It's Avalanche Season!

These days I’m working nights Sunday through Thursday. Needless to say in the two weeks since the Avalanche season has started, I have watched ZERO games lives. I have however, been diligently taping them for my viewing pleasure and so have seen ALL five games the Avalanche have played. Here’s a short review of the beginning of their season.

Game One: vs. Dallas 10/3/2007
-Paul Stastny scored his first career Hat trick leading the Avalanche in a 4-3 win over the Stars.
-The Avs showed their rust, allowing 2 power play goals by the Stars in the third period. I’m still not convinced Peter Budaj should be the man in the net; however Jose Theodore was busy rehabbing his knee.
-Jaroslav Hlinka…welcome to the show. He finished the night with two assists while playing on a line with Stastny and Andrew Brunette.

Game Two: at Nashville 10/4/2007
-One word, Painful. As in, it was painful to watch this game.
-The Avalanche outshot the Predators 35 to 32 in the 0-4 loss.
-Tyler Weiman replaced Budaj at the 4:14 mark of the third period after the 4th Nashville goal. He saved all 10 shots he faced. Congratulations to Tyler for his first NHL game.

Game Three: vs. San Jose 10/7/2007
-The Avalanche scored 4 third period goals to beat the Sharks 6-2.
-Stastny scored 1 goal (the game winner) and tallied 4 assists.
-Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk, Marek Svatos, and Ryan Smyth all scored their first goals of the season.

Game Four: at St. Louis 10/12/2007
-Jose Theodore made his first start of the season in the 1-4 loss to the Blues. He saved 19 of the 23 shots he faced. Overall I thought he looked solid, though he still seems to be having the problem of letting shots leak through him. While he’s excellent at making the first save, he needs work on his rebound control as he still cannot seem to make the second and third saves.
-Stastny scored the only goal for the Avalanche. Proving there’s no such thing as a Sophomore Slump as far as he’s concerned.
-Manny Legace’s insane record against the Avalanche continues as he is now 12-1 all time against the Avs. I think it’s safe to say (much to my chagrin), he pwns the Avs...

Game Five: vs. Columbus 10/13/2007
-“Super” Joe Sakic led the Avs with a Hat trick in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jackets.
-Scott Hannan garnered his first assist in an Avalanche uniform.
-Overall, the Avs played well, especially considering Pascal Leclaire, Columbus’ goalie was coming in with a two game shutout streak.

In conclusion, what the heck is going on with road games?!? The Avalanche have scored just one goal in 6 periods of road play. Meanwhile, they have scored 15 goals at home. There’s definitely a disconnect somewhere and I fervently hope they figure out what’s going on soon as they begin a four game road trip on 10/19 after they face Calgary at the Pepsi Center this Tuesday. Paul Stastny is leading the Avalanche with 10 points. He is tied for second in the league for points and goals (5), and tied for 10th in assists (5). According to the Hockey News, he’s on track for an 82 goal, 82 assist, 164 point season!! In comparison, Sidney Crosby is on track for a 41 goal, 41 assist, 82 point season…not that that really means anything, it just makes me feel good…Overall, I think the Avs have been looking pretty good. They seem to be gelling as a team and fitting into their systems well. The key is winning on the road and continuing to win at home, but I think they’re in good position to make a substantial playoff run.