SAN JOSE, Calif. – Welcome to the Day After a Game 7 Loss. They are never easy. I have some uncut audio from the night that wasn’t, at the Shark Tank. Obviously, it’s a pretty quiet scene in there, the voices are a bit lower than normal. First up, Gabe Landeskog, talking about that unfortunate offside that cost a goal:…...
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Final grades of the season. Sorry it had to be this way, but that’s what the fates decided. Mikko Rantanen (A-) – I am going to be more on the generous side with the grades tonight. No sense in being real mean, and I think we all know here I can be a bit harsh when…...
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Yeah, they got screwed by a stupid rule. A really stupid rule that had absolutely zero to do with the play/goal it nullified. It was like having a home run disallowed because the hitter didn’t touch first base. But we know, deep down, the Avalanche didn’t deserve that Game 7 tonight. The team that played the…...
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The all-time record for home teams in a Game 7 of a Stanley Cup playoff series: 103-73. The San Jose Sharks’ all-time record in Game 7s: 7-4. The all-time record for the Avalanche in Game 7s as a team: 4-6. Those are all daunting numbers for Avs fans to see as another seventh game looms tonight…...
SAN JOSE, Calif. – That rink below is where it all happens tomorrow night, the Avalanche and Sharks getting it on for a Game 7. I just happened to be up in the press box this morning, retrieving a laptop power cord I somehow left there (gettin’ old, folks) and snapped that picture of the dark SAP Center. This will…
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Well, on to Monday and Game 6. Let’s get to the grades from a disappointing Game 5: Mikko Rantanen (C-) – Part of a first line that got outworked and outplayed. He was high-sticked to the face in the first period, which disallowed a Kevin Labanc goal. As far as contributions to the cause in this…...
SAN JOSE, Calif. – This, truly, is the last thing I thought I’d be quoting from the mouth of Jared Bednar after this Game 5 of the Western semifinals with the San Jose Sharks: “They outworked us,” Bednar said. “They were more competitive than us tonight.” And this, folks, is the one thing still keeping the Avalanche from entering the…...
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Hello from the Shark Tank, where Game 5 happens tonight. This is obviously the biggest game the Avs have played in five years, since that unfortunate Game 7 of the first round against Minnesota at the Pepsi Center. If you’re mulling around downtown Denver tonight, stop in to the BSN watch party at the Blake Street…...
“Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm.” – Sun Tzu There was still plenty of time left for a comeback, and if these playoffs have taught us anything, it is: don’t throw the confetti until that final tick is off the clock. The shot was fired, and Avalanche players prepared in…...
The education of Cale Makar continues – and will continue beyond his hockey career. “I want to get that degree,” Makar told BSN Denver Thursday morning, several hours before he and the Avalanche were set to play the San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of their second-round series. That degree, in sports management from the University of Massachusetts, is about…...
I’m not sure I buy into the old “X-Y-Z team doesn’t know how to win yet, X-Y-Z team needs to go through more of a learning curve before they can win, It’s not quite X-Y-Z’s turn to win just yet.” A lot of the time that’s just armchair media hogwash, pundits looking for an easy angle. Lots of young teams have…...
I’ve gotten a few requests from you t0 play the audio from a quote from Nikita Zadorov that I posted on Twitter today, about his hit on Evander Kane in Game 2 last night. So, here it is, in the middle of my roughly 70-second talk with Big Z last night. Of course, I misquoted a word in the original tweet;…...
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The curse of the Shark Tank is no more. For one day, at least. Big win today at the SAP Center for the Avs to even the series at one game apiece. Let’s do some grades: Alexander Kerfoot (C-) – It’s just been a tough postseason for No. 13. I mean, the Avs are winning and…...
SAN JOSE, Calif. – One minute and 49 seconds. Not much time in the bigger scheme of things, but an eternity in keeping a puck in the opposing zone uninterrupted. That was the amount of time the Avalanche kept the puck in the San Jose Sharks’ zone in one sequence, and the two players who made the Sharks look like…...
SAN JOSE, Calif. – From an Avalanche perspective, the record is 2-15-6. From a San Jose Sharks perspective, the record is 21-2-0. Either way for the Avs, the record stinks like a dead skunk in the middle of the road. The Avs have won two games at the SAP Center, formerly H-P Pavilion, formerly the San Jose Arena, since March…...
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Tyson Barrie was down, but he vows his Avalanche team is far from out. “It’s gonna be a long series,” Barrie told BSN Denver, right after the Avs’ disappointing 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks in Game 1 Friday night here at loud, proud SAP Center. I definitely don’t think the Avs are going to…...
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Well, that was a very winnable game that the Avalanche let get away in Game 1 in San Jose. Let’s get to the grades. This won’t be too pretty for some: Alexander Kerfoot (D) – Six games now in the postseason for No. 13, one point (assist). Jared Bednar might have to ponder whether he stays…...
In the latest edition of the Avalanche Weekly Breakdown, presented by Piper Electric, Adrian Dater and Allie Monroy talk about the Avs’ upcoming playoff series with the San Jose Sharks. How do the Avs match up? What kind of effect will the week-long layoff have on them? Also up for discussion: the return of Sam Girard and Dater’s series prediction.…
An installment of our Inside the Locker Room feature, uncut audio of all us media philosopher kings asking deep questions like “How big is it to win Game 1 of a playoff series?” I have several players from today’s open-room session, so let’s get started: First up, the always eloquent (and that’s no sarcasm here) Ian Cole about the week-long…...
I’ll make this kind of an informal batch of content for you. News: Sam Girard shed the non-contact jersey and will play Game 1 against the Sharks tomorrow. Views: So that means someone either comes out of the lineup or the Avs go with seven defensemen and 11 forwards. Jared Bednar would not tip his hand on that after practice…...