Avalanche report: Full arsenal

Pat Rooney, Special to the Rocky

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Yes, the Avalanche struggled mightily against Detroit during the regular season, losing all four games and failing to score a goal in the final three.

But the Colorado squad that takes the ice in the Motor City tonight for Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series will be vastly different than the one the Red Wings faced in the regular season.

And not just because longtime rivalry stalwarts Adam Foote and Peter Forsberg rejoined the Avalanche shortly after it suffered its final regular-season loss to Detroit.

Injuries hampered the Avalanche throughout the regular season, and the team never faced Detroit with its full arsenal of offensive weapons.

Center Joe Sakic missed all four meetings because of a hernia that cost him 38 games overall. Forwards Paul Stastny, Ryan Smyth, and Tyler Arnason each missed two games against Detroit because of various injuries, but all those players will be in uniform tonight.

"The playoffs are a different story anyway, so I don't think they're too concerned about what happened during the regular season, and neither are we," Sakic said. "To get this far, you've got to be playing your best hockey right now."

Starved for shots

The Avalanche suffered three shutouts against Detroit during the regular season, and in the process it struggled to produce scoring chances against the Red Wings.

"Knowing that we just played against a (Minnesota) team that was tight-checking, I think we found ways to do it," Smyth said. "Obviously, (Detroit) is a different team, a different outlook, but we've got to find ways to hopefully take the puck to the net and get chances that way."

Colorado managed fewer than 20 shots in each shutout loss, recording 19 in a 1-0 loss Jan. 8, 15 in a 2-0 loss Feb. 1, and 18 in a 4-0 loss Feb. 18.

"We didn't get many scoring chances as a group against them this year," Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said. "I think we have to make sure that when we do get them, we've got to bury them."

Numbers game

1 goal allowed in 54 shots by Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood in three games during the Red Wings' first-round series victory against Nashville. Detroit coach Mike Babcock has said Osgood will be his team's No. 1 goaltender at the outset of the series against Colorado, instead of Dominik Hasek, who surrendered 10 goals in 89 shots against Nashville before being replaced by Osgood.

They said it

"I don't think there is a key. I think we just have to worry about how we're playing, and we're playing well right now. We're playing as well as we have been all year on the power play, and our goaltending has been great."

Wojtek Wolski, Avalanche forward

"We have a lot of guys that played against these guys before, which is good. I'm sure it's going to be a really fast-paced and exciting series."

Jose Theodore, Avalanche goaltender

• April 24, 2008

  11:08 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  MikeAVS writes:

  You forgot to mention we also did not have Salei. So you add Foote, Forsberg, Sakic, Salei, Stansky & Smythe, plus Jose's level of play now--who would you pick? BTW, Joe has not had a real good playoff game yet, wait till he gets hot.

  Avs in 6. This is the "Wayback Payback Tour"--enjoy it, and whose up next, maybe the Starz, it may be payback for all those times they beat us in the conference finals. Here we go...

• April 24, 2008

  12:23 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  GoMaltby writes:

  I'll hand it to ya, the Aves tooled up really nice, and it's finally coming together. Too bad it will be short lived. My guess is Forsberg will be out by game 3 with a broken fingernail, and Theodore won’t be so hot against a team that can actually score goals. Wings in 6.

• April 24, 2008

  12:41 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Milarso writes:

  Going to be a great series.
  But I don't thine the Avs have it in them.