Category Archives: NHL

(Ed Mullholland/USA Today Image)

After changing the culture that resulted to a successful season, Joe Sakic has the challenge of sustaining success by making decisions that would build the 2014-2015 Avalanche team. The Avalanche executive vice president of hockey operations either had to find replacements for Paul Stastny or overpay his star to have him stay. Read More →

(Brace Hemmelgarn, USA TODAY Sports)

Wednesday night’s disappointing 5-4 loss to the Wild in Game 7 that eliminated the Avalanche in the Western Conference quarterfinals should not ruin what is the big picture. The Avalanche built a winning program that could last for years. Read More →

To the dismay of the fans, the ride is over. The “Why Not Us” has come to an end. There’s no disputing that the Avs came a long way from last-place in the Western Conference to darn-near first place, but there’s a bit more to the story when reflecting on the season that was. Even though the squad improved more than any fan could ever ask for.. It’s hard to deter from the fact that the Avalanche missed out on a prime opportunity. Read More →

(Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

Tonight is the Avalanche’s 10th Game 7 since moving to Denver. So much good memories. So much bad memories. That’s life of Game 7, which a team wins some and loses some. Read More →

(Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports)

We can dwell on the Avalanche failing to finish the Wild off last night. We can talk about the Avs’ poor start to Game 6. We can moan about Zach Parise’s game-winning goal for the Wild that will take this series to Game 7 tomorrow night at the Pepsi Center.

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(Photo courtesy of MileHighHockey.com)

The Avs know what’s at stake. They can finish off the Wild tonight and advance to the next playoff round against the Blackhawks. They know they have to finish a pesky team off now rather than giving them a chance to beat them in Game 7 on Wednesday night. Read More →

(Chris Humphreys/USA TODAY Sports)

The great coaches use the media to get their point across, and that’s what Avalanche coach Patrick Roy did on Friday when he told the media that his team should put their marbles on the table in the best-of-three Western Conference quarterfinals against the Wild.

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(Brace Hemmelgarn, USA TODAY Sports)

When Wild coach Mike Yeo benched Ilya Bryzgalov and inserted Darcy Kuemper as the goaltender in Game 3, it was a head coach trying to get something going for his team. He knew he had to shake things up after realizing his starting goaltender in Games 1 and 2 was not the guy that would help the Wild be in a position to win the rest of the series. Read More →

(Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports)

Here’s what we learned in the Western Conference quarterfinals matchup between the Wild and Avalanche: Both teams are even at two in the series, and both teams won their home games. Read More →

(Brace Hemmelgarn, USA TODAY Sports)

Wild enforcer Matt Cooke had a great day yesterday. He was worried that he could miss the entire season after his knee-on-knee hit on Tyson Barrie that caused the Avs defenseman to be out four-to-six weeks with a MCL injury. Read More →

(Ron Chenoy — USA Today Sports)

Not many experts are giving the Avalanche a chance to win the Stanley Cup. They cite goaltending as an issue. It’s clear Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov has so much to prove heading to the postseason despite an excellent regular season. Read More →

(Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports)

It has been a frustrating playoff series for the Wild so far. They were behind 2-0 against the Avalanche in the Western Conference quarterfinals, and they have had a hard time matching up with the Avalanche’s skilled players.

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The media assembled around Nathan MacKinnon after the game last night. He was the star of the game after he played a role in the Avalanche’s 4-2 Game 2 victory over the Wild by scoring a goal and having three assists. He made dazzling plays that made it look easy. Read More →

(James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports)

There are coaches that stand out when it comes to knowing what to do. One can tell by the body language, noncliche press conferences, natural born leadership, championships and all. Patrick Roy is one of those coaches. Read More →