Greg Wyshynski asked me to do a eulogy for the Avs over at the Yahoo! NHL Experts Blog. And here it is.
Archive for the 'Avalanche' Category
It was worse than we knew.
The Detroit Red Wings advanced to the Western Conference Finals after completing their Semifinal sweep of the Colorado Avalanche last night with an 8-2 win on the road.
… First off, I want to point you to what I think may be the best quote on this series that I’ve seen:
Bottom line is that we didn’t get the series that we thought we would; this tilt between the Wings and the Colorado Avalanche was supposed to be like a rematch between Godzilla and King Kong. And just as we’re all pumped up to see the two beasts rumble, the lizard shoots the ape in the head with a pistol like Indy against the swordsman in “Raiders.” So sad.
- Greg Wyshynski, Yahoo! NHL Experts Blog
That pretty much describes one half of my feelings exactly. The other half is thrilled, of course.
… Now: the game. For all their later dominance, I did not think the Wings started so hot. The first few minutes were sloppy and not very encouraging. Mikael Samuelsson relieved the stress a bit with a softie on Jose Theodore at 4:33, but that relief was short-lived as the Avs scored just over two minutes later. As I wrote last night, down to the 18:00 mark, the game looked like it’d be a tough one.
… The floodgates opened with a bit of a flukey one from Tomas Holmstrom. The play began in the Detroit end with Pavel Datsyuk tipping it up to Henrik Zetterberg and springing Hank and Homer on a 2-on-1.
Zetterberg made a great fake and dished the puck across to Holmstrom, who I don’t think got all he wanted on it. The puck beat Theodore just inside the right post nonetheless. Had Homer gotten the shot he wanted, he may have put it right into Theodore’s chest rather than along the ice at the post.
That goal came at 18:34.
… At 19:21, Johan Franzen made it 3-1. The play began at center on a fast transition with Franzen and Valtteri Filppula on the attack. Franzen sent the puck across to Filppula, who immediately returned it. Franzen had a split second of trouble with the puck as it came back to his feet, but he managed to put it past Theodore to score his first of the night. Theodore was slow getting across once again.
… To start the second, Jose Theodore was yanked and Peter Budaj was put in the line of fire. Within six minutes, he gave up two to Henrik Zetterberg. The first came on the power play and was a one-timer rocket from 50 feet out with Holmstrom screening. The second was Zetterberg’s circus goal. Budaj didn’t have much chance on either one.
… The onslaught continued when Henrik Zetterberg took control of the puck while the Wings were shorthanded and carried it up ice with Johan Franzen on a 2-on-1. With John-Michael Liles completely unable to do anything, Zetterberg got the puck across to Franzen, who calmly put it over Budaj at virtually the last possible moment. 6-1 Wings at 11:37.
… Franzen completed his hat trick and set a team record for most goals in a single series (and an NHL record for most goals in a four-game series) with a tip in off a Nick Lidstrom shot at 17:15.
… Mikael Samuelsson finished the scoring for the Wings with his second of the night at 8:02 of the third. After a failed Avs breakout, Filppula carried it in and dished it across to Jiri Hudler while Samuelsson went to the side of the net. Hudler got the puck over to Sammy for an easy tip-in.
… Liles put the Avs within six with a screened slapshot at 10:26.
… This is a minor quibble given the final score, but how the heck did Tomas Holmstrom get a tripping penalty there? He was the one getting hauled down in front of the net!
… Andreas Lilja had a couple bad spots in his cover game for Chelios. First and foremost was his blown coverage on the Arnasson goal. He definitely looked like a guy who hadn’t played since Game 3 of the Nashville series.
… Chris Osgood was solid once again. If nothing else, the mental effect his presence has had on the Wings is the key to the way this run has gone so far.
… Fabian Brunnstrom was no doubt wowed by the game. I just hope it wasn’t to point where he says, “I’ll never get a chance to crack the lineup!”
… Again, I want to give the Avs credit for not stooping to goon hockey despite getting embarrassed. A lot of teams would have been sore losers, but the Avs went out with class.
… There’s no arguing that Colorado’s injury troubles and poor coaching decisions made it easier for the Wings. However, I think the Wings were dominant enough in this series that even a fully healthy Avs team and one backstopped by Budaj instead of Theodore could not have beaten them. It would not have been a sweep, but I truly believe the Wings still would have advanced.
They are on a mission. Don’t expect them to stumble just because they made it look so easy against the Avs.
Links
Highlights
In the Cheap Seats (and here)
Well, I did not expect that. After the first 18 minutes, I thought it was going to be a tough one. Then the Wings just exploded and never looked back. That was as dominating a performance as you’re likely to see.
Good on Babcock for reigning the guys in as the third period went on. And kudos to the Avs for not turning to goonery as a result of the spanking they received.
Johan Franzen has been incredible. What more can you say? The guy set an NHL record for goals in a four-game series with nine.
Henrik Zetterberg saw Pavel Datsyuk’s circus goal from Game 3 and may have done him one better with his second of the night in Game 4. Another one you have to see to believe.
The Wings’ racking up five goals on Peter Budaj should take some of the heat off Joel Quenneville for sticking with Jose Theodore.
I fully expected a tougher series. That the Avs hardly made it competitive is something of a letdown, but they can’t be blamed. After all, they had some of the worst injury luck I’ve ever seen.
Now we wait. I’d like the Wings to get some time off, but not too much. I’d hate to see them lose this momentum going into the Conference Finals. At this point, they look unstoppable, but that could change with too long a layoff.
More in the morning. For now, Joe Hass’ liveblog at Behind the Jersey.
Update (10:53 PM): As you’ve probably noticed, Chris Chelios is not in the lineup tonight. Ansar Khan reports that the club is saying he has a “lower body injury,” though Chelios claims he’s fine.
Andreas Lilja is playing in Chelios’ place. - Matt
Update (4:36 PM): One other detail on the TV arrangement for tonight: if you’re outside the right viewing areas but have DirectTV or Dish Network, you can bypass Versus’s coverage of any prospective Rangers/Pens overtime by switching to channel 659 (DirectTV) or 452 (Dish Network). - Matt
Update (3:30 PM): The Rocky Mountain News confirms that Joel Quenneville is looking at putting Jeff Finger into the lineup as the 7th defenseman. - Matt
Update (3:09 PM): Steve at Kukla’s Korner has the information you need to know in case the Pens/Rangers game goes into overtime tonight.
Versus has exclusive rights to the Wings/Avs game, so it’s your only option. Basically, if you’re in the Detroit or Colorado viewing area, you’ll get to watch from the puck drop on. If you’re not in those areas, you’d better hope for a quick resolution to any overtime play in New York because they won’t switch the rest of the country over until that one’s over. - Matt
Update (1:42 PM): Bruce MacLeod reports that Peter Forsberg (groin) will not play tonight. As a result, the Avs will dress seven defensemen and will run three lines with the two extra forwards rotating in.
My guess is this will mean the return of defenseman Jeff Finger to the lineup. He’s been a healthy scratch five times in the Avs’ last six. - Matt
Update (1:18 PM): Bruce MacLeod has more on Fabian Brunnstrom’s planned attendance of the game tonight, including the suggestion that the Wings are one of three finalists in the Brunnstrom sweepstakes. - Matt
Update (11:00 AM): Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post points out that this could be the last time we see Joe Sakic play. In fact, this could be the final night for four of the top twenty active points leaders: Sakic, Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, and Peter Forsberg. - Matt
Tonight is the fourth game of the Western Conference Semifinal series between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche. Detroit leads the series 3-0 (4-3, 5-1, 4-3).
Colorado must win tonight to keep their season alive. Some keys to the game for the Avs:
Quick strike. They need to score a couple times early, or at least prevent the Wings from doing so. A strong and commanding start is essential.
Discipline. They aren’t going to win with anything less than a perfect game. The Avs have to stay out of the box and refrain from taking stupid penalties.
Jose Theodore. If he plays out of his mind tonight, he gives the Avs a fighting chance. Anything less than that, he’s letting his teammates down royally.
The Avs will be without Ryan Smyth (foot), Wojtek Wolski (upper body), and Paul Stastny (knee). Peter Forsberg is probable.
Nick Lidstrom told the FSN broadcast team after Game 3 that the fourth win is always the toughest. No doubt that will be true tonight. The Wings will need to play a flawless game against a desperate Colorado team. Some keys:
Take command early. They need to show they mean business right from the drop of the puck. Take the crowd out of it and get the Avs down on themselves.
Mental toughness. The Avs will do all they can to disrupt the Wings’ puck possession game. Turnovers, rushed plays, or mistakes like the two bench minors in Game 3 cannot happen. Keep it business- and machine-like all game.
Valtteri Filppula. Okay, he’s not really a key to the game, but I’d like to see him have a big night so I’m singling him out. Put it in the net, Fil!
There shouldn’t be any lineup changes for the Wings.
I don’t expect tonight to be a fun game to watch. The Avs’ probable deperation will make things tense and if the Wings end up dominating, things could turn ugly. The last thing they need is to sustain injuries from a frustrated team. Here’s hoping the Wings can close it out tonight while remaining healthy.
As a sidenote, tonight is a good opportunity for the Wings to impress Fabian Brunnstrom, who will attend the game. A strong outing by players such as Filppula, Jiri Hudler, Darren Helm, Nik Kronwall, and Brett Lebda should show him the benefit of earning his way to the Wings’ roster by playing a season or two in Grand Rapids.
Update (4:24 PM): This isn’t injury related, but doesn’t exactly merit a separate post: via Bruce McLeod comes the shocking news that Jose Theodore will start Game 4. - Matt
According to Ansar Khan, Paul Stastny (knee) is not expected back this series regardless of what happens.
Also, Ryan Smyth (foot) is “doubtful” for tomorrow night after not skating today.
Lastly, Peter Forsberg (groin) did not skate, but the Avs are hoping he’ll play in Game 4.
Update (11:16 AM): Some more reactions to the game:
Mile High Hockey. Comment: have you not watched this series at all? Darren Helm is the guy centering the fourth line that has given your Avs so much trouble at various. Sure, that line has allowed at least two goals, but still. He’s been impressive.
Earl Sleek at the FanHouse.
CBC Playoff Blog. - Matt
The Detroit Red Wings took a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Colorado Avalanche last night with a 4-3 road win. They were the third team to do so in the same night. Pittsburgh and Dallas have also pushed their opponents to the brink of elimination through three games.
I did not take notes on the game, so some general thoughts follow:
… Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg had probably their best game of the playoffs.
For whatever reason, I had a feeling Pavel would have a big night after I saw him come out hard following the Avs’ first goal. He did not disappoint. He finished a somewhat botched (I’ll get to that) play by Zetterberg to tie the game at one, and demonstrated incredible hands on his second goal. He appeared to knock down a Brian Rafalski shot before transporting it to the left and then into the net. His pass on Zetterberg’s goal was unbelievable. Without the puck, he was a threat all night as well. He finished with only one credited takeaway, but that’s well short of accurate.
As for Zetterberg, he’s showing a newfound Datsyuk-like ability with the puck, as evidenced by his carry-in on Datsyuk’s first goal. I believe he lost the puck off the end of his stick as he cut across (hence the “somewhat botched” above), but it all turned out because he has the best linemate in the League.
… Adrian Dater wrote last night that the officiating was terrible. I couldn’t agree more, though I have a slightly different take on it. Yes, the Forsberg goaltender interference call was awful. Yes, the make-up call on Zetterberg soon after was bad as well (the concept of “makeup call” is just ridiculous to me, but that’s a topic for another time). Yes, Johan Franzen could have been called for tripping when Forsberg deked Chelios out of his jock strap and left #93 alone to deal with his countryman.
All that being said, those calls were little worse than the poor standard of officiating we’ve been seeing all playoffs. I’m more concerned with the Avs’ tactics of mauling the Wings constantly and only occasionally getting called for it. The vicious Laperriere hit on Brett Lebda was just one of three or four examples of hits from behind perpetrated by the Avs. With all the slashing and roughing going on, the Avs are fortunate more wasn’t called.
… Peter Forsberg had some moments in which he looked dangerous, but the Wings did a great job of neutralizing him. I believe Nik Kronwall got a big hit on him and it was heart-warming to see little Brian Rafalski stand him up in the neutral zone in the third period.
He played with his usual edge, taking a tooth out of Samuelsson’s mouth with a baseball swing after Sammy dared to hit him. He could have gone to the box for elbowing and high sticking on that one.
The loss of Stastny compounded the loss of Smyth and made it much more difficult for Forsberg to make an impact. It was pretty obvious that he was playing hurt.
… I thought last night was Brad Stuart’s best of the playoffs. He brought a physical dimension he hasn’t shown too often since coming here.
… I also thought Brett Lebda had a strong game. The Laperierre hit apparently knocked some good play into him as he was more noticeable than ususal. His play on the Johan Franzen goal was something I could stand to see more often.
… Valtteri Filppula needs to stop hitting the post. Twine, Fil. Twine!
… Remember when Mikael Samuelsson was in our collective doghouse? I think he’s well out of it now. He’s looked pretty good this series.
… Chris Chelios had something of a rough game.
… The fourth line didn’t shine as much last night as it did at home, but that’s understandable given the fact that Quenneville could have his top unit out there against them if he wanted.
… Chris Osgood looked like his usual solid self. He didn’t really have a chance on any of the Avs’ goals, but he still made 30 saves. As long as the Wings are scoring at this rate, three goals on 33 shots isn’t bad.
… I don’t know what happened to the Wings at the start of the third. On their first bench minor, they just had six guys out there skating around, similar to Colorado’s bench minor in the second period. On their second one, Valtteri Filppula misread Dallas Drake’s intentions and hopped on before #17 was actually coming off. The Avs smartly pressed Drake against the boards on top of the puck, forcing the call from the official.
The Avs scored on the second one and brought themselves within one. Fortunately, the Wings were able to hold them off for the rest of the period or else that stretch would have really stood out as a turning point, perhaps in the series.
… All in all, a strong game by the Wings. They handled a highly motivated Colorado team and did what they had to do to take a stranglehold in the series. They now face the difficult task of notching that fourth win and it’s not going to be easy. Game 4 will be another stiff test of their determination.
Links
Well. That was interesting. The Wings withstood the Avs throwing everything but the kitchen sink at them and ended up playing a solid away game. Until, that is, a brief stretch of brain cramps in the third (two consecutive bench minors?!). They rebounded from that with an impressive finish, however, and held the Avs to zero offensive presence when Theodore was pulled for the extra man.
An ugly win in some ways, but a message-sending one in others. The Wings showed their depth with goals from the top two lines and demonstrated resiliency that should put to rest talk that they lack mental fortitude.
As for the Avs, they can’t catch a break. Paul Stastny had to leave the game with an apparent knee injury and did not return. Peter Forsberg wasn’t invisible, but clearly was playing hurt. I don’t feel any sympathy for them, however. They played a very rough style tonight and the Wings were fortunate to come away without any obvious injuries.
Lastly, I just want to point out Pavel Datsyuk’s play on his second goal: he stopped Brian Rafalski’s shot before it hit Theodore, pulled it to the left and put it in a mostly empty net all in one motion. It’s something you have to see to believe. I just hope a good replay shows up online.
Behind the Jersey liveblog here.
More in the morning.
Update (10:05 PM): If you’re looking to watch the game on FSN Detroit, they aren’t going over to it from the Tigers/Yankees game until the end of the 8th inning. It’s the bottom of the 8th right now, with 2 outs.
For those in the Detroit viewing area, the game is blacked out on Versus. So, hurry up, Tigers!
Good thing it’s a Versus broadcast, though. That’ll mean a slightly later start.
Also, Abel to Yzerman liveblog here. - Matt
Update (9:09 PM): IwoCPO’s got the key to the game for the Wings: “play the perfect road game.” - Matt
Update (6:13 pm): Christy Hammond will be handling the liveblog over at Behind the Jersey tonight.
Also, IwoCPO has some pre-game comments here and here. - Matt
Update (2:38 PM): Adrian Dater reports that rookie TJ Hensick will play tonight in place of Smyth.
As for Forsberg and Hannan, he writes, “… we’ll see. I’ll believe it when the lineup sheet comes out and he’s not on the scratch list.”
Dater is pretty down on the Avs and their chances, that’s for sure. - Matt
Update (2:25 PM): In a couple posts, Bruce McLeod chimes in.
First, he reports that Henrik Zetterberg and Nick Lidstrom opted out of practice today. No worries, though, because the lineup is not changing. At this stage of things, players logging so many minutes can use as much rest as they can get, even if there was an extra day between games.
Second, McLeod reports that Scott Hannan “was hobbled walking around the arena.” That ought to make it easier for the Wings’ forwards to exploit the guy, if indeed he does play. - Matt
Update (2:04 PM): Ansar Khan reports that Smyth’s foot was injured when he blocked a shot in Game 2. He is day-to-day. - Matt
Update (2:02 PM): Helene St. James reports that both Peter Forsberg (groin) and Scott Hannan (foot) are “probable” for tonight, while Ryan Smyth (foot) is out.
This changes things a bit, as Smyth has been one of the Avs’ few bright spots thus far. Forsberg’s prospective return is now somewhat dampened. Fortunately for the Wings, the Avs just can’t seem to catch a break health-wise. - Matt
Tonight is the third game of the Western Conference Semifinal series between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche. Detroit leads the series 2-0 (4-3, 5-1).
A win tonight is essential for the Avalanche. A loss would put them down 3-0 and would mean certain elimination. A win, however, makes this a series. Some keys for Colorado:
A strong start. The Avs have been outplayed in the early going in both games. They have to come out swinging. Even if they don’t score right away, early energy could keep the Wings off the board and keep the ice level.
Jose Theodore. He just has to be better.
Peter Forsberg. It looks like he’ll play, barring a setback today. Tonight is when we find out whether his teammates are really so bipolar that they only play well when he’s in the lineup. Tonight we find out whether or not Forsberg will make a difference in this series.
Wojtek Wolski remains out. Scott Hannan (foot) is questionable, but if the Avs are looking to throw everything at the Wings tonight, they may find a way to get him in.
The Wings went into Nashville and lost two straight, returning to Detroit with the series tied 2-2. They obviously don’t want to see that happen this time around. A win tonight is not essential, but for the purpose of breaking the Avs, it would be preferred, of course. Some keys for Detroit:
All business. They need to pick up where they left off in Game 2 and play dominant, businesslike hockey. They can’t let themselves be distracted by the crowd or the drama involved in Forsberg’s likely return. They just need to keep their heads, whatever happens. Included in this is the concept of never easing off the attack.
Power play. If the Avs go to the box, the Wings need to score. They have to send a message to not only the Avs, but the rest of the League.
Unit cohesion. My hope is that Babcock keeps the forward units and defensive pairings he used in Games 1 and 2 together. Anything else is just a concession to Joel Quenneville. Let the Avs try to shut down our top lines. They can’t stop both Franzen’s line and the Eurotwins. Let them try to exploit the fourth line. Helm, McCarty, and Hudler aren’t stooges.
Kirk Maltby (hamstring) could be ready to play tonight, though I would hope Babcock wouldn’t make a lineup change yet. Go with what’s winning.
I have every confidence in this Red Wings team. They appear to be serious about this run and aren’t taking anything for granted. They had all of that knocked out of them in the first round. Tonight should be a good game.
The guys at Orland Kurtenblog ripped into Cody McLeod for his idiotic decision to taunt the Wings with the traditional post-anthem octopus just prior to the start of Game 2 on Saturday.
It’s worth a look, though it’s a little on the crude side and not entirely Red Wings-friendly (the octopus throwing tradition is not stupid. It’s certainly better than the Canucks’ tradition of having ugly jerseys.).
