| 12 April 2009
(a bunch of minor leaguers disguised as) The Colorado Avalanche closed out the 2008 - 09 season in fitting fashion with a boring and forgettable 1-0 home loss to St Louis. The Blues came out with good jump and got the game’s only goal just 6 minutes in by Brad Boyes. Even though they outshot St Louis 25-8 during the 2nd and 3rd periods, the Avs had very few real scoring chances. Not entirely surprising with only 2 true NHL top six forwards (Hejduk and Wolski) in the lineup. Highlights.
What Impressed Me:
“Jerseys Off Our Back” promotion - Yes, other teams have done this, but not only was it a great way to do something truly special for the fans on Fan Appreciation Day, it became a way to for the fans to say goodbye to Sakic. The Avalanche included all of players in the roster, and Sakic presented last (all other players presented their jersey to the fan in order of their number, starting at Raycroft and ending with Ledin) so that the fans (that bothered to show up / stay) could send him off. I also noticed all of the Avs players were also clapping for Sakic. If it wasn’t his last appearance in a Avs game as an Avs player, it sure felt like it. Unlike last offseason where I always felt Sakic would come back, I will be shocked if we don’t see #19 hanging in the Pepsi Center rafters by Christmas.
What Didn’t Impress Me:
David Peltier - Maybe has the most upside of the 4 AHL defensemen that we called up, we did not see the kind of growth we saw in Galiardi or even Vernace in the 10 or so games he played. He will need more time in Lake Erie, but this experience can only help.
3 Stars - Picked By: NORM JONES - ALTITUDE RADIO
1. STL G 50 C.MASON
2. COL G 1 A.RAYCROFT
3. STL R 22 B.BOYES
Scratches
Arnason (I was concerned when I saw him skating around at warmups -- but thank god - its over!)
Foote (injury)
Clark (injury)
Nycholat (injury)
Stastny (injury)
Salei (injury)
Svatos (injury)
Tjarnqvist (injury)
Next Event: 2009 NHL Draft Lottery - Tuesday, 6PM
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