Avalanche v. Hurricanes - Scoring Chances #10

Tm	P	Time	Note	COL						Opponent
CAR	1	18:34		9	10	16	23	41	52	8	15	17	30	41	77	5v5
CAR	1	18:23		5	8	25	37	41	44	8	17	24	30	41	44	5v5
CAR	1	16:45	Goal	5	26	41	52	54		12	13	15	30	36	77	4v5
COL	1	15:39		5	8	25	37	41	44	4	12	13	25	30	59	5v5
CAR	1	14:13	Goal	5	26	40	41	44	54	7	14	15	18	30	77	5v5
COL	1	13:07		9	22	23	27	28	41	18	29	30	38	41	44	5v5
CAR	1	11:39		8	22	27	37	40	41	7	12	13	30	59	77	5v5
CAR	1	11:36		8	22	27	37	40	41	7	12	13	30	59	77	5v5
COL	1	7:58		5	15	28	39	41	44	14	15	30	36	41	44	5v5
COL	1	3:46	Goal	5	8	25	37	41	44	7	18	29	30	38	77	5v5
COL	1	3:15	Goal	5	26	40	41	44	54	4	14	15	25	30	36	5v5
COL	1	0:22		5	9	16	23	27	41	7	12	17	30	77		5v4
COL	1	0:20		5	9	16	23	27	41	7	12	17	30	77		5v4
CAR	2	16:28		10	15	28	37	41	44	4	8	17	24	25	30	5v5
COL	2	14:40		9	10	16	23	41	52	14	15	30	36	41	44	5v5
CAR	2	13:56		5	8	9	10	41		4	14	25	30	36		4v4
COL	2	13:29		8	9	22	41	44		4	14	25	30	36		4v4
CAR	2	12:29		22	23	26	27	41	52	4	8	25	30	59		5v4
COL	2	10:48		9	23	26	27	40	41	8	25	29	30	41		5v4
COL	2	10:02	Goal	9	23	26	27	40	41	8	25	29	30	41		5v4
COL	2	9:21	Goal	8	10	25	37	41	52	4	17	30	38	44	59	5v5
CAR	2	8:39		8	22	27	39	41	54	7	12	13	24	30	77	5v5
COL	2	7:03		5	9	10	26	40	41	7	8	30	41	59		5v4
COL	2	6:56		5	9	10	26	40	41	7	8	30	41	59		5v4
COL	2	4:41		8	9	10	23	41	52	7	14	29	30	36	77	5v5
CAR	2	3:46	Goal	5	37	39	40	41	44	4	8	17	24	25	30	5v5
CAR	2	3:32		22	25	27	37	39	41	4	12	13	25	30	59	5v5
COL	2	3:13		8	9	10	23	41	52	7	14	29	30	36	77	5v5
COL	2	2:31		8	9	10	23	41	52	7	17	24	30	36	77	5v5
CAR	2	0:56		9	15	22	41	52		7	14	17	24	25	30	4v5
CAR	3	17:44		10	25	37	39	41	44	14	29	30	36	41	44	5v5
CAR	3	16:58		5	26	27	40	41	54	4	12	13	25	30	59	5v5
CAR	3	16:33		8	9	10	23	41	52	7	8	17	24	30	77	5v5
COL	3	15:56		5	26	40	41	44	54	7	17	29	30	36	77	5v5
COL	3	13:41	Goal	9	23	26	27	40	41	7	12	30	77			5v3
COL	3	12:38		8	10	22	37	40	41	18	29	30	41	44		5v4
CAR	3	11:21	Goal	5	25	39	41	52	54	4	12	13	25	30	59	5v5
COL	3	10:30		8	22	27	39	40	41	17	25	29	30	36	77	5v5
CAR	3	9:46		22	23	26	27	41	54	7	12	13	30	59	77	5v5
COL	3	7:31		8	9	22	27	40	41	14	29	30	36	41	44	5v5
COL	3	6:30		10	15	25	37	41	52	8	17	24	30	41	44	5v5
COL	3	5:18		8	9	22	27	40	41	14	25	29	30	36	41	5v5
COL	3	4:38		10	15	25	37	41	52	8	17	24	25	30	41	5v5
COL	3	4:37		10	15	25	37	41	52	8	17	24	25	30	41	5v5
CAR	3	4:18		10	15	25	37	41	52	4	8	17	24	30	44	5v5

#	Player	EV			PP			SH
5	B. CLARK	9:40	5	6	4:50	4	0	1:17	0	1
8	W. WOLSKI	15:19	10	6	3:45	1	0	0:00	0	0
9	M. DUCHENE	12:26	8	3	6:22	6	0	0:42	0	1
10	K. CUMISKEY	16:14	8	6	3:23	3	0	0:00	0	0
15	M. HENDRICKS	10:01	4	2	0:00	0	0	0:42	0	1
16	D. TUCKER	6:06	1	1	0:36	2	0	0:00	0	0
22	S. HANNAN	20:31	5	5	1:38	1	1	1:22	0	1
23	M. HEJDUK	14:26	5	3	6:08	4	1	0:00	0	0
25	C. STEWART	13:16	6	5	2:44	0	0	0:00	0	0
26	P. STASTNY	12:41	2	3	6:46	4	1	1:15	0	1
27	K. QUINCEY	19:43	4	6	6:27	4	1	1:08	0	0
28	D. KOCI	4:15	2	1	0:00	0	0	0:00	0	0
37	R. O'REILLY	14:53	6	8	3:28	1	0	0:45	0	0
39	T. GALIARDI	9:15	2	5	0:04	0	0	0:42	0	0
40	M. SVATOS	9:39	5	5	6:05	5	0	0:00	0	0
41	C. ANDERSON	46:12	18	16	10:46	7	1	2:39	0	2
44	R. WILSON	11:27	6	5	0:00	0	0	0:00	0	0
52	A. FOOTE	15:22	8	4	1:33	0	1	1:31	0	2
54	D. JONES	14:39	2	5	0:25	0	0	1:12	0	1

Period	Totals		EV		PP		5v3 PP		SH		5v3 SH
1	7	6	5	5	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
2	10	7	6	5	4	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
3	9	6	7	6	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	26	19	18	16	7	1	1	0	0	2	0	0

Another win for the Colorado Avalanche. I keep waiting for them to come back to earth but it just isn't happening. The underlying chance numbers are actually getting better too. Whereas earlier in the year the Avalanche were getting wins over Boston and San Jose while getting killed at EV this game marks the third time in their last four games where they've been even or better with respect to EV scoring chances. On top of that the Avalanche power play looked as good tonight as it has since Liles went down to injury. Things are looking up.

The game itself was very exciting, particularly at EV. Previous to this game the most EV chances in any one game was 30 and it's typically a lot closer to 25. Tonight there were 34 so the fans sure got a treat. The Avalanche also did a very good job of protecting the third period lead. After the Hurricanes cut the deficit to one, I was waiting for shell mode but it never came. Instead, the Avalanche continued forechecking and pressuring the Hurricanes while playing solid positional hockey in their own end. The result was only two scoring chances against in the last ten minutes.

I know it's been "official" for a while but with O'Reilly and Duchene playing ten games now, they're probably here to stay. I don't think it's a good move for the Avalanche in terms of maximizing their contribution per dollar from those two players over their entry level deals but maybe the NHL experience helps them to develop more quickly. I recall from having Sam Gagner up for the year that he played really well over his 9-game audition and then fell off a bit for a long stretch. Maybe the Avs young forwards will have a different fate but I certainly wouldn't bet on it.

As for the Tuomo Ruutu hit on Darcy Tucker... there's not much to say. Bob McKenzie already brought up the problem at the beginning of the season: these kinds of hits are now an expected part of the game. It didn't seem like he was trying to injure the man, just to hit him routinely like he's done before and he's going to do again. It was a normal and dirty hit. Matt Fenwick points out the larger issue at work: the league doesn't give a rip about player safety. As a fan of hockey in general and the NHL in particular all I can say is that I disagree with the NHL position but am willing to actively tolerate or ignore it. I hope that Darcy Tucker's quality of life is not hampered by what transpired this evening.