| 25 April 2010
The “new” Colorado Avalanche lost their first series last night, losing to the San Jose Sharks, 4 games to 2.
A couple of quick thoughts:
- The Avs were outshot every game in the series.
- The Avs blew 3rd period leads in Games 2 and 6.
- Barring empty net goals, 5 of 6 games were 1 goal games.
- Clowe and Pavelski combined for 16 points (8 each).
One last final look at the 5 things:
5. Win Game 1 or 2 in San Jose. Check. The Avs won Game 1, and were less than a minute away from winning Game 2. (Damn, if only they could have held on in that one….)
4. Get production from Yip and / or Stewart. Check. Yip had 2 goals, 2 assists and Stewey led the team with 3 goals. Unfortunately, the loss of Mueller and Hejduk made this less impactful than I thought it would be.
3. Contain San Jose’s top line. Check. Thornton / Heatley / Marleau. Heater had 4 points and Marleau and Thornton and had 3 each. In SIX games. The group was a combined minus 7. The Avs did a fantastic job on this group. (Clowe and Pavelski? Not so much.)
2. Have “Special” Special Teams. Failed. This was probably the series. The Avs kill wasn’t too bad - holding the Sharks to 20%, but their PP only converted 13% of the time. The loss of Hejduk (early in game 3) and Mueller’s shot on the point, really, really hurt here.
1. Andy. Failed. Believe me, its difficult to put Andy in the failed column, especially considering his 51 save shutout in Game 3 but 4 soft goals (Game 2 - 4th goal, Game 5 - 2nd and 3rd goals, Game 6 - 1st goal) all coming in Colorado losses, ultimately means he didn’t outplay Nabokov.
ADB’s 3 Stars:
1. Craig Anderson - Despite this series ending in disappointment, Andy’s performance (and the bizarre ending) in Game 3, where he single-handedly stole a win will never be forgotten by any Avs fan who watched the game. He proved he is a playoff capable goaltender.
2. Scott Hannan - The defensive defenseman was very solid against his former team. He was the only Avs player to finish as a plus player (+3).
3. TJ Galiardi - If you glance at the numbers for TJ - 2 assists and a minus 1. This is a case where the numbers don’t tell the story. He took a high stick (unpenalized) in Game 1, which took 14 stitches to repair. No problem - he played with an incredible amount of heart and was the hardest player for the Sharks to play against.
ABD's 2 Goats:
1. Kyle Cumiskey - I’m not sure why Kyle continued to be put on the ice in big situations. He led the team in with a -7. The next closest Av was Foote with a -4.
2. Ryan Wilson - Simply put, Wilson looked out of place in this series. He was so bad that Sacco was forced to sit him in Game 4 and again in Game 6, with older players (Clark, Salei) who have zero chance to be with the team next season.
Most surprising thing:
Marek Svatos was a difference maker. After a horrible year and nearly being banished from the team, he was offensively dangerous in Game 5 and scored a remarkable goal in Game 6.
Most expected thing:
Sharks won the series.
Team Stats:
Record: 2-4
Home: 1-2
Road: 1-2
Overtime: 1-2
Special Teams:
Power Play: 13.3% - 12th (of 16)
Penalty Kill: 80.8% - 8th (of 16)
Individual Stats:
Points Leaders:
1. Paul Stastny- 5
2. Brandon Yip - 4
Goal Leaders:
1. Chris Stewart - 3
2. Brandon Yip - 2
Assists Leaders:
1. Paul Stastny - 4
2. Matt Duchene - 3
Plus / Minus:
Plus leader: Scott Hannan (+3) - the only Avs player to finish as a plus.
Minus leader: Kyle Cumiskey (- 7)
Goalies:
Anderson – 6 games, .933
Final Thought:
Playoff loses always hurt, but remember, the Avs were playing with house money. They’ve battled with best team in the Western Conference, shut down their top players and gave them one heck of scare. They know that they’ve got a goaltender that can get it done in the playoffs. They know how much it hurts to blow 3rd period playoffs leads. I hope and I suspect that they know how much better they can be and will commit themselves to do so. If that happens, this series will ultimately be a success.
Next Event: 2010 NHL Draft, June 25-26.
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