There are things that don’t happen at the Pepsi Center. There are things that die off into the thin air we have up here that you expect in other places. The chants flashed on the scoreboard are picked up for a moment, the music is left to play without any reaction. Goals by opponents are met with silence, instead of emotion. Fans of the away team are left to their own devices.

Tonight was completely different.

Of all the games I have been to at the Pepsi Center, this was the best. The Avs worked their asses off through 2 periods, fell apart in the third (but still tried) and took it to the shootout. The SO goal by Sakic was such an emotional high for the crowd, the loss was only a sting. Peter Budaj came out and made a case for taking over the starting position, making some seriously flashy saves at the right time. The chants of “Let’s Go, Red Wings” were met with even louder “Red Wings Suck!” I know I will be soothing this throaht all day. I had the people in front of me cracking up with outbursts like “Check Chelios, he’s too old to skate,” and “Don’t forget your walker, Chelios!” Not too inventive, but fun. In fact, now that I think about it, Chelios is the one who drew most of my ire tonight. Him and Datsyuk. Why Datsyuk? Beats me. Chelios springs from the World Cup of Hockey 2004, where he was always three feet from doing any work. (Sidenote: A guy sitting two seats over recognized me from the WCH2004. Small hockey world, eh?)

The only way I would have been happier with the game is if the Avs had come out with the two points, or if the Avs hadn’t fallen apart at the end so bad. We need the points more than the Wings do, and the third period was all Avs putting themselves in jeopardy, not the Wings doing anything special. Tonight was a night where I felt like going to the Can was the only reasonable thing to do, one of the few when I would have felt like I missed out on something great. The presentation, the lack of replays, the things the Avs screw up when they have a home game, none of that made any difference. It was just the Avs versus the Evil Empire. And I was glad to be there.

That is how a rivalry should feel.

P.S. 2nd best, you ask? I think the next game against the Wings here (Jan 20th) is going to be even better. Want to guess where I’m going to be?

Technorati : Avalanche, Avs, Hockey, NHL, Wings

It’s been way to long. Halfway through the season, and just now, we are getting to the Wings. There was a time when you couldn’t walk down the streets in Denver wearing a Wings jersey. The rivalry, which used to be spelled with a capital R, has cooled off considerably. It’s hard to take it seriously any more. After all, what is Draper’s face compared to Moore’s neck? Does that sound cold? No more cold than turning right around and hiring Brad May. How would Wings fans have felt if they had hired Adam Deadmarsh for the 1996-97 season? (Don’t you Wings fans tell me it would never happen. You don’t run the joint)

But in the end, it’s pretty hard to get the bile up for some of the teams in the Northwest division. The Oilers are just so cute, and the Wild, I mean, come on, what’s there to be mad at. They have the neatest little jerseys. The Canucks? If the Avs can’t be bothered to care, why should the rest of us? As for the Flames, nothing doing. There just isn’t enough anger in this division for the Avs. It almost makes you jealous of the Battle of Alberta. The Pacific division has some serious proximity, with L.A., Anaheim, and San Jose. They can make up for the rest. The Wings and Predators have more of a rivalry these days.

Last year, around this time, I was in Norfolk, VA with a show. One night I went into a grocery store after a stick and puck season at the rink. I was wearing a Ducks jersey (the old one) that day. The guy who was working the check out kind of laughed at my jersey. We chatted hockey for a moment, until he told me he was a Wings fan. “Too bad,” I said. “I’m an Avs fan.” That ended our conversation. I didn’t want to talk to him, I didn’t want to hand him my money, and I suspect the feeling was mutual. We were done. He didn’t tell me my total, I just swiped my card and left.

That’s how a rivalry should feel.

For the next day or so, I’m staying away from the more angry of Wings blogs. I’m thinking about going to the game, but I may have to go to the Czech hockey bar instead, just to be around the fans there. I can imagine how much they must loathe the Wings. I sure miss that. Tomorrow is going to be good for my hockey life.

Technorati : Avalanche, Avs, Detroit, Wings

The Avs hit the halfway mark last night, playing game 41 last night against the Wild. It was a great game, for both teams, ending 2-1 in a shootout. Manny Fernandez was great, as was Jose Theodore Peter Budaj, who had to stand on his head a couple of times. Theodore Budaj looked really good the night before, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. Yep that Theodore Budaj is looking pretty good right now.

So, obviously, I’m not happy with the Jose. Nope, never have been, never will be. I admit my bias up front, and can’t see that changing any time soon. Theodore is a bust. He has played some good games for the Avs, but they don’t happen enough. This is a case where the numbers do tell most of the story:

Here’s another part of the story. In Theodore’s last game, he was pulled from the net (Dec. 27th against Dallas). He let in 5 goals on 22 shots. Not a good night, but there is a lot more to the story.

• The Avs scored four goals against Marty Turco. If you get four against Marty Turco, you count yourself lucky. The offense did their job.
  
• Dallas was hit with an injury bug. Modano was out, along with Brenden Morrow, Eric Lindros (surprise, surprise) and Steve Ott. That depleted the Stars of a lot of talent, and $8.775 million in salary for the night (for a little perspective).
  
• The Avs were leading the game at two different points, holding a 2-1 lead and later, up to a 4-2 lead. Both leads slipped away.

Here’s the part of the story the numbers don’t tell. When the fifth and final goal of the night for Jose went in, the crowd booed him. They booed him off the ice. The money guy, the guy who was the big trade, the future of the team, was booed off the ice. And that may not be unusual where you are from, but here, it is. Here, going to a game is like going to a tea party. It’s quiet and polite. I’ve heard about the Ottawa Senators games, and they must be more exciting than here (more on that later). Budaj came in, and he got cheered. I was watching the game that night at SoBo 151 (the Czech hockey bar) and the place cheered when they pulled Theodore. When a goalie gets pulled, there should be silence from the home fans. Not this night, and deservedly so.

I had wondered if Pierre Lacroix and Francois Giguere would get the message from the fans. Apparently, they have. Peter Budaj has gotten the starts in the last five games. The first two came with losses against the St. Louis Blues, but Budaj played pretty evenly. The second loss was a 2-0 game. If you can’t score against St. Louis, don’t blame your goalie. Budaj has won his last three games, and last nights win against the Wild was quite a showing. Holding them to one goal in regulation play and one goal in the shootout, he has been rolling like never before. The complaints I had about him with his rebound control seem to have disappeared, and unlike his high priced cohort, he is getting better all the time.

So, back to the original question, what to do about Jose? If Jose is here next season, you can kiss that sellout streak goodbye (oops, too late). In fact, there are many factors involved, but I take a special pride and joy in the fact that the streak ended on Theodore’s watch rather than David Aebischer’s. The fans expect the poor performance from Jose. They know what’s coming. I don’t want to go to a game he starts in, because I don’t feel I’m going to get my money’s worth. The problem is, if Theodore isn’t here next season, it’s like Lacroix is admitting he made a mistake in bringing Theodore in (which he did). But the time for pride is long gone. Pure value for money, Theodore is a bust.

Buying out Theodore would result in getting back about 4 million in cap space for next season. With some of the other contracts that are ending, that gives the Avs some serious space to work with. Also, with the bonus money payed to Rob Blake and Joe Sakic this season counting against the cap (4.6 million), this would leave the team with a ton of cash to work with (I think the cap will go down nest year, considering the attendance issues reported around the league. That bonus money may come in very handy as padding). And there are going to be some available goaltenders next year. I never thought I would say this, but how about Marty Biron? If the Sabres don’t win a cup, he’s going to be gone, if he doesn’t get traded at the deadline.

Theodore is a bigger bust this year than any on the Avs roster. If you want to tell me you knew this would happen, go for it. So did I. Whoopie. It wasn’t a hard call. What surprised me is how good Budaj has been. Legitimate number 1? I don’t know about that yet, but he sure is better than Theodore.

Then again, who isn’t?

Technorati : Avalanche, Avs, Colorado, Hockey, NHL