The Christmas Wishlist for A Colorado Avalanche Fan

So it’s Christmas. Christmas during and NHL lockout can be a very unhappy time for an NHL fan. That hat you’ve always wanted, that book you have been dying to read, and that favorite player’s jersey you are dying to wear could very well never find its way under your tree come the morning of the 25^th. Why? Because you, and the people who care about you, have decided to boycott the NHL, including merchandise and tickets. Well if that sounds like you, then you are not the reason we have written this blog today.

This blog is for those of you fans who still want to make the Colorado Avalanche fans in your life happy with some NHL merchandise. So without further ado, we here at Avaholics Unanimous present to you the top 10 gift ideas for the Colorado Avalanche fan(s) in your life! (note: price ranges may not be the same in your area, do not include shipping cost or autographed memoribilia, and are subject to change erratically, unnecessarily, and arbitrarily.)   

10. Avalanche Puck: Either an official game puck, or just a puck with a great design on it. This is a very inexpensive way to tell the Avs fan in your life that you remembered his or her favorite team. Price Range: $2-10.

9. Mini sticks: For the child on your shopping list, or adult who refuses to grow up. C’mon guys, we’ve all played mini-sticks past 25, don’t lie to yourself. Mini sticks come blank, or with NHL team logos on them. Most sticks are still plastic but there are new composite sticks on the market. Look for these at a local hobby shop, online, or even in drug stores. Price range: $5-30

8. Hockey Cards: Not specific to the Avalanche but hey, if you get them enough hockey cards, we’re sure a Colorado player will come up. Hockey cards are a fun hobby and a great way to represent your love for the game. Price range: $1.50-50, dependent upon if you get single packs or hobby boxes.

7. A Colorado Avalanche Christmas Tree Ornament: Looking for something more sentimental? Something more festive and special? Well Colorado Avalanche Christmas tree ornaments are fun, reusable, festive, and unique. These can be found in local sports stores during the holiday season, online, and in your neighbour’s house if they already have one. Just kidding. Stealing would put you on Santa’s naughty list, and you might get a Red Wings puck in your stalking. Price range: $5-25.

6. Blood Feud: A book by Denver Post sports writer Adrian Dater. This book talks about the fierce Red Wings/Avs rivalry of the mid to late 90’s and is a must read for the veteran fan wanting to relive the brawls, or the new fan yearning for a piece of history. The book can be ordered at many bookstores, it can be found online, and it is also available in Kindle form. Technology eh? Gotta love it. Price range: $10-25.

5. An Avalanche hat: This year’s draft hat or one of the many featured online at the NHL store, or in hockey stores around the country, wherever you may be. An avalanche hat is a nice simple way of being able to constantly support the team, while looking mighty snazzy as you do so. Price range: $16-40

4. The picture plaque: Have you ever been walking through the mall and hot the kiosk where they have absolutely amazing pictures and paintings of NHL players in a beautiful frame? Pictures like this would light up any guy’s man cave, or any girl’s recreation room. Popular players featured in these works of art include Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy, Peter Forsberg, Ray Bourque, Alex Tanguay, and the list goes on. Price range: $50-800.

3. Hoody/Shirt/Shirsey: Less expensive than a jersey, and still a great way to sport the colors of your favorite team.  These can also be worn more in public. Price range: $10-150. (The really nice hoodies are expensive but worth it)

2. Game tickets: Ok, we realize there are no scheduled games yet, but you can always make this fun. Instead of physical tickets, write the fan an IOU for tickets when the NHL comes back to action. Hockey tickets are a staple gift around the holidays, and if you have a ton of money, an amazing stalking stuffer.  Price range: We’ll let you know when the games come back.

1. The jersey: Blank or customized, home or away, blueberry or vintage, a Colorado Avalanche jersey will put a huge smile of the face of any fan of the team. Jerseys can be found online at the NHL store, or in Colorado Avalanche team stores, as well as (if you do not live in Colorado) a wide array of sporting memorabilia stores throughout the United States and Canada. Price Range: $124-400.

Well there you have it folks. Our top ten gift ideas for the Colorado Avalanche fan in your life. Or of you are lonely around the holidays, you can buy this stuff for yourself. We hope to have given you some ideas or some reassurance as to what to get your hockey fans. And remember; try not to let a little fuss over the NHL lockout ruin the Christmas of the hockey fan on your shopping list. If you think we left anything out feel free to leave more ideas for the readers in the comment section below. And Happy Holidays. 

What's Your Story?

With the lockout looming, and the threat of losing games upon us, we here at Avaholics Unanimous have thought long and hard about what to do to keep you, the fans, interested in the game during its inevitable absence. We figured most of you who are reading this are fans of the Avalanche in some way, so we thought it would be fun to get your perspective on how you came to be an Avaholic. (We’re really trying to sell the phrase, can you tell?) So here is what we’re looking for:

Send us, in an email, to "AvaholicsU@gmail.com", your story. How did you become a fan of this wonderful franchise? Make it long, make it short; we’re not picky. Whether it was because your parents liked the team, or your favorite player was Sakic or Forsberg, or because you started to follow them because they moved to Denver, we want to hear it. If you want, include your favorite player(s), favorite season(s), and favorite memory(s), feel free. The purpose of this exercise is not just to let us, the writers, learn your story, but for fellow fans as well. Depending on the volume of responses we receive, we will publish your stories either once a week, or bi-weekly, with the option of adding your name, Twitter handle, blog, Facebook page, MySpace (if you still live in 2003), or what have you. Plug away; we will be your vessel.

We figure it will give you something to read during an impending lockout, and it will be a great way to celebrate the Avalanche and what they have done and accomplished since their move to Denver. So if you have any Avalanche friends, send on the link. If you came here via Twitter, retweet to the rest of the Avs faithful. Bottom line; please send on this to other Avs fans.

Also, if you came to adore the Avs via the Nordiques, send us that story as well. We personally know many French-Canadians who consider themselves part of the Avs faithful based solely on the fact that this franchise once called Quebec City home.

We look forward to your responses.

 So, having said that….go!

The Pros And Cons Of An NHL Lockout

Pro: We can still brag about having the youngest captain in NHL history.

Con: We won’t get to see Gabriel Landeskog with the C.

Pro: The Canucks will go ANOTHER year without winning a Cup.

Con: Canucks fans will still try and tell everyone one that “This is our year”.

Pro: Fans get to take part in fun and interesting protests like YouTube videos, jersey wearings, and online petitions.

Con: The fans will soon find out that they are powerless in negotiations.

Con: We won’t see the Avs in the playoffs this year.

Pro: We’re used to it.

Con: No one will be able to watch all of the Avs young D prospects develop.

Pro: Greg Sherman will have no way to trade all of the Avs young D prospects.

Pro: We now have time to shift our attention to the brilliantly entertaining sport of Soccer.

Con: We now have time to shift our attention to the brilliantly entertaining sport of Soccer.

Pro: Raffi Torres won’t be able to rip the heads off NHL stars with vicious hits to the head.

Con: No one will be able to watch the indestructible Gabriel Landeskog deflect Torres away like a ragdoll.

Pro: Owners are bound to lose a large amount of profit and revenue due to the work stoppage.

Con: Gary Bettman will still make 8 million dollars.

Pro: We can still write many of our blogs about the Avs, and Avs related topics.

Con: You still have to read many of our blogs about the Avs, and Avs related topics.

Whats The Difference? Avs/Kings Offense

Consider this the second installment of our “What’s the Difference?” feature running throughout the offseason. This is where the totally qualified hockey experts here at Avaholics Unanimous analyze the difference between the various aspects of the Colorado Avalanche in comparison to the most recent Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings. Our first installment, found here, analyzed goalies. We’re going to skip ahead a bit and look at the difference on offense.

Let’s start with the first 2 lines. On any given night, Coach Sacco ran a top 6 consisting of Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Paul Stastny, Steve Downie, Milan Hejduk, and Peter Mueller. Sometimes, however, David Jones or Ryan O’Reilly would take Milan Hejduk’s place on the 2^nd line. This of course was not the definite, no brainer top 6 for the Avs, as Sacco seemed to enjoy not building any chemistry by constantly changing lines.

The Kings top 6 goes as follows: Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, Dustin Penner, Dustin Brown, and Anze Kopitar. The difference you ask? Age is a big factor. The Kings top 6 forwards average 27.6 years old, whereas the Avs top 6 is only 25.1 years old. Subtract Hejduk, who went a majority of the last half of the season on the 4^th line, and add Ryan O’Reilly, the number plummets to 22.6 years old. Experience does matter in the NHL, and the Kings used their middle aged, in-their-prime players to lead them to the Cup. The Avs are still simply too young for elite status.

Apart from age, on paper as it stands right now, the LA Kings top 6 are just better. Gagne, Richards, Carter, Penner. Apart from the Cup they just won, they have all been through long playoff runs. Penner has already won a cup with the Ducks, and the 3 former Flyers made it all the way to the Finals in 2010, only to lose against the Blackhawks. In comparison to the Avs top 6, who, without Hejduk in the mix, have played under 60 playoff games combined, don’t know what it takes to become serious playoff contenders, and have no experience fighting hard-nosed playoff battles. Furthermore, apart from all the arbitrary stats, the Kings top 6 is just more skilled, bottom line. Now, ask us that same question in 3 or 4 years and we have a different answer, but as it stands right now, the Kings top 6 are better all around.

Successful teams are not just built around their scoring ability on the offensive lines. If that were the case, the Edmonton Oilers wouldn’t be at the basement of the league year after year. The checking/defensive lines are just as important as the scoring lines. The Avs were proud last year to boast a bottom 6 of Jamie McGinn and anyone from Hejduk, Jones, O’Reilly, and Mueller, along with McLeod, McClement, Kobasew. Again, a good looking squad on paper, but apart from O’Reilly and McClement, there were no real defensive standouts. Apart from Cody McLeod there were no big hitters, or hard to play against forwards. To sum it all up, these guys were too easy to play against. They did not shut down the league’s top lines, they did not grind in the corners, they did not use their size to their advantage, and they did not create scoring chances for themselves. Kobasew was an offensive disappointment, McLeod and McClement didn’t put up big numbers, and they were never dangerous in the attacking zone. We don’t mean to blast them, but it is kind of hard to show them much praise.

Now let’s look at the Kings bottom 6. The surprising line of King/Nolan/Lewis, along with the dynamite line of Stoll/Richardson/Williams is not very good on paper. But teams like the Kings like to prove time and time again that paper means nothing when it comes time for the puck to drop. The Williams line could score, and they did score. They could hit, so they hit. They could play defense, and they defended. Williams could be a top 6 forward on quite a few teams around the league, and Avs fans should know how well Richardson kills penalties. The Lewis line, much like the Avs’ McClement line, does not score consistently. But the major difference is the fact that the Kings bottom 3 was hard to play against. Just ask the Sedin’s, Kolvalchuk and company, and the entire St. Louis Bleus organization. They threw the body, they were hard in the corners and on the Penalty kill, Nolan and Lewis were superb. To put it into context, the Kings 4^th line reminded us of the Podein, Hinote, Yelle lines in the Avs glory days.

A somewhat forgotten aspect of a team’s offensive is its ability to fill gaps in the lineup with competent well rounded role players. Due to injuries, suspensions, or any other unforeseen incidents, every team in the league is faced with the question of who to insert into the lineup when a regular can’t play. The Avs, last season, were lucky enough to be able to rely on Kevin Porter, and anyone from Mark Olver, Brad Malone, Van Der Gulik, and anyone else they could get from the minors. The Kings, fortunately enough for themselves, were in a better position when it came to fill-ins. They had choices ranging from Colin Fraser and Andre Loktionov, to defensive minded Kevin Westgarth and Kyle Clifford. Now, much like the Avs reserves up front, these players weren’t superstars, but reliable enough to trust.

It is easy to compare an 11^th place team against a Stanley Cup Champion and find obvious flaws. We only chose to do this because up until the last 2 weeks of the season, the Kings were much like the Avalanche. Fighting for a playoff spot, struggling to score goals, and wondering where they would be come mid-April.  It’s not like we’re not comparing the Avs to the New York Rangers. The purpose of these analyses is to show you, the fans, that with a few tweaks, the Avs have a very good chance of becoming the next LA Kings. The Avs need to get a little tougher, become harder to play against in both zones, and with proper development of young superstars like Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan O’Reilly, and Matt Duchene, they are only a few short years away from becoming serious contenders.

So what have you learned in the time it took you to read this? That’s right. You should have been a Kings fan, what were you thinking? Now go out and buy your Kopitar jersey.

That sound you just heard was a couple hundred people all simultaneously jumping off the bandwagon. Now that I have the serious fans’ attention, what you’ve really learned is that the Avs aren’t all that bad. And with some luck, we can get back into the playoff hunt. You’ve also learned that you could have spent the last 5-10 minutes doing something more productive, but don’t let that stop you from coming back and reading our Defenseman comparisons. And you should thank us for not making any Dustin Penner\pancake jokes, especially when our desks are stacked with them. Until next time, see you on the flip side.

Prospect Profile; Mitchell Heard

The Following is our profile on newest Avs signee, from the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL, centerman Mitchell Heard.

We first wrote about Heard in a past blog featuring terrible jokes (we’re not sorry) and the rest of the Avs draft class, found here. Consider this the second of hopefully many write-ups on Heard, one of which should mention a Stanley Cup ring.

Not much was known about Heard in Avs nation when he was drafted in the 2^nd round this summer. Most of us had never even Heard of him! (Ok, we’ll stop).And even still, the most diehard of diehards still probably don’t know enough about this prospect as they would want. That’s what we’re here for.

Born in 1992 in Bowmanville, Ontario, Heard started his Junior Hockey career in the 2009-2010 season with his hometown Junior “A” Bowmanville Eagles of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). He had an impressive year with the Eagles scoring 30 points (17-13) in just 22 games. It was at this time he started gaining attention from the Major Junior team, the Plymouth Whalers of Ontario Hockey League (OHL), who held his rights throughout the season. Heard managed to squeeze in 16 games with the top tier Whalers in his rookie season, scoring 2 goals and adding 1 assist for 3 points. Heard would then make the Whalers out of training camp the next season, which is somewhat rare considering he was never drafted into the OHL out of minor hockey. In his first full season with the Whalers, Heard put up 20 goals and added 30 assists for 50 points in 60 games. Impressive for a junior player in his first full season.

One would think these numbers would be reason enough for an NHL team to take notice of the 6’2 forward, but in his first year of draft eligibility, he was not drafted and as a result, became an unrestricted free agent.  August 2011 gave Heard another chance however, as the Toronto Maple Leafs invited him to their Rookie Camp round robin tournament against several other rookie teams from around the league. He failed to raise any eyebrows unfortunately and remained unsigned. It was back to Plymouth for another season. This past 2011-12 season was an improvement for Heard. Limited to just 57 games, he put up a point per game average, scoring 29 goals and adding 28 assists. This was enough, apparently, to get heard noticed, as he was subsequently drafted by the Avs, as you probably know by now.

 So what are the Avs getting when it comes to Mitchell Heard? The Avs are getting a smart 2-way center with some size (6’0, 190lbs) behind his impressive offensive numbers. He could be compared to Ryan O’Reilly in a sense that he is great in both ends, and his determination is high. After being left out of his first Junior draft and NHL draft, Heard has a lot of General Managers and scouts to prove wrong.

His future with the Avalanche falls under the category of the unknown as the current team has a plethora (thanks Thesaurus.com) of centers. We’re not saying he’ll never play, but don’t rush to the store for your own authentic Mitchell Heard Avs jersey just yet. With Matt Duchene, O’Reilly, Paul Stastny, and a hopeful Joey Hishon in the works, there does not seem to be a lot of room at that position. Sure, Duchene plays left wing a majority of the time, but no one should expect that to be a long term idea. Heard has played the wing in the OHL, but as with Duchene, it is not his natural and most skilled position. Taking a defensive minded forward out of his natural role can cause problems in his own end, as they are thrown out of their natural defensive comfort zone.

But don’t get discouraged. Greg Sherman and Co. have never been known to be shy to pull the trigger on roster changing deals (see Anderson/Elliot, Shattenkirk/Johnson, Varlamov/Fillip Forsb…1^st rd. pick). And if worse comes to worst, and Heard becomes a highly skilled coveted player, the Avs could trade him for some valuable assets. But for now, it’s a three year entry-level contract, and a definite trip to Lake Erie, so here is wishing the best of luck to the newest member of the Colorado Avalanche. 

If you have Twitter, be sure to follow Heard at @Heardy15

Our Future Lies With Some Of You

Here is a look at the newest prospects of your Colorado Avalanche:

The draft started great for Colorado, as they used their early 1^st round pick to draft a steal in Filip Forsbe…oh wait. Nevermind.

Mitchell Heard: The Avs were on fire come the second round however, as they picked up a promising young Plymouth Whaler (OHL). This prospect was not present at the draft, and that has Avs brass wondering if Mitchell heard he was going to be drafted. See what we did there?

Troy Bourke: With the ever popular 72^nd pick (3^rd rd), the Avs drafted Troy Bourke, a young two way forward from the Prince George Cougars (WHL). “They were my favorite team growing up, and I’m really excited” Bourke said nervously, as he frantically tried to delete his hundreds of #FireSherman #FireSacco tweets.

Michael Clark: In round 5, the Avs chose Michael Clarke of the Windsor Spitfires (OHL), a centerman. Because the Avs really need to add depth to that particular position.

Joseph Blandisi: As round six came and went, the Avs chose another centerman in Joseph Blandisi, another Ontario prospect. Greg Sherman was quoted saying he drafted so many Ontarians in an effort to get airtime on Don Cherry’s Coaches Corner.

Colin Smith was the last player taken by the Avs in the 2012 entry draft. The shy Kamloops Blazers (WHL) forward was quoted as saying he was honoured, while hiding behind…pretty much everyone because he’s only 5’10.

Good luck future Avs!

Why Landy Should Win The Calder

The Calder Trophy. We could tell you what it is, but we here at Avaholics Unanimous don’t want to talk to down to you. That’s not what we’re here for. Chances are, if you are reading this, you know exactly what it is. And why should Gabriel Landeskog win over Ryan Nugent-Hopkins? (Sorry Adam Henrique, but just enjoy the show). Because in all around hockey, Landy was better. People who voted for RNH or want him to win probably look at the two players identical point totals (52) and see that RNH (We’re just too lazy to keep writing out his name) has played in 20 less games. Well, news flash everyone on team RNH: POINTS AREN’T EVERYTHING IN A HOCKEY GAME. If you want RNH to win, then you clearly don’t appreciate everything that happens on the ice in any given player’s shift. As most should know, Landeskog is already a superb two-way player, physical beyond his years, and a leader. The extra letter on his Sweden Jersey in the 2012 IIHF World Cup of Hockey demonstrates that. Now, not to take anything away from RNH, an offensive dynamo and future superstar, but in his first full year of National Hockey League competition, he did not demonstrate all the qualities in a desired player that Gabriel Landeskog did. He was offensive. The other aspects of his game need work, especially in comparison to Colorado’s young star. Landeskog may not have had a higher points per game average than Nugent Hopkins, but what he brought to the Colorado Avalanche on the ice and in the locker room is reason enough for the young Swede to win this award. And come on people, Landeskog speaks perfect English. That’s got to be worth something too.

Who Wants 'Em?

July 1^st is coming quick, so we thought we would take a very serious look at who the Avalanche should go after when the big Free Agent Frenzy hits:

Steve Bernier (NJ): Because Kevin Porter didn’t help us lose enough games last year.

Chris Porter (STL): Double Trouble.

Jonathan Cheechoo (STL): So Paul Bissonnette won’t feel like the only one spending so many games in the press box.

Steve Pinizzotti (VAN): Just so we can hear Peter McNabb excitedly yell out his name several times in a boring sequence.

Rob Klinkhammer (OTT): Because the NHL Headline possibilities would be endless.

Cristobal Huet (CHI): Because a goalie that played the last few years in the Swiss league so obviously NHL ready.

Dustin Penner (LA): We couldn’t think of any clever pancake quips.

Alex Semin (WSH): So we can have another underachieving Russian.

Zach Parise (NJ): Just to make every reporter that ever said “He’s going to Minnesota” look stupid.

Shane Doan (PHX): To spare him the agony of having to play another year in Phoenix.

Dwayne Roloson (TB): Because J.S. Giguere isn’t geriatric enough.

Sean Avery (NYR): Who else can give Joe Sacco fashion advice when he fails miserably again behind the bench?

Jarret Stoll (LA): For the soul reason that he is why Vancouver didn’t win the Cup.

Ryan Smyth (EDM): So Cody McLeod doesn’t have to be the ugliest guy on the team.

Barrett Jackman (STL): Because one former “#1 defenseman with great potential” from St. Louis isn’t enough.

Jeff Finger (TOR): To see if Avs management can somehow manage to pay him more for his services than Toronto did.

Bryce Salvador (NJ): So the Avs can join in on the teams that are going to grossly overpay him for his once in a lifetime offensive playoff outburst.

Dominic Moore (SJ): So he can wear #36 and give Todd Bertuzzi horrible flashbacks every time we play Detroit.

Ryan Stoa (COL): We can’t even joke about how bad of an idea that would be.

Joakim Lindstrom (COL): Because that worked out so well the first time.

Matt Smaby (ANH): To see what nickname players can make for a guy whose name ends in “y”. (Smabs?)

Marty Turco (BOS): So he doesn’t have to be a guest panellist on TSN or the NHL Network anymore.

Stu Bickel (NYR): Who doesn’t want a guy who played less than 4 minutes in a triple overtime game?

And last but not least:

Tyler Arnason (Who Cares?): Reason #1: So Adrian Dater can finally upload a more recent picture of him onto his live game chats. Reason #2: To remind bandwagon Avs fans that the last 2 years could have been A LOT worse. Reason #3: So #FireSherman can actually trend worldwide.

What's the Difference? Avs/Kings Goaltending

As you may already know, the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup. If you didn’t know that, please leave this blog immediately. There is probably a badminton game on ESPN 2 for you to watch. You’ve got to love those shuttlecocks. Anyways, the Kings won the Cup, showing the world that they are a deep, tightly knit hockey team with affective systems and the right pieces in all the right places. And it just so happens, by a stroke of luck, their goalie got hot at the right time (Tim Thomas/2011 Bruins anyone?). So what’s to stop the Avs from doing the same thing as the Kings next season? Well, apparently a lot. Over the course of the next few months, we will analyze the main differences between the Los Angeles Kings and the Colorado Avalanche, and what can turn a mediocre young squad into champions.

We Start With The Best Defensemen: Goalies

Semyon Varlamov is good. And he is only going to get better. We hope. And JS Giguere is also pretty good, especially for his age. But the Avs goalie tandem is not nearly as skilled as the duo who can now call themselves Stanley Cup Champions. Jonathan Quick is already an elite franchise goalie, with Olympic Starter/continuous AllStar written all over him. He was the number 1 reason the Kings won the cup. If any other goaltender had been in net for the Kings, then you might have been watching the Vancouver Canucks hoist the Cup last week. Quick makes key saves at all the right moments, has impeccably good positioning, and seems to manage his sort of kneel down butterfly style into perfection. Quick was cool under pressure, and the Kings new if they messed up, there was a good chance their goalie could bail them out.

And who better to back Quick up then an even younger Steve Bernier? Oops. We meant Jonathan Bernier. We just got those two mixed up, since Steve did so much to help the Kings win game 6. Bernier is 23, and already a noticeably skilled goaltender. If Quick was to fall to injury, or decide to randomly take an inexcusable amount of time off from hockey in order to spend time with his family and religion, the Kings had a backup that could handle the workload. Bernier is 131-87-25 in his career, all with the Kings, with a solid .916 save percentage. Thank you Wikipedia. If Quick was unavailable, you still would have had to like the Kings chances. The goaltending situation in LA is similar to that of the Canucks’, who still wield Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider. Wouldn’t that be nice Avs fans?

Semyon Varlamov and JS Giguere are good goaltenders. Varlamov, 24 years of age, is an up and coming young star, that will probably be the starter when Russia fails at another Olympics in 2014. But right now for the Avs, he just does not have what it takes to turn his team into winners. A playoff team this year? Probably. Getting past the second round this year? Probably not. Now, no one knows what kind of training Varlamov is doing this offseason. I’m sure part time goalie coach Kirk Mclean will help teach him how to lose important game 7’s him out once or twice in the offseason. ONLY once or twice. But Varly won’t be able to carry the Avs like Quick did for the Kings. Yet.

Jean-Sebastian Giguere? He’s not Jonathan Bernier. He was shockingly good this year when Varlamov wasn’t, and helped turn the Avs into winners. And by winners we mean not 14^th or 15^th in the Western Conference. But Giguere is getting older and his usefulness will soon run its course.

So to sum up the whole blog, the Avs need a full time goalie coach a solid, reliable starter, and a young skillful backup. These are the facts that separate the Avs from the Kings on the last line of defense.

Glass Half Full ending: With Sami Aittokallio, Calvin Pickard, Cedric Desjardins, Brandon Mawell, and Kent Patterson, winner of the Most Generic Name award, the Avs goalie future is looking bright. If Varlamov mans the helm for the next 10 years, the Avs have solid backup options and tempting trade bait. If Varlamov parts ways with the Avalanche sooner than expected, look for the management and coaching staff to groom any of these goalies into fulltime NHL starters. 

Mischievious Mr. Lowe

May 17^th proved to be a shocking day for North American fans of the World Hockey Championship. Both Team USA and Team Canada were upset in the quarterfinals, as Finland edged USA 3-2, and Slovakia stunned Canada by a 4-3 score. Mired in the loss to Team Canada is the question of players neglecting invitations to play for the team (Sidney Crosby comes to mind), and the fact that Team Canada’s defense was not among the top available talent the country had to offer. Of the many questions asked by diehard (and some not so die hard) Canada fans: What is an 18 year old Junior Hockey player doing playing for his country at a world class sporting event? The player in question is Ryan Murray (not to be confused with the arguabley more attractive Ryann Murray, picture located here) of the Western Hockey League’s Everett Silvertips. Fans argue that he is too young for the tournament, inexperienced, and a liability on the back end. While those statements may be true or false, there is another itching question to ask. What was the Team Canada brass thinking putting Ryan Murray on Team Canada? The potential answer: An extra opportunity to scout a potential 1^st overall draft pick.

The defense of Team Canada looks like this: Duncan Keith (CHI), Dion Phaneuf (TOR), Jay Bouwmeester (CGY), Luke Schenn (TOR), Kris Russell (STL), Kyle Quincey (DET), Marc Methot (CBJ), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (SJ), and the aforementioned Ryan Murray (EVT). While this is not a desirable defense for, let’s say, Canada’s 2014 Olympic team, all those players are proven NHLers.  Other options included Johnny Boychuk (BOS), Former Olympic gold medalist Eric Brewer (TB), Chris Phillips (OTT), Dan Hamhuis (VAN), and PK Subban (MTL). But no. Ryan Murray was thought to be able to bring more to the team. Our reason why Murray was added: Team Canada GM Kevin Lowe wanted a closer look, and a bonus scouting period on the young defenseman.

Kevin Lowe, the General Manager of Canada’s 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship team has been well noted in saying he and the Edmonton Oilers, who occupy the #1 pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, have a heavy interest in Ryan Murray. Lowe was quoted saying Murray was “a top player” in the draft. Without the extra access to other top players such as Mikhail Grigorenko, Alexander Galchenyuk, and Nail Yakupov, this is a brilliant move by Lowe. A potential 1^st overall pick for an Oilers team that is desperate for a top tier defenseman could definitely use the extra experience playing against the world’s elite hockey players. Extra grooming for an NHL roster spot is never a bad thing. And if the Oilers still are not sure who they will use their top pick on, adding Murray to the roster provides Lowe with a firsthand look to see whether or not he is NHL ready.

Now, are we overanalyzing? Maybe. Would Steve Yzerman let Kevin Lowe tinker with a potential world championship team, for Lowe’s personal gain? Probably not. But Kevin Lowe has been known to be very persuasive. Just ask Dustin Penner and Brian Burke. And to Ryan Murray’s credit, he is a very good hockey player, and will be drafted in the top 10 of this year’s draft. We are not trying to discredit him or his skill. But if this highly likely scenario is true, then Kevin Lowe can be credited with jeopardizing Team Canada, and he can add this to the list of why he is a less than desired hockey executive.

Does Sacco Deserve To Stay?

When the Denver Post reported, with only a few games remaining in the Avs regular season schedule, that coach Joe Sacco would be returning for the 2012-13 NHL season behind the Avs bench, an outcry burst out from Avs nation on hockey forums, Twitter, and pretty much anywhere else fans could express their opinions. Left, right and center, readers of anything Avalanche could witness the utter disgust and disbelief in Avs management for bringing back the coach that was eventually going to miss the post season for the second straight season; the first time this has happened to the franchise since it moved here from Quebec.

There were of course, loyal supporters of Sacco who saw this season as an improvement over last year’s second to last finish. The supporters argue that Sacco has a young, inexperienced team that still needs to mature. They argue that it is not Sacco’s fault Colorado did not have a playoff team. In some ways, they are right. Colorado has the youngest NHL team and the lowest payroll. But, that does not mean Sacco should not cover some, or a majority of the blame.

But Sacco’s decisions weren’t all bad. The way he played the Varlamov situation was smart and effective. Varlamov was playing bad. He was inconsistent, and to add to another cliché, his confidence was shot. Sitting and watching his starting job fade to an older, wiser goaltender was just what the doctor ordered, and Sacco helped fill the prescription. Credit Joe Sacco as a huge part of the reason Varlamov got his game back.

Sacco did a lot of good with the Avs this year. He helped develop Landeskog into a future superstar, and he was keen enough to trust young center Ryan O’Reilly in pretty much any situation. But in today’s world, especially the hockey world, the mistakes made by players, GM’s and in this case coaches, gets noticed and talked about on a much larger scale than any positives.

Too many times this season, Avs fans have seen their team come out of the gate flat footed, slow, reckless, and carless. Top players were not playing like top players, and they were not producing at a rate that was deemed acceptable by anyone. And when top players were not producing, they were barely making up for it in other ways. There was no Ryan Kesler on the Avs this year, who could go through scoring slumps, but still be effective defensively, and an asset to the team. What does this have to do with Sacco you ask? Everything. Instead of trying to motivate players, and increase confidence levels, Sacco was too quick to put players in his doghouse. T.J. Galiardi is an example of this. Galiardi was coming off an injury plagued season last year, and he got off to a slow start. So when it got to the point of stick squeezing, low confidence, and a huge monkey on his back, what did the coach do to motivate him? He threw him in the doghouse, which leads us to our next portion.

Joe Sacco, like every coach in the league, has a doghouse. But unlike other coaches, Sacco uses it way to liberally. Not every player has a perfect game. Rarely do players go through an entire game without making mistakes, and when the inevitable happens, Coach Sacco is less than negotiable. Avs fans don’t need this blog to tell them anymore about the doghouse, or as we prefer to call it, the Galiardi Inn.

One highly questionable, and in our opinions, downright stupid move from Sacco, was the benching of Peter Mueller in late March. In a crucial game against the Canucks, Sacco sat #88 in order to send him a message, due his poor play in the previous game versus Phoenix. Sacco also sat Mueller the next game against the Sharks. Now we aren’t the kind of people to tell others how to do their job, but don’t you think the Avs would have had a better chance at beating the Canucks with Mueller in the lineup? They lost in overtime for those of you who forget, and that one point was a huge blow to the team. The next game, Colorado struggled offensively as they got trounced by the Sharks, another bubble team, 5-1. I’m sorry Sacco, but you do not bench one of your top 6 forwards, for Chuck Kobasew, to send him a message when your team is in the middle of a playoff hunt. That is just stupid. Sit McLeod or a bottom 6 guy. Not Peter Mueller.

Additionally, when Colorado was down 3-0 going into the 3^rd against Phoenix on March 22^nd, Sacco decided to sit both Mueller and Duchene. Colorado scored a goal early in the last frame, and another with about five remaining. Do you think Sacco played his top center and his skilled winger in an effort to comeback and gain a crucial two points? No. Dutchy and Mueller sat and watched while the Avs fell short to yet another bubble team. That was a very bad decision.

Another questionable move was the demotion of Avs Captain Milan Hejduk to the 4^th line in the last half of the season. On a team that struggled to score goals since late February, a proven sniper, and a player that can still be effective offensively should not be paired with Jay McClement and Cody McLeod.

So it all comes down to one question. Does Joe Sacco deserve to spend another season behind the Avs bench? As nice of a guy as he seems, the answer is unfortunately no. Even though this season’s end result was not entirely his fault, the coach is always easiest to blame. His inability to fire players up for big games, get players out of a slump, and his overall constant miscues and bad decisions should be looked upon as grounds for dismissal.

Prediction: If the Avs are slow out of the gate to begin next season, look for Coach Sacco’s reign on Colorado to be over. If this team underachieves again, there will be no one else for management to point fingers at.

Avs Need To Win Out, Or They're Done

Colorado has 88 points and sits in 10^th place in the Western Conference going into Tuesday night’s action, but they are only two points back of the 8^th and final playoff spot. Under many circumstances, this might look promising, but the Avs have many factors pinned against them as their quest for the playoffs is coming to a close.

To start, Colorado has only two games left, in which they can only get four possible points. If they win out, they Avs will finish the season with 92 points. In order to clinch a spot, Colorado will needs Dallas to beat San Jose tonight, preferably in regulation, and lose their final 2 games against Nashville and St. Louis, to finish the season with 91 points.

IF THE AVS WIN OUT:

Accompanied with the Loss to Dallas, San Jose will also need to lose at least one of their final two games against the Kings. If San Jose loses both, along with a loss to Dallas, they will have finished the season with 90 points, 2 points back of Colorado. If San Jose wins only one game versus the Kings, they will finish the year at 92 points, tied with the Avs. But if the Avs win out, they will have 43 total wins and 34 ROW’s, enough to edge the Sharks in the tie breaker. If the Sharks win 2 of their last three games, Colorado will miss the playoffs.

In the case of the Coyotes, who are 7^th and have 91 points, they can only pick up one possible point in their next three games. They cannot win, or they will clinch a spot, making it harder for Colorado to squeeze in. Phoenix plays Columbus, St. Louis, and Minnesota in their final three games, but if they only pick up one point, the Avs will edge them out, as the Coyotes will stay at 33 ROW`s to Colorado`s 34. If Phoenix loses out, even better.

IF THE AVS LOSE ONE REMAINING GAME:

If Colorado loses one of their two remaining games, San Jose cannot pick up any points. A Colorado loss to either Columbus or Nashville will mean they can only finish the year with 90 points, and with the Sharks at 90 already, one point (91) will single handily knock the Avs out of contention.  

The Dallas Stars have 89 points. If they reach 91 with an Avs loss, that will also knock Colorado out of the playoffs. The problem: San Jose plays Dallas tonight at 6. If Dallas wins, they will have 91 points. If San Jose wins, they will have 92. Overtime points are not a factor here as no matter what, one team will pick up two points, making it that much harder for Colorado.

So the bottom line; Colorado needs to win both games, or they will be eliminated. A loss versus the Blue Jackets on Thursday, or Nashville on Saturday, will officially remove Colorado from the Western Conference playoff race. 

A Look At Former Avs Around The NHL

Johnny Boychuk (BOS)-  77 GP, 5G, 10A, 15PTS. Boychuk is a physical force on the Bruins back end and one of their best defensemen. Boychuk added 3 points in 7 playoff games.

Departure:  Colorado traded Boychuck to Washington for Matt Hendricks, who later signed with the Capitals

Cody McCormick (BUF) – 50GP, 1G, 3A, 4PTS. McCormick is a reliable 4^th line grinder.

Departure: Signed as a free agent with Buffalo

Jordan Leopold (BUF) – 79GP, 10G, 14A, 24PTS. Leopold is a key piece to the Sabres back end. This was the 3^rd best offensive year of his career.

Departure: Traded to the Flames for Lawrence Nycholat, Ryan Wilson, and the pick used to select Stefan Elliot.

Scott Hannan (CGY) – 78GP, 2G, 10A, 12 PTS. He is still Scott Hannan. Interpret that in your own way.

Departure: Colorado traded Hannan to Washington for Tomas Fleischmann. Great trade! Fleischmann already has 26 goals this year!

Tomas Fleischmann (FLA) – 82GP, 27G, 34A, 61PTS. Fleischmann was dynamite for the Cats this year. This was highest scoring offensive output in the NHL and he managed to play every game. He was definitely worth the gamble.

Departure: Colorado let him walk for nothing. But don’t fret Avs fans; we didn't need his 61 points!

Alex Tanguay (CGY) – 64GP, 13G, 36A, 49PTS. Tanguay is an integral part of the Flames second line.

Departure: Colorado traded him to CGY for Leopold, and 2 2^nd round picks (2006, Cody Burki..?), (2007, Trevor Cann….???).

Andrew Brunette (CHI) – 78GP, 12G, 15A, 27PTS. Brunette provides necessary leadership and a net presence that Chicago needs.

Departure: Signed as a Free Agent with Minnesota.

Jose Theodore (FLA) – 53GP, 22W, 16L, 11OTL, .917SV%, 3SO, 2.46 GAA. Jose is a big reason the Panthers were a playoff team.

Departure: Signed as a free agent with Washington.

Wojtek Wolski (NYR/FLA) - 31GP, 4G, 8A, 12PTS. Wolski didn't see much playing time in NY, and injuries have plagued his season, but he is turning it on in Florida, and can still score in the SO.

Departure: Colorado traded Wolski to the Coyotes for Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter.

Peter Budaj (MTL) – 17GP, 5W, 7L, 4OTL, .913SV%, 0SO, 2.55GAA. Budaj has been a solid backup for the Habs in the limited amount of time he has played.

Departure: Signed as a free agent with Montreal

Craig Anderson (OTT) - 63GP, 33W, 22L, 6OTL, .914 SV%, 3SO, 2.84GAA. Anderson has been the backbone for the Senators when he wasn't trying to chop meat off a backbone in his kitchen. Count him in as a big reason the Sens make the postseason.
Departure: Colorado traded Anderson to Ottawa for Brian Elliot

Radim Vrbata (PHX) – 77GP, 35G, 27A, 62PTS. Vrbata is absolutely tearing it up in the desert. Too bad nobody pays enough attention to notice…

Departure: Colorado traded Vrbata to Carolina for Bates Battaglia. Bates Battaglia. Here is his Wikipedia page in case you are like most people and fail to recall who he is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bates_Battaglia

Bates Battaglia (Karlskrona HK, Swedish Elite League).  25GP, 10G, 13A, 23PTS. That’s all we have to say about that.

Departure: Colorado traded Battaglia and prospect Jonas Johansson to Washington for Steve Konowalchuk and a 3^rd  round pick in 2004.

Kevin Shattenkirk (STL) – 81GP, 9G, 34A, 43PTS. Shattenkirk will be a staple on the Blues defense for years to come. He is a great PP defenseman, having scored 5 of his 9 goals this year with the extra man. Must be nice.

Departure: We here at Avaholics Unanimous would prefer not to talk about it.

Chris Stewart (STL) – 79GP, 15G, 15A, 30PTS. Stewart had a slow start but he has potential to be a hard to play against power forward for the Blues.

Departure: See above Departure.

Brian Elliott (STL) - 38GP, 23W, 10L, 4OTL, .940SV%, 9SO, 1.56GAA. Elliot has gone from goat in Colorado to a brick wall in the net for St. Louis. His 9 shutouts lead the NHL and he has only played in 33 games. Excellent resurgence.

Departure: After trading Craig Anderson to Ottawa in exchange for Elliot, he signed in the offseason with the Blues.

Brett Clark (TB) – 82GP, 2G, 13A, 15PTS. Clark is a stable Dman in Tampa, just as he was in Colorado, and apparently still a classy guy. -26 though.

Departure: Signed as a free agent with Tampa Bay.

John-Michael Liles (TOR) – 66GP, 7G, 20A, 27PTS. Liles missed some time with a concussion, but when he plays he is smart in his own end and an offensive threat on the blueline.

Departure: Colorado traded Liles to Toronto for a 2^nd round pick (2012). Wait…wasn’t Quincey worth a 1^st?

Matt Hendricks (WSH) – 78GP, 4G, 5A, 9PTS. Don’t let his numbers fool you; Hendricks brings more to the table than that. And he is absolute dynamite in shootouts.

Departure: Signed as a free agent with the Capitals.

And They Don't Even Play The Trap

As brushed on in a previous blog, the Avalanche isn’t scoring when it matters most. The purpose of every game in the NHL is to score more goals than the opposing team in an effort to advance in the standings. In the case of the Colorado Avalanche, this is not what happened. The last month for the Avs, who have been on the bubble of the Western Conference playoffs since then, has been disastrous on the score sheet. It is amazing that they have even manages to win games *cough* goaltending *cough*.

Aside from a 5-4 SO victory against Buffalo and a 7-1 domination of the hopeless Wild, this is the Avs goals per game since March 1^st. 0, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 0, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1. The lone shootout goal against Edmonton on March 10^th is not counted, as it did not occur in regulation. But those are the numbers folks. And they sad. Twice the Avs have been shutout, and in the 14 games in March they have scored 4 or more goals twice. Twice. Their goals per game in March: 2.2 so far. Remove the 7-1 Minnesota game and it’s a staggering 1.8 goal per game. The Avs could very possibly miss the playoffs, and they will not have anyone to blame but themselves. Actually that’s not entirely true. Semyon Varlamov and J.S. Giguere shouldn’t blame themselves. They can blame the guys who play in front of them. Good job goalies, you gave it your best!

Post Game Avs/Coyotes: Dont Let the Score Fool You, That Was BAD

The Avalanche lost to the Coyotes tonight by one goal. ONE goal separated the Avalanche from overtime. Would they have deserved overtime? No. The Avalanche played one of their worst games this season on Thursday night, and as a result, may have seriously jeopardized their chances to make the playoffs. If Colorado fails to make the post season for the second straight year, Avs fans can't blame the referees for lack of powerplay; they can't blame the loser point for keeping them below the eight team threshold, they can't blame injuries. They can blame themselves. Performances like the one you saw against Phoenix on March 22^nd just go to show you how this squad of players is not mature enough for high intensity games where there is more on the line than just two points. Call it bad leadership, call it players slumping, call it bad coaching, call it what you want, but the reason for the loss is simple: The Avalanche are horrible under pressure.

In a game where they should have come out firing on all cylinders, taking the body, and being hard to play against, they came out slow. Their defense made boneheaded passes, they could not clear their zone, and they looked as though they just ate a whole plate of Dustin Penner’s delicious pancakes just minutes before game time.

The Dallas Stars lost tonight, and Calgary only picked up one point in their shootout loss to the Wild. The Avs knew this going into the 2^nd and third periods. Their fate was in their hands and they squandered it away with just all around bad hockey.

The first was the worst. You do not go down by two goals in the first 20 minutes to a team who is nicking at your heels in the standings, but the Avs did just that. They miraculously managed to get a powerplay in the opening frame, but only managed one real scoring chance on it. The rest of the powerplay was spent trying to gain the Coyotes zone.

The second period was better. They outshot the Yotes 15-9, but again don’t let the numbers fool you. There were a few GREAT chances on those shots, but too many of them were from the outside, wimpy little wristers from the point, or straight into the chest of Mike Smith. Yes one can argue that the Avs had some good chances this period, but even in the worst games in NHL history teams get good chances. They had nothing to show for their efforts.

The third period was the best on the scoreboard, but as the Avs seem to do when they’re behind, the late flurry wasn’t enough. A mad rush of desperation might win you some hockey games, but not all of them. Not the big ones. Jusrt as Avs fans had settled into the idea of losing, the team cruelly got their hopes up again only to deliver them with one more crashing blow of disappointment.

End result: The Avs now find themselves out of a playoff spot, which is unfortunate because when they woke up on game day they were 7th in the West. They did this to themselves, and have subsequentley backed themselves into a corner. If they lose more than two of their remaining 6 games, it is highly likely that they will miss the playoffs for the second straight season.

Heres to winning out!

Players of the Game:

The Doghouse: See “Roster” Section on www.avalanche.nhl.com

3 Stars:

1.      Kevin Porter

2.      Erik Johnson

3.      Stefan Elliot

How The Loser Point Affects The East

A recent topic for discussion around the NHL, this blog, and fans of the Colorado Avalanche has been the “Loser Point”. Teams are rewarded 1 point in the standings for losing a game in overtime or a shootout. We here at Avaholics Unanimous could go into detail about how ridiculous it is to reward losers, and how throughout history, if a hockey team scored less goals in a game than their opponent, they were given nothing. We could go on and on about how in the MLB, teams who lose in extra innings are not given extra percentages in the standings, or they do not get rewarded in the “Games Behind” category in the standings. This blog could be all about how in the Canadian Football League (Oh come on, it’s still football!) where they use the point system over the winning percentage system, games that go into overtime are either won or lost. Not won by the victor, and lost with a 1 point compensation by the loser. This blog could talk about ALL of those scenarios listed about. But we won’t. This blog will focus only on the NHL. We will try to outline how ridiculous it is that losing teams are given half the point value of winning teams when games go beyond regulation. Here is a scenario we noticed in the standings:

The Montreal Canadiens are last in the Eastern Conference. The Buffalo Sabres are 9^th, just two points out of the playoffs. The Winnipeg Jets are 10^th, just 2 points back of Buffalo

In their last three games, Buffalo won once, getting 4 valuable points in the standings. How did they get 4 points in three games with only one win? They lost the other 2 in extra time.

 In the Montreal Canadiens’ last two games, they lost. They did not score as many goals as their opponent, and therefore, according to National Hockey League rules, they lost. But: they lost in extra time both games, and as you all know, they were rewarded 1 point in each of the games. Why is this relevant?

Because in the Jets last two games, they also lost. Like the Canadiens, they lost by only one goal in both games. But UNLIKE the Canadiens, they were not awarded any points because they did not go to extra time. Do you see the flaw? The Winnipeg Jets lost both of their last 2 games by the same goal differential as the Habs. Two points for the Jets would have tied them for 9^th with the Sabres, and they would only be 2 points out. Instead, Montreal, last in the East, got 2 points. For losing. Not to over belabor that though.

This is just one of the many unjust scenarios in the world of three-point NHL games. Swedish reader Mattias Bostrom (Twitter account @mattiasbostrom) produced this often talked about scenario:

"The system of today is supporting the defensive teams. You can play defensivly, take one point and then win an extra point in the shoot out. That can't be the thought from the beginning.

My idea, as I'm from Sweden, is to do like we do in our Swedish Elite Series.

Regular win: 3p

OT win: 2p

OT loss: 1p

Regular loss: 0p

By this way you get rewarded by an offensive way of playing and the standings would change more rapidly. A winning streak would give you a boost up while a losing streak would give you the same effect but downwards. It would have been nice to see how the conferences would have looked like if it all was like this."

This could work in the NHL but it would be a drastic change. I like it, as do others. The bottom line though, is that something needs to be done. Too many well deserving teams are getting screwed. *Paging Gary Bettman*

Do The Colorado Avalanche Have A Scoring Problem?

If Colorado wants to continue being successful, they need to score some goals. They did not get a single puck past Martin Brodeur in New Jersey, and just 2 pucks behind Henrik Lundqvist. Now, one can argue that those goalies are 2 of the best in the league, but only 2 goals (with a goalie in the net) in 2 games, AND they still managed to pick up 3 of 4 points; that’s remarkable. But it is not going to last. They are doing a very good imitation of the Vancouver Canucks of last year in the Stanley Cup Finals, and we all know how that ended.

The Avalanche have BIG games coming up against the Coyotes, Sharks, Canucks, and Flames. These low scoring games will not produce points night in and night out like is has recently. Aside from the 5-4 victory in Buffalo (in which only 4 actually goals were scored), and the 7-1 slaughter against Minnesota, March has been a low scoring month for the team. The Avs have lost 2-0 (CBJ), 5-1 (PIT), 4-2 (NSH), and 1-0 (SO/NJ). They were shutout twice, and did not score more than twice. They won 5 other games by scores of 2-0 (MIN), 3-2 (SO/EDM), 3-2 (ANH), 3-1 (NYR), and 2-1 (OT/CGY). They only scored 3 goals on two occasions, and the third goal against the Rangers was into an empty net.

These numbers are reminiscent of the last year the Avs made the playoffs in 2008, where they rode the hot goaltending of Craig Anderson into the post-season. Colorado only has 8 games left in the regular season, and if the hot goalie tandem of J.S. Giguere and Semyon Varlamov cools down, the Avs will be in serious trouble if they don’t find their scoring touch. These 2/3 goal games will not produce W’s forever. The Minnesota Wild are proof of that.

It is no wonder the Avalanche are scoring so few goals. Milan Hejduk has just 2 goals in his last 33 games, Matt Duchene only has 1 goal and 4 points in 14 games, Ryan O’Reilly has just 2 goals in his last 18, Paul Stastny has potted 2 goals (one, an empty netter in New York) in his last 13, and the only goals coming from our blue line are at the hands of Matt Hunwick. MATT HUNWICK!

Morale of the story: The Avs need to score. They need their “top guys” to produce, and with consistency. If things do not change, the Avs could start losing games. If Varlamov gets tired because he has to work so hard day in and day out then look for the Avs to drop in the standings.