I haven’t done a game report in a while. Mine aren’t like your average game recaps. My “insight” and focus goes in different directions. Enjoy.
– The amount of turnovers in the first six minutes were mind boggling. It seemed like everyone had a number eight on their back.
– Is there a reason for Scott Hannan shooting the puck? Seriously, he has to be the least effective shooter in the league. When he lifts his stick for a slap shop, goalies around the league must laugh and laugh.
– Mike Babcock, Head Coach of the Red Wings, must be an Avalanche fan. He was at the game. (anyone see him after the game? Maybe give him the Englewood Jack?)
– When you see the Hurricanes lines all together in a grid, you realize they have a four effective lines. Nothing flashy, just solid.
– Hannan takes another shot. The puck trickles off his stick as though a large box fan were blowing on it.
– A long shot of the ice shows a lot of empty seats behind the net. Oh, there will be snarky blogs written. Me? I’m enjoying some HDTV action. I’m in San Diego, so I can’t go, but I can tell you this. For the money you spend at the rink, and the “show” you get when you are there, I would rather be watching at home in HD. (looks like a lot of people agree with me)
– Duchene has an incredible tip in front of the net that was a few degrees from being dangerous. The Carolina announcers called Duchene a phenom, but I think you need a little more than one goal before that can be said. (note to homers: I am critical of the team, as well as being a fan. You will get used to it)
– O’Reilly digs the puck out and puts the Avs on the board. The puck probably wouldn’t have gone in had O’Reilly not taken as long as he did to drag the puck out with his backhand.
– Paul Stastny with a backhander fools Cam Ward. Do not give Stastny room in front of the net.
– There is nothing worse than announcers talking about themselves. This is the Canes feed BTW.
– The Darcy Tucker injury doesn’t look good. Watching Tucker’s left foot twitch is awful to watch. The silence on the broadcast is almost as scary. Watching him, his right side seems to be moving just fine, but the left side doesn’t look good.
– Someone needs to take the Patrick Roy and Ray Bourque banners down and wash them. They look yellow compared to Joe Sakic’s retired number.
– “And he needed that swallow. He didn’t need a gargle there.” What the hell does that mean?
– Hejduk gets the Avs on top. Stastny with the pass, and Duchene getting abused on the side of the net, which actually helped the Avalanche score.
– Wolski gets one paw out of the doghouse with the fourth goal of the game for the home team. The Canes say Wolski has 5 goals already. It’s hard to believe, considering the puck seems to go right to the opposing team off his stick (maybe it;s his sticks).
– “Anderson scampers off…” Scampers? Does Cam Ward “scamper?” I doubt it.
– I know this will to sound weird, but there are times I think Duchene shoots too often. Sometimes he looks like he is only thinking shot when he gets the puck on his stick. I don’t think he’s used to playing with skaters who can handle a quick pass or fast plays.
– A puck sneaks past Anderson, and we get a look at two very excited Canes fans at Le Can, who I’m guessing are the only Canes there.
– Wilson goes off for holding. It’s too bad. He was one arm too many from a good Rob Blake hip check.
– Paul Stastny clears the zone, making him the most effective penalty killer on the team.
– “That was an Orr-esque play.” Really, Canes guy? Pitkanien? Orr-esque? Maybe Colton Orr. Get real.
– Wait, the Avs play the Red Wings on Saturday? Who’s going to be in net? Does Anderson get back to back starts the day after playing this game? Yikes. Or will Tyler Weiman get thrown to the wolves? If it is, my Weiman jersey is going to get some use.
– Penalty shot? OK, good call. Anderson comes up huge with the save, and the Avalanche stay on top.
– Pitkanen goes to the box, putting the Canes down by two men, which the Avs take advantage of. How Orr-esque is that?
– Did they just say Kyle Cumiskey is the best skater on the Avalanche? OK, I’m done with these announcers. They are killing me. (I’m not a fan of our homers, but these homers are just as bad)
– 4:00 left in the game, and the Avs get their asses handed to them in around their own net. It isn’t pretty, and the best you can say is the puck stays out of the net. Beyond that, it was a cluster-F.
– Wolski has looked tired most of the period.
– Eric Staal should have been a little smarter at the end of the game. Of course, the same goes for Hannan, who got lucky when he fell to the ice, on top of a skate.
– Hey, Tyler Weiman has the number 30 on his jersey. My Weiman game issue has number 35.
AVALANCHE WIN!. It wasn’t a pretty win, and on the upside, there weren’t a lot of people there to see it. (attendance was 13,673, and it looked like less) Somehow, Scott Hannan leads the team in plus / minus, further destroying the credibility of that particular stat.
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