplay, with just five seconds left in the contest.

A disciplined, straightforward game by the Avalanche yielded positive results, as Colorado took just one penalty during the game yet also managed to convert on two man-advantage situations. Dallas had five minor infractions during the game, including four in the final frame and two in the last five minutes that resulted in Avalanche tallies.

Some may be concerned that a goaltending controversy is brewing in Denver, with the young Semyon Varlamov struggling to perform as of late. Giguere doesn’t see it that way, claiming that he’s just making the most of his time in net.

“The future of this team belongs to Varly, there’s no doubt about that,” Giguere said. “Just like any young guy on this team, you can have ups and downs. It’s just the way this game is. It’s the toughest league and sometimes it gets to you. You know he’s going to bounce back. My job, meanwhile, is to take over and try to do as best as I can and try to give the team a chance.”

Colorado has a day off before facing the San Jose Sharks. Be sure to get your tickets to the Burgundy Brigade Game of the Month on November 23rd, against the Vancouver Canucks.

A Change In Venue

Adrian Dater is reporting that the Avalanche will begin practicing more regularly on their home ice while the Denver Nuggets remained locked out, pending contract negotiations in an ongoing NBA labor dispute. There has been no announcement from the Avs regarding fan attendance at practices in the Can.

What do you think?

On a night that actually saw the Colorado Avalanche start the game on time, the boys in burgundy were still unable to walk away with a win.

The Avalanche lept to life against the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, playing a fast, aggressive game of puck, largely smothering the surprised home team early. Colorado got on the board first, with goals from Jay McClement and Matt Duchene. Dutchy had the goal of his career, passing the puck to himself, between his legs, before burying the backhand.

The club entered the second period leading 3-1 after goals by Jordan Staal and David Jones, but we’re unable to maintain the ferocious play from the start of the game. They gave up a goal midway through the frame when Ryan O’Byrne knocked the puck from under Semyon Varlamov while jumping over him to avoid a collision. Ultimately it was here that the momentum began to shift.

Colorado was unable to step up to the in-game adjustments of the Penguins, who took over in the third, scoring five unanswered goals in all to win 6-3. What started out as an awe inspiring steamrolling by the Avalanche ended in typical fashion, as the flame burned out.

The Avs have struggled with playing a full effort and have only won three games in regulation this season. This was their first loss to an Eastern Conference team. They look to turn the tides tomorrow as they take on the Minnesota Wild, in Minnesota.

Whatt do you think?

The latest episode of Two Guys 1 Puck is now online for you listening pleasure.

This week, the gents discussed the Colorado Avalanche’s inability to play well at home and how struggling to find their game early on is hindering their performance. There is also some discussion surrounding a recent article about the failure of the Avalanche’s dump and chase system. From here, the guys break down the roster, analyzing who should play where and why Matt Duchene needs to be a permanent left winger.

TJ Galiardi and Kevin Porter also find their names in the conversation, as a potentially healthy Brandon Yip and Peter Mueller bring up certain questions about line pairings. An unexpected change in direction finds the talk shift to the future of Joe Sacco and Greg Sherman in Colorado and local fans are called out for not providing enough support to their most favorite of teams.

TG1P wouldn’t be complete with some talk of the madmen in the crease, and, joined by Justin Goldman, there is talk of playing Semyon Varlamov vs. Jean-Sebastien Giguere against the Pittsburgh Penguins and whether or not Ryan Miller is at fault for getting steamrolled by Milan Lucic.

Give it a listen. Two Guys 1 Puck is also available for download on iTunes.

What do you think? Have something to say? Tell us below.

The Colorado Avalanche managed to rally for a big win against the New York Islanders Thursday night and hoped to carry the momentum of that huge win into a divisional matchup against the Calgary Flames.

Colorado helped the Flames get off to a quick start when they spotted Calgary three goals – from Paul Byron, Jarome Iginla, and Curtis Glencross - in the first period.  Semyon Varlamov didn’t seem to be on his game early and the quick goals certainly didn’t help his confidence.  Defensive lapses, bad bounces, and a lack of stability in net quickly put the Avalanche in a deep hole and sucked the air out of Pepsi Center.

The second period didn’t start off much better. Lee Stempniak managed to slash the stick out of Jan Hejda’s hands and then sent a soft backhander behind Varlamov, putting the Flames up 4-0.

Colorado eventually got a fortunate goal from Milan Hejduk that just seemed to keep rolling over Miikka Kiprusoff’s glove and into the net.  This goal sparked new life into the Avalanche.

In the third period, the Avalanche found their game. Matt Duchene roofed a great shot of off an outstanding pass from Shane O’Brien, jolting the crowd at Pepsi Center, which had been pretty much anemic to that point,  to life.

Colorado squandered a few power play opportunities before finally managing to pull within one goal on a great end-to-end effort that ended with David Jones re-directing a big one-time shot from Ryan O’Reilly past Kiprusoff.

With five minutes remaining, the Avalanche were smelling blood and managed to play their best hockey of the night. They fell just short as time ran out on the Avs, who were getting chances from all over but just couldn’t manage to get one last puck past Kiprusoff.

Things to note:

The Avalanche were 0 for 5 on the powerplay during the game, which included 0 for 4 in the third period.  Calgary really did a great job killing off the Avalanche powerplay tonight and that made the biggest difference in the game, especially late.  If the Avalanche get one or two of those chances in the third period, the game is going into overtime.

Miikka Kipprusoff has now won nine straight games against the Avalanche.

Joe Sacco continues to struggle as the Avs head coach.  He can’t get his team to play a consistent game, they seem afraid to play on home ice, and the line combinations have no consistency. Line combinations continue to be shuffled as if they are being tossed into a hat and dropped. Why Duchene was ever moved off of Stastny’s wing after his break out game against Dallas makes no sense at all.  Strangely enough, as soon as Duchene was placed back that line, he scored.

Either Sacco is completely unable to prepare his team on any type of consistent basis or he doesn’t have the respect and full attention of his team.

What do you think?

The Avalanche went in to Dallas desperately needing to get their offense going while also looking to get some points to keep pace with the rest of the Western Conference.

The Avalanche absolutely dominated the first period, scoring twice. The first goal was from “Silent Jay” McClement who roofed a juicy rebound given up by Kari Lehtonen for his first of the season. A little while later the Avalanche had a powerplay opportunity and Matt Duchene made the Stars pay with a great shot from in the slot that beat Lehtonen through the five-hole.

After a strong first period, in which the Avalanche outshot Dallas 13-3, you would think Colorado was in for a cakewalk of a game, right?  Not so fast.

The Avalanche found themselves in frequent penalty trouble as the game progressed and the Stars really made them pay, scoring three powerplay goals in the third period and adding an even strength talley to go four straight against a wayward Semyon Varlamov.

Suddenly it’s 4-2 Dallas and all the momentum is on the Stars’ side.

Then Duchene puts in his second goal of the game on a bad clearing attempt by the Stars, breathing new life into the Avs. Paul Stastny quickly followed up with a flukey goal of his own from behind the net that found its way into the net, tying up the game at four.

The rapid pace continued when Daniel Winnik buried another juicy rebound, kicking it up to his stick and burying it for the lead. The Stars battled back though, netting one from the point. Varlamov had a lot of traffic in front of him and couldn’t see the puck, a play that Dallas capitalized on multiple times throughout the night.

Colorado wasn’t ready to quite though. Matt Duchene made the Stars pay again with an absolutely amazing dangle and a hard enough shot to beat Lehtonen for his first career hat trick. Jamie Benn tied the game with about four minutes remaining with a deflection, forcing overtime.

The bonus hockey started 3-on-3 because of penalties near the end of regulation. Dallas managed to end the game when Jan Hejda was caught scrambling, chasing Loui Eriksson around the net. He pulled Varlamov out of his crease and Eriksson’s shot easily went in, giving Dallas the victory.

Thing to note:

Matt Duchene was moved to left wing to try and jump start his point production. He played with Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk and certainly seemed fired up, playing an all around sound game.

With his three goals and an extra assist, Duchene is now tied for the team lead in points with 10.

Semyon Varlamov gave up seven goals in what was really his first brutal game of the season. He should bounce back though, he’s a young guy with a lot of confidence in his abilities and a positive track record in Colorado.

Even though the defensive units had been shuffled up for the game, Sacco went back to the pairing of Johnson and Hejda in overtime. They duo were on the ice during the game winning goal, with Johnson once again on his stomach in the crease when the puck went in.

The broadcasters made a point of mentioning that the Avalanche scored six goals in Dallas tonight, which is the same amount of goals that Colorado has scored in all five home games. Hopefully the offensive explosion continues when they come back to the Pepsi Center.

With the overtime loss tonight, the Avalanche now have 15 points on the season, which puts them in 5th in the very competitive Western Conference.

The Avs gave up three powerplay goals and their penalty kill has started to slip a little,  which is a cause for concern as it really hindered the Avalanche last year.

The powerplay was much improved on the evening and watching the Avalanche carry the puck into zone to establish possession was a pleasant surprise.

Tonight the Avalanche return home to face the Calgary Flames where they hope to continue their scoring ways.

What do you think?

What does walking have to do with chewing gum? Have The Avalanche Guild found a new brand name to start selling?  Who deserves to be team captain?

All of these questions are contained in and largely answered in this weeks episode of Two Guys 1 Puck. Featuring Ryan, Jonathon, Kevin and special guest Justin Goldman, TG1P-EP9 takes a look at the past two weeks of Colorado Avalanche hockey. The guys examine the Avalanche’s inability to win at home while also discussing opinions on who deserves to be the captain of Colorado and why Erik Johnson is no longer on the list for consideration.

The Matt Duchene Experiment is also discussed at length, as is whether or not TJ Galiardi deserves to be centering his own line. Is that too much responsibility? Probably. Of course there is talk of both Semyon Varlamov and Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Justin even mentions the upcoming slate of goaltenders.

Unfortunately, because of an unknown head injury, Peter Mueller is as absent in the conversation of this podcast as he is on the ice for the Avalanche.

Check it out!

Two Guys 1 Puck is also available for download on iTunes!

What do you think?

Coming into Sunday night’s game against the L.A. Kings, the Colorado Avalanche had the league’s best record on the road but were also the only team in the NHL that had yet to log a point on their home ice.  It was also the first game for The Burgundy Brigade to try and bring a little bit of audible excitement back into the arena.

The first period got off to an interesting start as the teams traded powerplays with the Avalanche coming out empty handed on their first. Still, both teams tallied goals during the Kings’ power play.

Chuck Kobasew drew first blood, shorthanded, after rookie rock star Gabriel Landeskog challenging a defending Anze Kopitar rather than just clearing the puck. Landeskog got past Kopitar and put a great pass right on Kobasew’s stick as he was coming through the blue line. Then with Landeskog crashing the net and drawing L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick his way, Kobasew stuffed in a wrap-around chance for the Avs’ second short handed goal of the season.

L.A. tied the game 27 seconds later when Scott Parse made a great play by batting a loose rebound out of mid-air and past Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov. Had Parse let the puck come back to the ice, Varlamov would have been in position and would have easily stopped the puck. It was a great play by Parse.

The second period began with the teams even at 1 goal apiece.  Things stayed that way until the Avalanche got a very fortunate bounce during another powerplay.

On a dump in, Quick moved out to try and play the puck behind the net only to have it take a funny bounce off of the boards and land in the vacant crease. Avalanche sniper Milan Hejduk made a great adjustment, spinning himself around fast enough to shovel the puck by a diving Quick for a powerplay goal and a 2-1 lead.

The Kings then evened the game on a 5 on 3 power play that saw Kopitar bang home a rebound to even the game at two.  The Avalanche managed to kill off the second penalty, but spent most of the period in their own zone, going into the third period trailing dramatically in shots 24-9.

The Avalanche remained vigilant in the third period and Matt Duchene fired a great shot through Drew Doughty and past Quick’s glove hand to give the Avs a 3-2 lead that they would never relinquish.

Once Colorado got the lead in the third period they managed to shut down the neutral zone, play solid defense, and still create some good chances for themselves at the same time.  This was a welcome change to seeing the team just try to sit on a lead and play the unstable “prevent” defense. The best defense, as they say, is a good offense and the Avalanche really played that out during the third period of this game.

Things to note:

TJ Galiardi found his way back into the line-up on Paul Stastny’s line across from Hejduk. He played a very solid game and may have a home with Stastny and Hejduk for the near future.

Kobasew had been demoted to the fourth line for this game, but seemed to respond to the challenge with his shorthanded goal. While he wasn’t particularly spectacular throughout the rest of the game, he wasn’t noticeable in a negative sense either.  Hopefully this is a change for the positive for Kobasew, who hadn’t logged a single point since he scored in Montreal, because he definitely hasn’t done a lot to meet expectations.

Duchene had probably his best game of the season thus far and not just because he notched the game winning goal.  Over the past couple of games it really looked like Duchene was trying to get out and score instead of doing what he does best: creating chances for everybody.  Against the Kings, Duchene really seemed to have his touch back.  He was both shooting and passing, so it wasn’t predictable what he was planning to do. Plus, his goal on Quick was one of those amazing shots that only a greatly skilled player could make.  Hopefully this will open up the floodgates for Dutchy.

Varlamov continues to shine for the Avalanche in net as he stopped 30 of 32 shots. Varly should have been the first star of Sunday’s game.

The Avalanche were actually outshot very badly overall, 32-16, but managed to pull out a W thanks to good defensive support and great goaltending.  Colorado was particularly physical in their own end, rubbing out Kings forwards close to the net on multiple occasions.

The absolute highlight of the evening was the presence of The Burgundy Brigade.  For not having a ton of them out for the first time, they certainly had quite the impact on a half empty stadium.

Sporting some awesome Uller helmets and a whole lot of passion, the group made a lot of noise with some original chants and organized leadership that the crowds at the Pepsi Center have been lacking. Probably the loudest moment of the night was during the third period when The Burgundy Brigade started a “Let’s go Avs!” chant that was picked up by the rest of the arena.  It was absolutely amazing.  It even got to the point where other sections started some cheers as well.

It was truly beautiful to hear noise returning to the Pepsi Center, and this is just the beginning of what is going to be a fantastic revolution.

The Avalanche will play the Phoenix Coyotes tonight at Pepsi Center. Here’s hoping for another great crowd and another strong performance.

Check out who Ryan think’s should be team captain before it is too late.

What do you think?

The Colorado Avalanche went into Calgary with a lot of streaks riding on the game.

The Avalanche looked to extend their road winning streak to seven games and end a losing streak to the Calgary Flames that carried back to last season.

Things got off to a bit of an inauspicious start for the Avalanche though, who were absolutely dominated throughout the first period. The Avs were outshot 21-5 in the opening frame but, despite being pinned in their own zone for the majority of the first period, they managed to tally the first goal of the game on the powerplay when Kyle Quincey buried the rebound after Paul Stastny hit the post on an open net chance.

Calgary responded quickly when the young rookie Roman Horak beat Chuck Kobasew to a loose puck and put a good backhander over Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s glove hand. After a couple more shifts of being thoroughly dominated, Avalanche coach Joe Sacco used his time out and started laying into his team for being complacent.

The message didn’t seem to land as the Avalanche limped into the intermission and out of it, allowing the Flames put home two more goals. The first came from Lee Stempniak after Erik Johnson couldn’t clear a rebound out of the crease. Giguere seemed quite upset, shooting the puck out of his net at the boards. The second goal was scored on a Calgary powerplay by Rene Bourque, who hammered home a rebound to put the Flames up 3-1.

From that point on, the Flames were playing defense, allowing the Avalanche to start finding their legs and getting some chances. Unfortunately it took until they were down by two, most of the way through the second period, before they actually started to play. This is a common problem with the Avalanche.

Ryan Wilson brought the game within one goal after Ryan O’Reilly’s line really turned up the heat, finishing the rebound from a Gabriel Landeskog shot. That would be as close as the Avalanche would get though, as Bourque was credited with an empty net goal. He was hauled down on a clean breakaway by Quincey.

The Flames have now beat the Avalanche in their last six meetings, including five in a row dating back through last season. There just seems to be something about Calgary that makes the Avalanche play down and they need to find out what that is fast because there are five more games against Calgary this year.

Things to note in this game:

Even though he took a “maintenance day” on Monday, had three full days of rest, and was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice, goaltender Semyon Varlamov was not the starting keeper in Calgary. One explanation for this could be that they are really going to be playing him a lot in the coming days; and even then, Varly has been playing well and is in a rhythm, the last thing the coaching staff should do is mess with that.

Matt Duchene started the night between Kobasew and Joakim Lindström but found himself bouncing back between them and a pairing with Cody McLeod and Jay McClement throughout the match.

Joe Sacco seems to have absolutely no idea what he wants to do with this second line of his and is really hindering any possible chemistry with unnecessary line shuffling.  Duchene regularly struggles early in the season but needs to be given the best opportunity to right his game.  This mishandling of lines could really take away from what should be a break out year for Duchene, but it is too early to know for sure.  One person concerned already is Adrian Dater.

Gabriel Landeskog’s assist gives him six points on the year and ties him for second on the team in scoring with Stastny, David Jones, and Milan Hejduk. Pretty good company for the young kid to keep.  He also led the team in shots with seven. The rest of the team should be looking to this kid if they are having scoring troubles, following his lead: keep it simple and get the puck to the net.

This was definitely a bad game from the Avalanche, but it is far from time to panic as this was arguably the first of the season. How the team responds to this loss will be more telling. After a less than stellar game against the Blackhawks at home, the Avalanche responded with a solid effort and a win.  So it is very possible that the Avs are able to do the same when they play the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.

That game will be in the Pepsi Center where the Avalanche have yet to win this season. This will be just the third home game of the season for the Avs, but it is important that the third time be a charm for Colorado to get that first home victory of the season.

What do you think?

The Colorado Avalanche managed to stay unbeaten on the road despite a very tough home and home challenge from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Early in the game it looked as if the Blackhawks were going to have the same type of performance as in the last match, when they were able to control a great amount of the game, but the Avalanche fought back and managed to put the first goal in the net when Paul Stastny deflected the puck past Corey Crawford.

The second period didn’t get off to nearly as good of a start when Erik Johnson brutally turned the puck over to Chicago’s Michael Frolik who lasered a shot past Semyon Varlamov. David Jones got the next goal in very fortunate fashion as he caught the defender’s stick while trying to center a pass, the puck jumping up and past Crawford.

Gabriel Landeskog added the next goal of the game as he came barreling towards the net and caught a great pass from Ryan O’Reilly, who continues to show that he might be the best leader on the team right now. Landeskog shoved a shot through Crawford’s legs to put the Avs up by 2 goals.

It looked like the Avalanche might get up another goal when Daniel Winnik came in on a 2-on-1 with O’Reilly but rang the puck right off of the post.  Just a little later Winnik took a short-lived penalty as Jonathan Toews put home a powerplay goal with just under one minute left in the period to start the ball rolling back for the Blackhawks.

The third period began in frustrating fashion as the Avs seemed to sit back and play a bit of “prevent” defense, which came back to bite them yet again. Jamal Mayers got a big shot on Varlamov and the rebound ended up caroming in off of Ryan O’Byrne’s skate evening the game at 3.

With just over 5 minutes remaining in the third period, a defensive miscommunication led to a chance for the Hawks that was converted when Marian Hossa redirected the puck in the air and past the Avs netminder.

At this point it seemed that all was lost for the Avs unless they could catch a big break fast, which they did when Ryan O’Reilly fed Landeskog, all alone, into the zone. Landeskog buried the breakaway, tied the game, and then dove into Winnik a la Matt Duchene.

A slashing call on Milan Hejduk with two seconds in regulation sent the Avs into OT shorthanded but the PK and Varlamov weathered the storm and got through it. Both teams got a couple more chances before going to a shootout.

Crawford managed to stop both Hejduk and Duchene’s opportunities, and Varlamov turned aside all of Chicago’s shooters. Then Joakim Lindström absolutely undressed Corey Crawford with a sick move to give the Avalanche a 5-4 shootout win.

Things to note in this game:

Matt Duchene was moved onto the fourth line between Cody McLeod and Jay McClement.  This was clearly a message sending action from Joe Sacco, who is famous for his messages, to hopefully get Duchene going again.

Duchene had a couple good opportunities in the game, but never managed to get the puck on the net. This is a problem that we’ve been seeing a lot of from Duchene to start off the season.

The Avalanche were badly outshot in this game by a total of 38 – 24, but they still managed to pull things out in the end.

Gabriel Landeskog had his first 2 goal game of his professional career, something that we will see a lot more of from him.  He gets into those dirty areas and still has the skill to bury the puck top shelf.  Landeskog is now second on the team in goal scoring just behind David Jones, with 4 goals.

Though being outshot, the Avalanche badly outhit the Blackhawks by a total of 42 – 25.  This Avalanche team is far grittier and tougher than a year ago, and their constant physical play is proving that game in and game out.  The more they can keep this up, the more likely they will be to be in the playoff conversation as the year runs down.

With tonight’s win, the Avalanche are now 6-0-0 on the road, tying the second longest road win streak in team history.  Hopefully the Avs will be able to put something together at home soon enough.

After the Avalanche gave up the fourth goal to the Blackhawks, with under 5 minutes to go in the game, there was no change in the Avalanche forecheck, highlighting the absolute refusal of Joe Sacco to make any type of adjustment when the game is getting away from the team.  The goal was more a result of the hard work of the best line on the team combined with a fortunate bounce.

This was a good response from the Avalanche to be able to fight back and win a game after having a long winning streak snapped. After successful runs end, it’s easy for a team to lose 3 games in a row, but the Avalanche didn’t let that happen.  If Colorado can respond to losses in this fashion, you can almost count on a playoff appearance for this team.

What do you think?

The latest in The Avalanche Guild podcast series, Two Guys 1 Puck tackles the season thus far.

Ryan, Jonathon, and Kevin were at it again this week, talking about the Colorado Avalanche franchise record success on the recent five game road swing and the disappointing loss at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks in the first of a home and home series. Bolstered by outstanding goaltending, yet again, from Semyon Varalmov, the Avs were still outplayed by a rolling Hawks club.

The guys also delve into the Joe Sacco situation, discussing his propensity for sending messages to players, including Matt Duchene, and Sacco’s inability to make adjustments to bring his team back into a game.

Ovbiously not all sunshine and rainbows, the Peter Mueller debacle is discussed at length, with the debate turning towards head shots in general and whether or not the Shannanban is working.

Finally, what would a TG1P be without a little netminder nitpicking from the man himself, Justin Goldman. Varlamov, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, and Corey Crawford are just a few of the guys who made the final cut. Goldman’s scouts Crawford so the Colorado Avalanche know how to beat him.

Listeners are also treated with talk of the Hank Siegel article and there is more to the story than most know about.

Two Guys 1 Puck is also available in iTunes.

Leave your comments below!

I like to consider myself a journalist. I cover the Colorado Avalanche because it is the team I enjoy and because they play in the city that I live in. I’m in the midst of my third full season covering the Avs and have yet to receive any financial compensation for the blood, sweat and tears that I put into my work. Still, I do it for the love of the game. I do it for the benefit of the people who read what I have to say. And I do it with my own strict set of journalistic ethics and morals, abiding by what I was taught as right and wrong during journalism classes at the University of Denver – in between Pioneers hockey games – and by what I have learned about morality during my life.

I answer to no one. There is no large company with a valuable reputation at stake. There is no conglomeration paying my salary, asking me to earn my paycheck with studious analysis and thoughtful creativity. I’d obviously like to maintain a relationship with the Avalanche so that we can continue to offer fans exciting programs and discount tickets, but I have no responsibility to maintain any rules set forth by anyone except myself – and those of the U.S. Constitution. I’m not credentialed and I am, in fact, frowned upon by Colorado Avalanche media relations executives because I am an independent journalist. Call me a blogger if you’d like, they certainly do. In case you didn’t know, the Avs don’t credential anyone who isn’t working directly for a newspaper, magazine, television station or radio show.

So I could sit in the dark, take on a pseudonym, spout whatever trivial truths or untruths that I desire, and not care about damaging the reputation of the countless other independent writers struggling to be known as legitimate sources of information in the new age of media. And yet I don’t. I am upfront about who I am and what I represent because I have integrity.

Because of this, it is hard to sit by and watch as some spoiled hack of a “journalist” mails in an insulting, uneducated diatribe that exposes his bigotry, all in the name of “news”. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Hank Siegel from Fox 31.

On the same day that had sports guru and renowned writer Bill Simmons lauding the reemergence of the NHL while simultaneously denouncing the NBA labor disputes, Siegel was busy typing away at his brilliant, Pulitzer Prize worthy darling, “Avalanche on a hot streak, but who knew?”

Everyone is allowed an opinion and no opinion is more important than another.

I get that this is commentary, but it is also extremely out of touch and disturbing when you think that this guy could request and receive a credential to any Avalanche game he wanted under the guise of “reporting” for Fox. If it weren’t for the Denver Nuggets, I’m not even sure that Siegel would know where the Pepsi Center is located.

“The Colorado Avalanche are off to their best start in years–maybe ever–but I don’t see throngs of reporters descending on the Pepsi Center to catch every word the comes off the tongue of Matt Duchene or Milan Hejduk, or local TV newscasts leading with news of their new goaltenders,” wrote Siegel. That’s interesting because the presence of local journalists and news stations at Colorado Avalanche practice yesterday was surprising. Channel 9 News, Altitude Sports with both Kyle Keefe and Julie Browman, The Denver Post’s Mike Chambers, and NHL.com’s Rick Sadowski were among those in attendance for practice.

Meanwhile, Adrian Dater -also of The Denver Post – was on local radio, 102.3 The Ticket, talking Avalanche hockey. After practice and dutifully – and cheerfully – signing some autographs for the handful of fans outside the practice facility, rookie winger Gabriel Landeskog was on the same station talking about his early success in the NHL. Susie Wargin herself has been spotted at Family Sports Center to partake in the Avalanche media frenzy as well. Mile High Sports recently published a “hockey issue” of their magazine, filled with information and pictorials of the team.

Oddly enough though, Fox 31 hasn’t been seen sniffing around.

Continuing to postulate on the lack of interest in the cool game of hockey, Siegel lists his theories:

The season is too long. 
Too many teams qualify for the playoffs. 
Nobody really understands when or why there’s a stoppage in play. 
It’s too difficult to appreciate on TV. 
Geographically-challenged Americans can’t locate some of the cities on a map. 
It’s impossible to correctly pronounce the names of a significant number of the players. 

It isn’t hard here to discern the uneducated opinion of the guy. The season is too long says a guy who recently wrote about the excitement of catching a foul ball at a baseball game. Baseball seasons run nearly twice that of the NHL at 162 games. Also, no major sports league will ever manage the corporate sponsor success of the NFL, allowing for enough money to be made in a 16 game season.

Nobody really understands when or why there’s a stoppage in play? Have you ever been to a women’s lacrosse game? This accusation is insulting to fans of any sport that have taken the time to learn the rules. How often do baseball fans witness a balk? Do die-hards criticize them for not knowing what the rare foul is? How many different penalties are called per NFL game? The point is that anyone can take the time to learn the rules of any sport, without exerting a lot of effort or brainpower. Overly complicated the NHL is not.

It’s too difficult to appreciate on TV? He’s right, I rather enjoy the 15 seconds of NFL gameplay and the subsequent 15 minutes of commercials over a game where commercial stoppages happen when available. Is there a problem with the puck being too small to notice, because it is awfully similar to a baseball. If you can’t appreciate the game on your television Hank, maybe you should go in person. Simmons thinks hockey has the best setup in sports.

“I realized something during last night’s Kings-Blues game: I have never not enjoyed myself at an NHL game. I mean, what’s not to love? It’s a sport with the best in-game format (long period, long break, long period, long break, long period, go home), best regular-season in-game wrinkle (the shootout), best secretly awesome moment (any fight), highest percentage of “most likable players” (hands down), and highest percentage of “true fans in attendance” of the four major sports (indisputable). They fixed many of the sport’s problems, made it better, and now we’re here.”

Geographically-challeneged Americans can’t locate some of the cities on a map? Now this is just ridiculous. I realize that it can be hard to create a list of reasons to support a topic, especially one as poorly considered as Siegel’s. I was recently asked to write ten reasons to be excited about the Colorado Avalanche but had to reduce it to a list of five for lack of strong supporting arguments. Assuming that ignorant Americans don’t like something because they can’t locate it on a map is a gross generalization considering the close-mindedness of this entire country.

It’s impossible to correctly pronounce the names of a significant number of the players? Small children are taught to sound out words or word pairings that they’re familiar with to help when pronouncing unfamiliar terms. Let’s practice: Peter Forsberg. P-ter Fours-berg. Sidney Crosby. Sid-knee Cross-bee. Ilya Bryzgalov. Ill-yea Breeze-gal-of. Alex Ovechkin. Al-ex O-vet-ch-kin. Of course every now and then a tricky one comes along like Patrick Roy, which is pronounced Patrick Wah or Jonathan Toews, which sounds like Tay-vz. Yet to maintain Siegel’s argument, let’s would bring up T.J. Houshmandzadeh as an example of a difficult attribution from the NFL or even Kosuke Fukodome, Marc Rzepczynski, and Jhoulys Chacin from the MLB. How about some more familiar Denver names? Dante Bichette. Andres Galaraga. Yes, I realize that Tim Tebow is pretty easy to remember. So is David Jones.

I understand that it would be hard to continue with a fledgling list of reasons why one is too lazy to watch hockey, so Siegel then shifts gears to it being a nationalistic pride thing before changing the subject to tennis. Maybe most American’s only root for their teams in the Olympics and World Cups, but I’m willing to be there is a good contingent of fans of any sport who will carry allegiances for any number of other national teams, especially after their own country has been eliminated. I’m sure it was easier for many Americans to be happy that Canada beat the United States for the Gold medal in hockey than it would have been if a country like Russia had won. At least we are all North Americans right?

However, none of the points that Siegel brings up are as important as his flamboyant and irresponsible use of the race card. “It’s still often “whispered” that the NBA’s popularity is limited by the league being more than 80-percent black. By that logic, the NHL should be the most popular league in sports since of its 690 active players, only 29 are black,” wrote Siegel. “Talk about Vanilla Ice!”

Disproving his own theory in a single sentence aside, Siegel has attempted to bring shock value to his writing by bringing up a touchy subject that has no bearing on anything else he has written. I’m sure Wayne Simmonds - a recent victim of modern day racism - thinks he is just as much a hockey player as Semyon Varlamov is, despite nationality or ethnicity.

It is 2011. Human beings are human beings, end of story. Siegel’s attempt at shock-journalism, in the poorly imitated vein of Mark Kiszla, has failed completely, resulting in an outrageous spectacle that leaves the journalistic landscape in Denver tarnished. Terry Frei, Cecil Lammey and the rest of the hard working sports writers in town should be just as upset as the poor fans who read this rubbish. Fox 31 should be disappointed not only at Siegel, but also at the failure of an editor to prevent something this disgusting from reaching their hard-earned audience. This is this kind of “journalism” that would give a blogger an all expense paid trip to every black-list in town and yet, Hank Siegel will continue to earn a paycheck for spouting off nonsense and bandwagon Tebow-mongering type. He could get a credential to tonight’s Avalanche game against the Chicago Blackhawks, were he so inclined. Though I think it is apparent that he won’t.

I’m technically not part of the institution and I’m embarrassed to be considered similar. Fans of the NHL and of sports in Denver should be up in arms about articles like this.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

The Colorado Avalanche were all about setting records last season, but not in the all inspiring, proud history kind of way. Setting the longest losing streak in franchise history was just one example of how bad things were at the time.

The Avalanche have looked to right the wrongs this season and started out by winning all five games on their East coast swing after dropping their home opener to the Detroit Red Wings. Tackling teams like the Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets, the wayward Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, and, most recently, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Avalanche managed to gobble up eight out of ten free points on the road and ten out of ten total points.

Playing four teams in the Northeast Division meant that Colorado had a chance to steal points while also not worrying about giving up anything in a three-point game. It certainly seems the “never say die” attitude that the team displayed early last season is back in all of it’s glory, as the Avs came back to win against both Columbus and Montreal, winning both of those games in the shootout.

Most recently they managed to walk away with a win an overtime against the red-hot Leafs, who started their season out 3-0 at home. Both teams seemed evenly matched throughout the game, with the exception of a strong start by the Avalanche and a strong regulation finish by Toronto.

Currently sitting atop the entire NHL with ten points is nothing to marvel at this early in the season but it is nice to see after forsaking the standings all together following last year’s All-Star break. Still, the second full of week of hockey has only just begun and there are plenty of trials and tribulations ahead for the rolling Colorado Avalanche.

Firing on all cylinders, the Avalanche have seen scoring contributions from vets Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny, and David Jones, but they’re also getting help from Joakim Lindström, Matt Duchene, Dan Winnik, Ryan O’Reilly, and rookie Gabriel Landeskog.

The Avs look to carry their momentum back to the Pepsi Center as they square off against the 2-1-1 Chicago Blackhawks in a back-to-back, home and away series. It will be important to continue a strong October, gaining points against Western Conference opponents if Colorado is looking to make a postseason run.

What do you think?

The Colorado Avalanche have now won the first three matches in a five game round trip, most recently dispatching the Columbus Blue Jackets in a shootout and the lowly Ottawa Senators in a blowout.

The most important thing to take away from these two newest wins is that Colorado continued to improve their play between nights. While they struggled in the first two games to score, it seemed it would carry on in Columbus until rookie Gabriel Landeskog managed to redirect a Jan Hejda shot when jumping out of the way. This forced the shootout, which Milan Hejduk and Matt Duchene easily managed to win.

Semyon Varlamov has been an animal so far this season, turning away 30 or more shots in each of his three games. He got the night off in Canada, as he should have, allowing Jean-Sebastien Giguere a chance to prove why the goaltending tandem in Colorado could be quite the devastating one-two punch. Giguere allowed one goal early on but he denied the next 15 shots he saw, paving the way for Colorado to find some confidence offensively.

Hejduk opened the scoring up for Colorado for the second time in three games and Landeskog followed his lead by netting the game winning tally, his second goal in as many games. The Avalanche didn’t stop there, taking advantage of a struggling Ottawa squad. Goalie Craig Anderson was ultimately left to his own devices tonight as the Avalanche scored seven goals in all, including two by Joakim Lindström. Lindström was filling in for a scratched Peter Mueller, who was “given the night off”.

It is quite possible that the Swede will continue to find himself on the roster over other players as he has made a more immediate impact. The Avs finally got some special teams success as well, scoring four powerplay goals and one short handed goal from the master, Dan Winnik. They did however allow a powerplay goal as well, bringing their 100% penalty kill streak to an end.

Without a doubt, the Colorado Avalanche were on their game tonight. They made very few mistakes and, when they did, they were bailed out by a handful of saves from Giguere. It is important to note that the Senators looked absolutely awful in this game and were easily picked apart. While devouring less than adequate teams is the sign of a strong club, the previous three games are a warning of the potential struggles that Colorado may undergo against more competitive teams in the NHL.

A solid win by the burgundy and blue, Colorado will look to continue their streak on Saturday as they take on the Montreal Canadiens.

What do you think?

Coming off of a disappointing loss Saturday during the jersey retirement of former Colorado Avalanche superstar Peter Forsberg, the Burgundy and Blue were looking to start their five game road trip off on the right foot.

Bolstered by outstanding goaltending from newcomer Semyon Varlamov, the Avalanche managed to walk into the house of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins and send a message: Colorado is in it to win it.

Milan Hejduk was the lone goal scorer, breaking a 0-0 tie in the third period and solidifying the shutout for Colorado. Varlamov flat out stood on his head, making a handful of supremely athletic saves that kept his team competing.

The Avalanche, just like on Saturday night, came out hitting and managed to keep up with the Bruins for the first two periods of play. They were tenacious, controlling the pace of pay and outshooting Boston throughout the game. Unfortunately, they seemed to let off of the gas after taking the lead, relying instead on Varlamov to bail them out. With less than five minutes left in the game, Varlamov managed to turn aside an epic chance by Milan Lucic on a two on one. This was just one of many highlight worthy saves the young keeper made today, stopping all 30 shots faced.

Hejduk’s goal will likely open the scoring floodgates in Colorado, despite it being a flat, on-ice slider that beat Bruins star Tuukka Rask.

Gabriel Landeskog continued to prove himself worthy of playing in the NHL. He was nearly omnipresent, clogging lanes, making veteran-like passes, and playing the body. Paired with Dan Winnik and Ryan O’Reilly, this third line started each period of the game and led the forwards with time on ice. They continue to play the best two-way game on the team and will see an increase in minutes as they are extremely effective. Landeskog and Kyle Quincey each had a game-high five shots on goal.

Matt Duchene had a great game as well. He tallyed an assist, four hits, and even managed to save a goal by sliding feet first across the crease.

Colorado will head into Columbus on Wednesday. The game will not be televised but we will be offering a live chat, as we do with every away game.

What do you think?

Welcome to a new segment counting down the days until the Colorado Avalanche open the season against the hated Detroit Red Wings tonight, October 8th. We will take a look at five reasons why you should be excited about the Avalanche this season.

Reasons to be excited about the Avalanche vary from a plethora of mediocre local sports teams to players and goaltenders but there is one reason why the Avs will be exciting to watch for years to come: the prospects.

Colorado has spent the last few years making moves to secure the future of the franchise for the longterm. Excellent drafting, trading, and free agency acquisitions have left the Avalanche with a multitude of quality players to bring the club forward for many years.

On Free Agency Day the Avalanche scooped up fantastic young netminder Cedrick Desjardins, who has a tremendous upside and could likely see time in Denver this season if injuries rear their ugly head. Desjardins has fantastic stats in the AHL and won both games he played with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, allowing just one goal in each.

Gabriel Landeskog, drafted second overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, made the roster for tonight’s first game of the season. Landeskog had 66 points in 53 games last season and was one of the few draftees considered ready for the NHL. A gritty, strong, power forward, Landeskog has the chops to go far in the NHL. He’ll be on the team for years to come.

Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly. Both drafted in 2009, these youngsters are entering a pivotal third season in the NHL. Both made the jump straight from the draft and have never looked back. Duchene has been bolstering the second line for more than a season now and O’Reilly is quietly developing into a dependable, shutdown third line center. These kids are the future faces of the franchise and will be in Denver until they retire.

Stefan Elliott and Duncan Siemens were defensive partners together with the Saskatoon Blades. Drafted separately by the Avalanche, the duo have been reunited. A fantastic two-way, puck moving defenseman, Elliott very nearly made the opening night roster and will certainly be in the lineup at one point this season. Siemens was drafted this year and while not quite ready, will be an invaluably tough, lethal defenseman once he fills out a bit. Cameron Gaunce and Tyson Barrie join them as the blue line to be.

Luke Walker, Joey Hishon, Garrett Meurs, Brad Malone, Patrick Bordeleau and Sami Aittokallio are just a few more names for people to keep an eye on over the next few seasons. Speed, hands, goalscoring, on-ice vision, toughness, heart, and tenacity are all traits embodied by these guys. The Lake Erie Monsters made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season and they’ve only gotten stronger with new talent coming in and more on the way.

Things are looking up in Denver and will good for many years to come.

What do you think?

Welcome to a new segment counting down the days until the Colorado Avalanche open the season against the hated Detroit Red Wings next Saturday night, October 8th. We will take a look at five reasons why you should be excited about the Avalanche this season.

Over the summer the Colorado Avalanche acquired Jan Hejda and Shane O’Brien on defense; Chuck Kobasew, Joakim Lindström and Gabriel Landeskog on the attack; and an entirely new pair of puck stopping madmen – Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Semyon Varlamov in an effort to shore up some glaring inconsistencies.

You could argue that the Avalanche, who have been in the first stages of a rebuild for a while now, have actually moved on from the “restructuring to compete” phase of the rebuild. With key pieces in place for the longterm like Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly, Peter Mueller (now healthy) and Erik Johnson; and the future of the franchise looking promising with players like Stefan Elliott, Duncan Siemens, Brad Malone, and Garrett Meurs, Colorado is ready to start playing with the big dogs again.

Are they good enough to win the Stanley Cup this year? Probably not. But the beauty of parity in hockey is that teams like the Boston Bruins can shake off an almost first round upset and end up winning it all. Sometimes even the eighth place seed plunges deep into the playoffs without any reasoning whatsoever.

The next step for the Avalanche is quietly shedding any dead weight while adding a missing asset here or there. Then they start to roll.

Fans of the Denver Nuggets are familiar with the Kroenke family’s style of ownership by now: spend little, build from within, and compete. Many argue that the lack of salary spending is something holding these teams back but that is only valid until a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached. Once the new financial landscape has been identified, the Avalanche club will have more than enough money to lock all of their important players into long term contracts, avoiding an implosion like the Chicago Blackhawks or even the Avs of the early 2000′s.

Still, this team was leading the NHL in goals scored during the first portion of last season, overpowering opponents by more than three goals on many occasions. They are lethal, talented, tough, determined and most of all young. Colorado is built around a youth movement. The names of these players will be recognized for many years to come.

Colorado has something to prove this season and listening to what any so-called pundit might predict would be a sad error of judgement. Hell I won’t even try and predict where the Avalanche will end up, but with the state of sports in Denver, I bet they fare better than most. Plus, now there is a group of passionate Avalanche fans dedicated to bringing the noise and banding together to make anywhere they go more raucous and enjoyable.

Hockey is on the verge of a resurgence in Colorado and the lineup is looking good.

What do you think?

Welcome to a new segment counting down the days until the Colorado Avalanche open the season against the hated Detroit Red Wings next Saturday night, October 8th. We will take a look at five reasons why you should be excited about the Avalanche this season.

Local Sports.

It has been no secret that sports professional sports have had a falling off in Denver over the last year(s). The Denver Broncos seem destined to follow in the footsteps of last season. They’re 1-3 and appear to be making the wrong calls, both on the field and with personnel decisions. I won’t even mention yesterday’s performance against the Green Bay Packers. The Colorado Rockies displayed a vapid, hollow game this season, winning only enough to get fans hopes up before falling into abominable losing streaks. They even traded away struggling star pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez.

Then there is the Denver Nuggets. They certainly went through ups and downs, trading away their once lauded superstar Carmelo Anthony and fan favorite Chauncey Billups before bowing out of the first round in the playoffs last season. None of that really matters though, as the NBA has all but locked out of this season and it is very likely there will be no basketball at all this year.

While the Colorado Rapids saw glorious victory last season, winning the MLS Cup, they are currently fifth in their conference with a handful of games to go and there is no saying how they could finish given the parity in the league.

It would be safe to say that the Colorado Avalanche were second on the list of biggest local disappointments last year as they famously fell off in the second hand of the season, setting team records for things like longest franchise losing streak. But that was a different team.

Colorado has undergone a bit of a roster overhaul, adding massive size to the defensive game and multitudinous depth to their offensive attack. Six of the top eight defensemen on the team weigh more than 200 pounds, making the Colorado blue line a mean, treacherous place be venture for an opposing player. Needless to say the Avs won’t be pushed around this season.

Anyone that complains about the lack of recognizable names like Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Adam Foote are clearly out of touch with the state of hockey in Colorado. The Avs boast a roster of talent for years and years to come, including bankable stars like Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny, Erik Johnson, Peter Mueller, and newcomers like Gabriel Landeskog and Stefan Elliott. Let’s not forget that they’re anchored by the outstanding and lethal Milan Hejduk.

The season has yet to start and yet the Colorado Avalanche are easily the most promising professional sports team in the state at the moment. Poised to attack from a convenient shroud of mystery, the Avs will be a team to witness from the start of the season through the playoffs. That’s right – playoffs. Remember those.

The Colorado Avalanche announced another three roster reassignments today, following a spectacular 3-0 victory against the Dallas Stars last night.

Cameron Gaunce, Jonas Holøs, and Ryan Stoa were all returned to the Lake Erie Monsters. Gaunce had a quiet but strong camp, playing the body and hardly giving an inch. He is being groomed for a solid future in Colorado and will likely see time this season when injuries get underway. Holøs didn’t quite stand out during camp and the preseason the way he did last year, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t developing. He had a nice game last night including a few shots form the point, though none of them made it on net. Stoa ultimately failed to earn a full-time roster spot once again, and was a little slow getting going at camp.

Stoa has been a disappointing case for Colorado. Drafted higher than current center Paul Stastny, Stoa has failed to display the NHL prowess required to keep him in the big leagues. He managed a goal in last night’s preseason contest, but ultimately it was a Joakim Lindström shot that hit Stoa’s body and deflected down and under Stars stellar goaltending prospect Richard Bachman. Perhaps sensing his time in Denver might be short, Stoa even stepped up to defend Matt Duchene after a hard hit later in the game.

Unfortunately for him, it was too little to late and he will spend some time with the Monsters. This demotion will really call into question how much longer Colorado should continue to wait for Stoa to finish developing.

A Nice Win

Despite a somewhat impressive performance by soon-to-be-married Stars keeper Bachman, the Stars were simply overpowered by a tenacious Avalanche squad. Standouts included Brad Malone, Gabriel Landeskog, and Patrick Bordeleau. Malone was especially impressive, showing hunger while playing a calm, sophisticated game. He didn’t force the puck and made some surprising plays. Bordeleau was a hard-hitting, energy type last night and could find himself filling a fourth line role if he continues to work hard. At this point, it would be detrimental to the team to send Malone back down.

What do you think?

The Colorado Avalanche brought a close to their training camp with their annual Burgundy/White matchup tonight at the Air Force Academy outside of Colorado Springs.

A lot of intensity surrounded the sessions of training camp that led up to the intra-squad scrimmage, producing a ton of physical play and even a fight between Brad Malone and Dillon Donnelly.

With all of the physicality and hard hitting that happened in camp, it was quite surprising how much physicality was lacking from the Burgundy vs. White. Not to say that the game lacked intensity, it just didn’t have quite so much of the checking that really defined training camp.

The Burgundy squad saw goals from Gabriel Beaupre, Patrick Bordeleau and Greg Mauldin. The White team managed tallies from Malone, Ryan Stoa, Matt Duchene, and the eventual game winner from Erik Johnson.

Both Semyon Varlamov and Jean-Sebastien Giguere looked solid in net during their time in the game, and Sami Aittokallio finished up with a very strong showing, earning Team White a victory.

Aittokallio was especially good late in the game when facing a barrage of shots from Team Burgundy’s clearly desperate power play. His positioning was fantastic and he managed to find several shots through traffic while controlling his rebounds very well. Popular opinion is that the Avs should sign this kid quickly.

Players who stood out in a good way were Johnson (he looks primed to take on the captain’s role), Garrett Meurs, Stefan Elliott and Cody McLeod. Elliott is really showing that he could belong on this roster and fill the void left on the blue line by John-Michael Liles.

Players that didn’t do much to help themselves were Matt Hunwick, Stoa (despite his goal), Chuck Kobasew and Brandon Yip. The Avalanche brought Kobasew in as a way to provide scoring depth but he just has been absolutely invisible throughout camp and again tonight.

To wrap up training camp for the Avalanche, it’s safe to say that this team is nothing like the team that bottomed out a year ago. They are bigger, stronger, meaner and just as fast and skilled as a year ago.

Their goaltending is stronger and the team as a whole is a lot more physical. This team will probably take several people by surprise as too many people judged the Avalanche solely by the second half of the season and expect more of the same.

The Avalanche organization and their faithful have a lot of positive things to look forward to in the very near future.

Colorado will open up their preseason schedule on Thursday at the Dallas Stars and will play in Pepsi Center Friday against the St. Louis Blues.

What do you think? Were you there? Who stood out to you?