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Anyone But Detroit - A Colorado Avalanche Blog
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Written by Sean Payton
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Tuesday, 09 February 2010 00:27 |
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Earlier in the season, the Avs would have found a way to turn this game into a 5-4 game where Andy would have to make a couple ten bell saves in order to preserve the win. The Avs got up to the 5-2 lead before the halfway point of the game and stayed in control. The SOG for the 3rd period? Blues 11, Avs 10. These kids are staring to figure it out.
- The Colorado Avalanche are tied again with Vancouver for the lead in the Northwest division with 72 points. Vancouver does have a game in hand and even if the Canucks lose tomorrow, the Avs still won’t be in first place.
- 33 shots on goal. Over the last couple of games, the Avs have done as good as they have all season at getting pucks to the net.
- Stastny was a difference maker playing with guys like Svatos and Durno. A 2nd line role might be a better role for him - Duchene is starting to demand that he plays with the team's best talent, and Stastny probably makes less talented / hard working guys much more dangerous because he is such a great passer.
- First star was Brandon Yip with 2 more goals. 11 goals in 22 games. Wow.
- Why isn’t Yip killing penalties? I know he killed penalties at BU and I know the kill is going pretty well, but you’d think he’d at least get a chance.
- Cumiskey has no business playing the point on the PP. (But then again, does any of the Avs dmen?) Still think the Avs should dress 7 dmen and play Liles on the PP… Actually, I think that its about time of the Avs to move Clark and / or Svatos for a dman with a shot.
- McNab and Haynes mentioned there is talk of a 4 min high sticking penalty counting as if it was a major -- that is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Why not eject players for delay of game penalties, too?
- The TJ Oshie hooking penalty that negated a goal in the 2nd period was a total gift.
- @avalanchetalk Watches film of the opposing backup riding the pine to stay sharp. #whatBudajdoesduringthegame
Next game: at home against Ilya Kovalchuk and the Atlanta Thrashers, 7PM MST.
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Written by Sean Payton
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Sunday, 07 February 2010 22:50 |
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Which player has less than 100 career points as a member of the Avalanche?
- Tyler Aranson
- Stephane Yelle
- Martin Skoula
- Ryan Smyth
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Written by Sean Payton
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Sunday, 07 February 2010 10:55 |
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With 70 points, the 2009-10 Colorado Avalanche are now officially better than the 2008-09 version, who had a total of 69 after 82 games. The Avs needed to win this one - to keep pace with Vancouver and LA and gained ground on Phoenix and Calgary. They outworked the Oil and badly outshot Edmonton in each period finishing the game with a 42-20 advantage.
- Nice to Wolski score a goal, even if Deslauriers gave him a bit of a soft one. If you throw out a empty net gift goal that Stewart gave to Wolly against NJ, he hadn’t scored since Dec 19th against Columbus - so big one for #8.
- I thought it was a pretty rough game from Quincey - but it is just a continuation of what we have seen lately. Offensively, he generally can’t get his shot through at the point, and on the rare occasions when he able to, he misses the net.
- First game since Wilson returned from his concussion that I thought Ryan played at the same level he had been at prior to the injury.
- The big concern has to be Ryan O’Reilly foot injury. The penalty kill is going to suffer while Ryan is out - there is just no way to avoid that.
- Really weird to see Footer in a visor.
- Edmonton reminded me of the Avs of about a year ago. The Oil are 3-20-2 in their last 25 games - its about time to sit / trade whoever you can and see what you have in the system.
- Check out #whatKocidoesduringthegame - good stuff.
Next game: home against St. Louis on Monday, 7:30PM MST
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Written by Sean Payton
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Thursday, 04 February 2010 23:09 |
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Coming off a really nice win, this was a disappointing effort. Nashville dominated the game - it was more lopsided than the final score indicated. The Avs were only able to grab 2 of 8 points in the season series with Nashville. I’m glad to be done with the Preds - they don’t make mistakes and they have probably outworked the Avs in every game.
- Stastny wasn’t good enough tonight. The game broke open in the 2nd when Stastny took an awful delay of game penalty putting an offensively fragile Nashville on a 5 on 3. By the end of the period, the Preds would break out of their funk in a big way - scoring 4 goals.
- Speaking of bad penalties, you might not see a worse one this season than one Duchene took for continuing to hold on to his stick well after it broke.
- Notice that Nashville made the Avs pay for both of those dumb infractions taken by their star centers.
- O’Reilly was great on the 5-3.. . And then moments later, Arnott scored on Stastny’s horrible penalty and O’Reilly wasn’t any good the rest of the game.
- McLeod’s best game in a really long time. He was a legitimate offensive force tonight. You can’t expect that out of #55 every game, but it would be nice if we can get that out of him through the Olympic break.
- The only reason the Avs were even sort of in this game was due to a couple of isolated, special plays by Stewey and Duchene.
- Anyone else notice that Cumiskey falls down an awful lot?
- Hornqvist has to have the worst bleached hair job in the NHL.
- @AnyonebutNas Nashville fans threw hats on the ice for a guy who only scored 1 goal in the game. #FAIL
- Mark Rycroft is so much more entertaining than Brian Engblom.
Next game: A Hockey Night in Canada game - at home against Edmonton, 8PM MST
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Written by Sean Payton
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Wednesday, 03 February 2010 22:34 |
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Which former Avs player has been a member of the New York Rangers?
- Jon Klemm
- Brian Willsie
- Ian Laperriere
- Rick Tabaracci
(Click "Read More" for the answer)
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Written by Sean Payton
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Wednesday, 03 February 2010 00:06 |
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As bad as the last three games had been for the Avs, I would have become very worried if they would have blown this one. We started with the bad, unconfident team we’d seen over the last 3 games, we ended with the fast, confident team that won 6 games prior to those 3 games. I told my wife “I’ve got my Avs back!”.
- Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way. Galiardi and O’Reilly were something extremely special on the PK tonight. The game was over with the 1st shorty - you knew Columbus was going to quit (which led to the 2nd shorty.)
- O’Reilly was great 5 on 5 as well. He is shooting the puck a lot more instead of looking to make the pretty pass . That is important to do in a 3rd line roll where he isn’t going to be surrounded by the most offensively skilled guys.
- The Avs were able to overcome a really rough start where they gave up a shorty of their own to go down 1-0. I was positive that they were in a dog fight at that point. Not only did they find a way to win in regulation, they outscored Columbus 5-0 from there on.
- Don’t forget about the game Brandon Yip played. Two more goals - yes, the 2nd one was a really soft goal, but it was a really smart play by Yipper to throw that puck on net, forcing Garon to make the save. I’ve been saying Yip is for real since December - Mark Rycroft finally agreed tonight.
- Yip has 15 points - tied with Tucker. Oh, but Yip has played in 28 less games.
- McLeod built on last game. Keep it up, Cody.
- The first line isn’t still quite there, but it was nice to see Stasnty come away with a point. The group needs a breakout game and it could be coming soon.
- I’m shocked that Columbus hasn’t fired Hitchcock yet. Its just so incredibly obvious that team isn’t buying into his message anymore.
- Liles and Svatos were both non-factors tonight.
Next game: at 7th place Nashville Thursday at 6PM MST |
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Written by Sean Payton
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Monday, 01 February 2010 21:52 |
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I got a tip to check out a picapp.com for "relevant, fresh and legal images" for blogs. Good tip - a nice site that I'm sure to use. I wanted to play around a little with a few images to make sure I knew what I was doing and I found a bunch of interesting older pics, bringing back "the good ole days".
Hopefully these don't make you feel as old as they made me feel. Enjoy!
Foppa in the rare black helmet and white jersey:
Roy in the blank white helmet:
A super young Jerome Ignila:
You don't see a photo like this one very often:
Darcy Tucker wearing one of the worst jerseys in NHL history:
Before Bernie, there was Howler:
Anyone But Detroit:
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Written by Sean Payton
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Sunday, 31 January 2010 23:57 |
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First time all year that the Avs have lost three in a row. The Avs are stuck in a offensive funk and its impossible to win games when you can’t score. Its like the rest of the NHL has raised their game a level over the last week and the Avs haven’t been able to match. Lots of average players, but no one looks special.
- The Avs couldn’t stop the one guy that can score on the New York Rangers, Marion Gaborik. (Gabby has 33 goals, Callahan is next on NYR with 13.) He is a special player who was really on, but the Avs simply had to make a better effort to contain him.
- Koci had 2:05 of ice time tonight - Why not dress Liles instead and only play him on the PP? There is just no question that the Avs PP is better with Liles on it.
- Over this season high three game losing streak, the Avs offense game has been either way too cute or way too simple. Even though New York was playing a goaltender I never even heard of, it was clear to me at the halfway point that if they were going to score, it would have to be a really dirty goal.
- Again, Foote was the only dman even close to being effective. Wilson is clearly still trying to find his game after returning from the concussion, Cumiskey is playing a nervous game, Quincey and Hannan look very average, and Brett Clark is, well, Brett Clark.
- The Avs were simply awful in the 2nd. The Avs didn’t get a shot on goal until 7 or 8 minutes left in the period and were outshot 12-5.
- Nice game for McLeod - a big fight and obviously, the Avs only goal. McLeod can be a little streaky goal scorer, and if he can get going, it could be a big lift, especially while the top two lines are struggling.
- All season long, someone seems to step up when the team needs it - who will it be now - because, frankly we need it.
Next game: Columbus on Tuesday night, at home 7PM MST. |
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Written by Sean Payton
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Monday, 25 January 2010 19:23 |
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Dear Mr. Lombardi,
This open letter is in response to this clip and a series of tweets sent to @RealDenverSport, specifically the below quotes:
- “C’mon, you know the rule. No hockey fights allowed on this broadcast. My way of protesting the hockey subculture that openly promotes the pummeling of hockey players faces.”
- “Why are playoffs different? Why don't goons dress for the playoffs? Educate me please.”
- “Once again: when is the NHL most enjoyable? During the playoffs. Why is fighting curtailed during playoffs? Answer that.”
There is no question that there are plenty of US born sports broadcasters that didn’t grow up with hockey - that don’t understand the game and therefore don’t care for the game. And hey, that’s fine - I’m not much of a cricket fan for the same reasons.
What I can’t stand is when these same guys attempt to belittle hockey by embarking on moral crusade against fighting. I will refer to that group as “your ilk” for the rest of this letter.
Below are three misconceptions about hockey fighting you’ve pedaled on your show and on Twitter. It’s not like you invented these, your ilk have repeated these points to each other so many times that they have become truths. Clearly, you guys need a bit of education, so try to take it in:
Misconception #1: There is a “hockey sub-culture” that promotes fighting.
Guess what all of these Hall of Fame caliber, immensely respected hockey players have in common, Vic? (Besides being hockey players you‘ve actually heard of?) Sidney Crosby (4), Joe Sakic (2), Patrick Roy (3), Ray Bourque (17), Steve Yzerman (9), Wayne Gretzky (2).
Like it or not, fighting is deeply engrained into the fabric of the NHL. The game’s very best players have dropped their gloves at some point in their careers (given the right circumstances). This shows a wide acceptance of fighting – it is certainly not limited to a “subculture” inside of the game.
Misconception #2: “Goons” don’t play in the playoffs.
You know who plays in playoff games? The players that give the team the best chance to win the series. That can and will absolutely include a "goon” (so long as they are effective).
I already tweeted a link to Georges Laraque’s career playoff stats (58 games) to you (which you didn‘t respond to) - so here is a different example: Derek Boogaard’s impact on the Avs / Wild series in 2008.
If you’re not familiar with Boogaard’s game, he is the quintessential hockey “goon”. Case and point - he puts on a fighting camp each summer. He is also beloved by Minnesota Wild fans.
Derek played in all six games in the series and was very effective. In particular, he gave the Xcel Energy Center a big emotional lift whenever he was on the ice. Even though his impact was clear to those watching, it’s a nuance that is difficult to show in a single clip, but I'm going to try anyway. Watch the first sequence in these highlights from game 5. That’s #24 Derek Boogaard getting the forecheck started. His teammates follow his lead and the building goes nuts.
Misconception #3: There are no fights in the playoffs.*
This just simply isn’t true. There were 15 fights in the 2009 NHL Playoffs - including a fight in the Stanley Cup Finals between NHL All-Stars “sub-culture goons” Evgeni Malkin and Henrik Zetterberg.
*To be fair - you said hockey fights are curtailed during the playoffs. No fighting in the playoffs is a misconception I’ve heard before by your ilk and I wanted to address it here. If you would like, I CAN explain to you why there are less fights in playoff hockey – there are actually many factors that contribute to a reduction of fighting, but it’s a topic that requires an entire post in an of itself.
Look - I’ll be the first to admit that there is a legitimate debate that can be had about whether or not fighting should be allowed in the NHL. However, you (and your ilk) should not be a part of that discussion because you don’t understand the large implications that change would actually have on the NHL game.
Your pal,
Sean
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