Mile High Hockey: Colorado Avalanche NHL 10 Franchise

[gbpckr50]

I'll be following.

[JWrightnh]

Avs Fight hard, Penalty Kill Disapoints
4 @ 3

Colorado Lineup
Wojtek Wolski - Paul Stastny - Milan Hejduk
Cody McLeod - Matt Duchene - Marek Svatos
Darcy Tucker - David Jones - Chris Stewart
David Koci - Ryan O'Reilly - Tom Preissing

John-Michael Liles - Adam Foote
Ruslan Salei - Scott Hannan
Kyle Quincey - Brett Clark

Goalie - Craig Anderson

Vancouver Lineup
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Pavol Demitra
Alex Burrows - Ryan Kesler - Steve Bernier
Mason Raymond - Kyle Wellwood - Mikael Samuelsson
Darcy Hordichuk - Ryan Johnson - Jannik Hansen

Alex Edler - Willie Mitchell
Christian Ehrhoff - Kevin Bieksa
Shane O'Brien - Sami Salo

Goalie - Roberto Luongo

Summary
For the second straight game, the Avalanche were up against an elite goaltender, and again, it wasn't a big issue for them. The big issue in this game was penalty killing. They killed off two early in the first period, but that would be it. Late in the first, rookie Matt Duchene was called for a trip, and Henrik Sedin scored the first goal of the game on the man advantage at 15:49. Minutes later, Vancouver won a faceoff in their own zone, but Cody Mcleod made an amazing play, immediately stealing the puck and put by Luongo to tie it going into the first break.

Colorado played Vancouver tough all game, and looked to have the upper hand in the second, getting a powerplay goal from Milan Hejduk early, and Mcleod's second gave them a 3-1 lead at the second intermission. They were out hitting and out shooting the Canucks at this point. However, Duchene would be called for another penalty, a hooking double minor with seconds left. This would begin the Avs demise.

Ryan Kesler quickly cashed in the power play in the third to get back within a goal, and Daniel Sedin tied it at 4:04 with their third consecutive powerplay goal after Hejduk had been called for unsportsmanlike. The rest of the period would be a defensive battle. Both teams went back and forth on the attack, but niether could do anything with almost until the end of regulation. That's when Colorado's PK woes prove to be the deciding factor. Ryan Kesler's second goal put the Canucks ahead with 1:16. It was even strength, but the three power play goals put them in that situation. The Avalanche got off 4 quick shots on Luongo as time ran out, but he would not falter, and sealed Vancouver's 4-3 win.

Scoring
1st Period
Henrik Sedin(1) (Kesler, Bieksa) PP 15:49
Cody McLeod(1) (unassisted) 18:49
2nd Period
Milan Hejduk(1) (Stastny) PP 2:04
Cody McLeod(2) (Hannan, Hejduk) 12:16
3rd Period
Ryan Kesler(2) (unassisted) PP 1:28
Daniel Sedin(1) (Edler, Demitra) PP 4:04
Ryan Kesler(3) (Burrows, Ehrhoff) 18:44

Penalties
1st Period
Cody McLeod - Slashing (minor) 3:58
Cody McLeod - Hooking (minor) 11:02
Matt Duchene - Tripping (minor) 14:40, Vancouver Scores
2nd Period
Alex Edler - Hooking (minor) 1:25, Colorado Scores
Ryan Kesler - Interference (minor) 9:49
Matt Duchene - Slashing (double minor) 19:44 Carries to 3rd, Vancouver Scores.
3rd Period
Milan Hejduk - Unsportsmanlike (minor) 3:30, Vancouver scores
Kevin Bieksa - Elbowing (minor) 10:13
Ryan Johnson - Hooking (minor) 14:25

Teamp Comparison
Shots on Goal: Van-30 Col-26
Hits: Van-18 Col-19
Faceoffs: Van-19 Col-10
Time on Attack: Van-8:04 Col-7:21
Power Play: Van-3/5 Col-1/4

Three Stars

3. 2. 1.

Third Star: Milan Hejduk - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
Second Star: Cody McLeod - 2 Goals
First Star: Ryan Kesler - 2 Goals, 1 Assist

The Avs go to Nashville to begin a stretch of 11 of 13 games on the road, starting with seven in a row.

[JWrightnh]

Predators Shut Out In Second Straight Game, Duchene Notches First NHL Point

3 @ 0
Colorado (1-1-0) - Nashville (0-1-0)

Colorado Lineup
Wojtek Wolski - Paul Stastny - Milan Hejduk
Cody McLeod - David Jones - Marek Svatos
Darcy Tucker - Matt Duchene - Chris Stewart
David Koci - Ryan O'Reilly - Tom Preissing

John-Michael Liles - Adam Foote
Ruslan Salei - Scott Hannan
Kyle Quincey - Brett Clark

Goalie - Craig Anderson

Nashville Lineup
Steve Sullivan - Jason Arnott - JP Dumont
Mike Santorelli - Dave Legwand - Martin Erat
Patric Hornqvist - Marcel Goc - Ryan Jones
Ben Guite - Jerrid Smithson - Wade Belak

Ryan Suter - Shea Weber
Dan Hamhuis - Kevin Klein
Francis Bouillon - Teemu Laasko

Goalie - Pekka Rinne

Summary
The Predators came into this game looking for their first goal of the season after being shut out by Dallas and Marty Turco. They would leave with no progress. Both teams seemed to have trouble scoring at the start of this one. The first period didn't lack competition, but niether team managed to get on the scoreboard.

Nashville had a 5 on 3 opportunity for a minute and half in the 2nd, when Kyle Quincey was called for interference, and Cody McLeod was called for hooking 30 seconds later. The predators could do nothing with it though, as Colorado killed off the 5 on 3 and 2 other power plays in the game. The Avs however did take advantage of their own power play, with Milan Hejduk scoring the first goal of the game at 10:48. They'd get another when Matt Duchene collected his first NHL point with an assist on Darcy Tucker's goal. Duchene and Jones swapped lines for this game, and both scored a point. 2-0 at the second intermission.

Nashville had 2 of it's 3 power play chances when they needed them most, down 2-0 in the third. Colorado killed them off, and got a another goal to lock it up from David Jones with five minutes left. The Avs start the season with three or more goals in all three games, while Nashville has played two and still not scored.

Scoring
1st Period
No Scoring
2nd Period
Milan Hejduk(2) (Wolski, Salei) PP 10:48
Darcy Tucker(1) (Duchene, Quincey) 16:10
3rd Period
David Jones(1) (McLeod, Salei) 15:00

Penalties
1st Period
Martin Erat - Slashing (minor) 7:20
Dan Hamhuis - Slashing (minor) 12:15
2nd Period
Scott Hannan - Interference (minor) 7:47
Cody McLeod - Hooking (minor) 8:17
Teemu Laasko - Tripping (minor) 9:52
3rd Period
Ruslan Salei - Slashing (minor) 5:31
Scott Hannan - Tripping (minor) 9:55
Marcel Goc - Tripping (minor) 13:31

Team Comparison
Shots on Goal: Col-28 NSH-24
Hits: Col-16 NSH-14
Faceoffs: Col-13 NSH-15
Time on Attack: Col-11:40 NSH-7:52
Power Play: Col-1/4 NSH 0/3

Three Stars
3. 2. 1.

Third Star: C Matt Duchene - 1 Assist, 1st NHL Point
Second Star: D Ruslan Salei - 2 Assists, 5 Hits
First Star - G Craig Anderson - Shutout, 24 saves

Next game: @ Chicago

[Bure10Beezer34]

Quote: Originally Posted by JWrightnh

I guess you called that one. Three points and the second star.

Well I watched him grow up in the Red Wings organization and he did really well last year with a not so good Kings squad. I was shocked to see that the Kings let him go. But the Av's can't be complaining! He was tied a couple nights ago with the team lead in points with 8! He's also lead them in ice time the last few games. I'm bummed the Wings didn't keep him.

But on the NHL10 note, I have noticed that he is very good in the game so I was excited to see someone with an Av's dynasty going to see how he does for them.

[bthomp05]

Excellent chise, will be following.