Last night seemed like one of those games that was too good to be true. The Vancouver Cancucks had repeatedly stomped our Colorado Avalanche and it was time for some payback. Despite what people seem to think, this team is fighting for a playoff spot, and the window for making the post season is rapidly diminishing with each loss. Yet what happened last night was nothing short of soul crushing for this team.
From the drop of the first puck, this game was played on the toes of each of the players. Both the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars kept the pace up, played decent offense, and great defense. Though the Avs were looking for a win to tie Vancouver for 1st in the Northwest Division, the Stars learned a lesson from their last meeting in Colorado. Don’t give the Avs an inch. In this game they proved they learned that lesson.
After seeing this on the Avalanche website, I have my doubts that Milan Hejduk and Marek Svatos will not be ready to play tomorrow against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Justin Mercier and Ryan Stoa were reassigned to the Lake Erie Monsters while Chris Durno and Brandon Yip were called up. I’m not saying that the Duke won’t play on Saturday, Joe Sacco is just being cautious in case Hejduk doesn’t feel up to it. Durno or Yip could play the part of healthy scratch for all we know.
Peter Budaj led the Colorado Avalanche past the suprisingly hot Phoenix Coyotes, 4-1 last night at the Pepsi Center. Facing 29 shots and stopping 28, Boods managed an excellent effort against a team that is blowing as many minds with their season start as the Avs are.
When the puck dropped in the first period, we didn’t see the same sluggish team the Avalanche were in the last two games. The pace had been picked up once again; it’s likely that Coach Joe Sacco lit a fire underneath the team’s collective behinds. You can tell the team is missing both Cody McLeod and Darcy Tucker, both out on injury.
T.J. Galiardi has been sent home to Colorado for further evaluation on an ankle injury suffered Wednesday night against Calgary. Although Galiardi returned to the ice and tested his ankle after the injury, he sat out for the third period of the game, no doubt as a precaution.
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