And to top it all off, I had to watch this via an online feed fed to my 13" tv upstairs. Well actually, I wasn't too upset about that because really, if that's the worst thing that happened to me today, it's been a good day. I think I'm watching that new show "Life" a bit too much.
I completely missed the first period while I stared at my tv willing the Center Ice feed to cut in. I phoned Shaw and they said "Yes, we are aware of the problem. Thank you." You're welcome...I guess. I wasn't calling to inform you of the problem though, I wanted to know that it was going to be fixed.
Second Period
The Avs evened up the game early on a powerplay goal by Wojtek Wolski. That's right, a rare PP goal on the road. And Wojtek Wolski isn't looking too bad on the point during powerplays actually.
Let's cut all the way to the end of the period where the Avs exploded for 2 goals and were on their way to what looked like a sure win. The first goal was a "garbage" goal where Smyth and Stastny were crashing the net and the puck snuck under Leclaire. Foote almost stopped it but upon review it was clear that the puck crossed the goal line.
Then under a minute later, with Ryan Smyth kneeing Pascal Leclaire in the head, Jeff Finger put a shot past him to give the Avalanche a 2 goal lead late in the third. The Avs then basically killed off the remainder of the period.
Third Period
Fredrik Norrena came in for an obviously flustered Pascal Leclaire. After the third goal, Leclaire was quite upset and I can't say I blame him so he was likely out of the zone.
The Jackets got within one before the halfway mark of the third. Rick Nash outmuscled Tyler Arnason behind the net and wrapped the puck in past Budaj. Nash has a ridiculously long stick so that's probably a tough one for a goaltender.
Columbus then exploded with pressure and drew an Avalanche penalty. With Finger in the box, the Jackets tied the game as the announcers said things like "That's what the doctor ordered. Dr. Powerplay." and "Kaboom!". Seriously? Kaboom? *shakes head*
The Jackets then killed off an Avalanche powerplay and looked very good doing it. Things were not looking good at this point but I still had hopes of the game going to OT.
Nik Zherdev then dashed those hopes with a beauty of a goal. He took a feed at the top of the circles, made a beauty drag and buried a wrist shot past Budaj's blocker. I'm sure an Avalanche fan somewhere had a mini-stroke at this point. Oh, and Clark really should have...I don't know..."defended" against Zherdev rather than falling down trying to block the shot.
Then hope came again! Scott Hannan picked up a loose puck in the slot and rifled a shot past Norrena. Holy smokes! Tie game with under 5 minutes left. OT!! A single point at least!
Those things were not to be. 30 seconds later, Dan Fritsche scored the game winner. A goal which I didn't get to see as it FSN Ohio cut out at that moment.
Odds and Ends
- Liles crunched Fritsche with a great open ice hip check in the 2nd
- Nash is a beast so why was Arnason lined up against him a few times?
- where was this Rick Nash during the '06 Olympics?
- Clark continues to flop for a shot block rather than taking the man
- Skrastins made a huge shot block early in the third
Stats
Clark led the team with 27:18 spent on the ice. Nobody else was even close, particularly for defencemen. Hejduk and Stastny each put in over 23 minutes while Kyle Cumiskey had a lowly 9:39 in ice-time.
Ryan Smyth had 8 shots on the night, Stastny had 5 and Skrastins had 4. That's right, Skrastins fired off 4 shots which is great to see. Point shots, point shots and more point shots.
Related Links
NHL.com Event Summary
ColoradoAvalanche.com Recap
In the Cheap Seats Game Notes
JibbleScribbits On the Lack of Focus
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7 Comments:
That game just made me angry. It my not be the worst they played all season, but that was a game they just blew it.
Definitely. It wasn't a bad game at all...until the third. The Jackets just took advantage of mistakes and made the Avs pay big time.
Now, I'm not saying having Guite in would have been the difference, but Guite in and Arnason out could have provided that extra bit of grit this team appears to need.
And it would have kept Nash from completely owning Arnason on his wraparound goal.
Let me be the first to say (and maybe incorrectly) that Cumiskey's low ice time is an indication that Leoprone is almost back, and Cumiskey is soon to return to Lake Erie.
It's the next morning and I'm STILL pissed about this game.
Brutal.
ryan, you're most likely right. All reports indicate that Leopold is progressing faster than expected. Hopefully he's not being rushed back.
Mike, I hear ya. I was able to stay pretty zen about it but it was extremely disappointing. It's almost one of those cases where you just can't believe it happened so it doesn't sink in.
If a game like this doesn't get FG thinking about replacing the coaching staff, I don't know what will.
Did he really say "Dr. Powerplay?" Because if he really said Dr. Powerplay, then I think that's worse than "Kaboom!" A lot worse.
Yep, I believe he said "Just what the doctor ordered. Dr. Powerplay"
Which doesn't make a lot of sense as a prescription. Unless he was giving a name to the previously unknown doctor.
Either way, it was weird.
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