Jerseys and Hockey Love

Avs vs Flames: We Don’t Need No Stinking First Period

Last night, the Avs hosted the Calgary Flames in what early indicators said would be a blow out loss. The biggest surprise of the night was not only the Avalanche coming back with an unbelievable second period, but that they decided to take the first period off, rather than the more traditional third. That isn’t completely true, as the Avs outshot the Flames 15 – 10 in the first period. The difference was in net, with Kiprusoff standing tall, and Budaj looking small. So, with much ado, a few game notes, short and sweet:

  • Ryan Smyth got something similar to a hat trick, only it wasn’t. Smyth got 2 goals in the game, and a shootout goal, which does not count. So, what do you call that? A not-trick? Before anyone deems the act stupid, the fans a Le Can were looking for some kind of release from the tense third and overtime periods, and through hats for the not-trick. They are not dumb, just having a good time.
  • Theodore had something to prove, as his first start of the season was less than stellar. While he may not have proven anything, he did well enough, keeping the Flames off the scoreboard for his time in net. And when will Jose finally prove himself? Never. We have all seen goalie meltdowns. The J.S. Giguere of the 2003-04 season comes to mind. Hero to a zero, and eventually back again. It took winning a cup to get the monkey off his back. Theo has one for life. He could go 25 – 0 in the rest of the season, and everyone will still be looking for that other shoe to drop.
  • The biggest battle of the night did not happen on the ice, nor between my computer and the crappy internet connection at home (can’t wait until I hit Minnesota Saturday). That was reserved for the radio broadcast booth. Norm Jones, Avs play by play, and Marc Moser, color man, were horrid last night, alternating between talking over each other, and stunned silence. Moser seemed the worst, as he couldn’t make heads or tails of half the plays he described, and there was no chemistry between the two men. It wasn’t as frustrating as a Versus broadcast when the announcers take their Distracto-pills (oh, look, shiny, let’s talk about me), but it wasn’t good. I felt like I was missing something, mostly the game.
  • Hey, what’s up with this chart? From the NHL scoresheets, here is your shootout summary:

Screenshot 01-12

  • What is that result column? Is it too difficult to just type the word goal? Or shot? You can enter “backhand.” Why is the most important aspect of the shootout (goal or no goal) the part that gets the least attention? I know I keep banging on about this, but I’m completely over searching out the relevant information on a day to day basis. I should be able to look at this chart, and with the massive blank spaces available, not have to look at a key at the bottom to find out if anyone scored on the shootout. And while having a shootout summary is a huge improvement, you have miles of blank space. Use it.

Two points for the Avs, one for Calgary. Do I need to remind anyone how many points the Avs missed the playoffs by? Do I need to tell you to whom they lost that 8th slot to? Didn’t think so.

Hey, you know what would be nice? Some real game summaries. From around the Avoshpere:

Colorado Avalanche Talk
In The Cheap Seats
Mile High Hockey

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James Gralian

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2 responses to “Avs vs Flames: We Don’t Need No Stinking First Period”

  1. Like I’ve been saying: this team goes only as far as Theodore carries it.

    Apologies if you’ve covered this, but early in the game, unable to catch the first-period meltdown at work, I logged on to NHL.com to see the stats — and none of the various links on the page mentioned who the freakin’ goalie was. I eventually found out (to my surprise) that it was Budaj, but it was a lot harder than it should’ve been.