Oilers v. Red Wings - Zephaniah 2:1-3

Gather together, you pathetic Oilers.
Come on, bring it in you shameful people.
The appointed time is almost here
and God's chosen instrument is about to sweep us away.
Yahweh's anger is almost fully complete for another year,
his unending punishment ready for a small reprieve.

See Also:
Oilers v. Red Wings - Zephaniah 2:4-7

Oilers v. Red Wings - Ezekiel 25:15-17

This is what Yahweh, the sovereign God of Edmonton has to say: "Because the Red Wings play with ennui in the regular season, splattering one team after another like mosquitoes and because they would dare seek revenge against my people by convincing Marian Hossa that Edmonton isn't the place to play I will speak.

Oilers v. Red Wings - Zephaniah 2:4-7

Detroit will be abandoned
and Joe Louis arena left in ruins.
Your streets will be emptied,
your homes left behind for almost nothing.

Oilers v. Red Wings - Leviticus 14:48-53

But if the fans come to examine the house of their hockey team and the stench of losing has subsided after only one loss, they shall pronounce the house clean because the losing is over. To finish purifying the house, the home team must then take the Red Wings along with some sticks, the correct priestly uniforms and a properly penitent attitude.

Avalanche v. Red Wings - Scoring Chances #11

Tm	P	Time	Note	COL						Opponent
DET	1	14:32		10	23	26	41	52	54	5	13	35	40	55	96	5v5
COL	1	11:07		10	26	27	40	41	54	5	13	35	40	52	96	5v5
DET	1	10:15		8	22	25	27	37	41	11	22	33	35	44	52	5v5
DET	1	8:19		8	9	10	40	41	52	21	23	28	29	35	51	5v5
DET	1	5:19		22	27	37	39	41		5	13	28	35	40	96	4v5
DET	1	4:40		22	27	37	41	54		5	13	28	35	40	96	4v5
DET	1	4:24		5	10	37	39	41		11	21	29	35	51	55	4v5
DET	1	3:37		22	27	37	39	41		11	21	29	35	51	55	4v5
DET	1	2:48		5	23	41	52	54		5	13	28	35	40	96	4v5
COL	1	0:38		9	23	26	27	40	41	5	18	23	35	43		5v4
DET	2	19:31		9	23	26	27	40	41	11	23	35	51	52		5v4
COL	2	17:53		5	8	25	26	27	41	5	13	35	43	55		5v4
DET	2	16:59		22	23	26	27	41	54	11	28	33	35	44	52	5v5
DET	2	16:53	Goal	22	23	26	27	41	54	11	28	33	35	44	52	5v5
DET	2	12:08		10	37	39	41	52		11	29	35	44	51	55	4v5
DET	2	11:54		10	37	39	41	52		11	29	35	44	51	55	4v5
DET	2	11:46		10	37	39	41	52		11	29	35	44	51	55	4v5
DET	2	11:39		10	37	39	41	52		11	29	35	44	51	55	4v5
COL	2	10:52		22	23	26	27	41	54	13	23	35	40	52	96	5v5
COL	2	5:35	Goal	10	25	37	39	41	52	21	28	29	35	51	52	5v5
DET	2	4:00		5	25	37	39	41	44	11	23	28	33	35	44	5v5
DET	2	3:10		5	37	39	41	52		5	13	28	35	40	96	4v5
DET	2	1:49		10	23	37	41	52		5	13	28	35	40	96	4v5
DET	2	1:36		9	10	23	37	41	52	5	13	28	35	40	96	5v5
COL	2	0:39		5	8	26	41	44	54	21	23	29	35	51	52	5v5
COL	3	19:23		9	23	26	27	40	41	11	23	35	51	52		5v4
COL	3	19:14		9	23	26	27	40	41	11	23	35	51	52		5v4
COL	3	19:06		9	23	26	27	40	41	11	23	35	51	52		5v4
DET	3	16:56		7	22	27	39	40	41	13	22	28	35	40	96	5v5
DET	3	14:35		22	25	27	37	39	41	5	11	33	35	44	55	5v5
DET	3	11:06		9	10	23	41	52	54	22	29	35	44	51	52	5v5
COL	3	10:41	Goal	10	25	37	39	41	52	22	29	35	44	51	52	5v5
DET	3	7:25		22	23	26	27	41	54	13	23	28	35	40	96	5v5
DET	3	6:44		22	23	27	41	54		11	29	35	40	44	55	4v5
COL	3	1:00	Goal	22	23	26	27	37	41	5	13	21	28	51	96	5v5
DET	3	0:24		22	23	26	27	41	54	5	21	28	29	35	51	5v5
DET	3	0:22		22	23	26	27	41	54	5	21	28	29	44	51	5v5

#	Player	EV			PP			SH
5	B. CLARK	12:57	1	1	3:03	1	0	4:16	0	3
7	T. HENSICK	7:38	0	1	0:00	0	0	0:00	0	0
8	W. WOLSKI	13:40	1	2	3:21	1	0	1:06	0	0
9	M. DUCHENE	11:37	0	3	2:39	4	1	0:38	0	0
10	K. CUMISKEY	10:41	3	4	2:17	0	0	2:56	0	6
15	M. HENDRICKS	1:45	0	0	0:00	0	0	0:00	0	0
22	S. HANNAN	14:58	2	8	0:00	0	0	6:18	0	4
23	M. HEJDUK	13:17	2	8	3:06	4	1	2:52	0	3
25	C. STEWART	10:27	2	3	2:54	1	0	0:00	0	0
26	P. STASTNY	14:36	4	6	3:27	5	1	2:32	0	0
27	K. QUINCEY	15:50	3	8	3:43	5	1	7:45	0	4
28	D. KOCI	4:46	0	0	0:00	0	0	0:00	0	0
37	R. O'REILLY	8:28	3	4	2:33	0	0	9:09	0	10
39	T. GALIARDI	9:22	2	3	0:00	0	0	9:03	0	8
40	M. SVATOS	9:29	1	2	2:39	4	1	0:02	0	0
41	C. ANDERSON	39:44	6	13	6:00	5	1	14:13	0	12
44	R. WILSON	13:23	1	1	0:00	0	0	0:02	0	0
52	A. FOOTE	11:41	2	4	0:18	0	0	7:09	0	7
54	D. JONES	14:05	3	7	0:00	0	0	3:04	0	3

Period	Totals		EV		PP		5v3 PP		SH		5v3 SH
1	2	8	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
2	4	11	3	4	1	1	0	0	0	6	0	0
3	5	7	2	6	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	11	26	6	13	5	1	0	0	0	12	0	0

Well what can you say here other than sometimes the best team just doesn't win. The Avalanche created six even strength chances, eleven overall, and they won the game. For the second time against Detroit the winning goal saw the Detroit netminder lose his net and misplay the angle on a shot that probably should have been stopped. The Bertuzzi goal that was called off in the second period was a terrible call as well (but it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy). The refs seemed to realize the injustice that was a Detroit loss in this one and found a way to call Scott Hannan for a penalty after a hilariously obvious dive from Tomas Holmstrom. I'll say it again: the first referee that regularly calls diving penalties is my new favourite. At any rate, after looking tremendous on the PP in the first period, the Wings did nothing at all with that power play or the one that followed when Paul Stastny was called for tripping. It was during this penalty kill that my favourite sequence of the game occurred along the boards. David Jones trapped the puck along the wall and ended up killing what seemed like half a minute there with some help from Foote and Clark. That kind of hard work and willingness to take abuse to preserve a victory are always fantastic to see.

As for the Wings longer term, from what I've seen they should be fine. The start to the season has probably been good for them. They have the same weakness as last year (goaltending) but, unlike last year, they haven't been able to outscore their problem. Maybe this will finally convince them to go out and get someone who has a decent track record over the last couple of regular seasons. They knew there was a need and didn't address it. Why didn't they re-sign Ty Conklin or pick up, oh I don't know, Craig Anderson? When the market left Marty Biron available on the cheap, why didn't they take advantage? It was a terrible blunder in the summer but there's still plenty of time for the Wings to recover. I expect they will.

All of the top players on the Avalanche got bombed at EV. Hejduk, Stastny, Jones, Hannan and Quincey all finished -2 or worse (some of them much worse). The Wings controlled almost the entire game against the Avs big guns and despite their record the two head-to-head matches with the Wings and the game with the Hawks have shown that the Avs are going to need some reinforcements in order to win regularly against the best teams in the Western Conference. But at the beginning of the year, who thought that would be a concern? The fact that it's something worth considering is a victory in and of itself after the year the Avs had last season.

Avalanche v. Red Wings - Scoring Chances #8

Tm	P	Time	Note	COL						Opponent
COL	1	18:12		9	15	22	27	40	41	5	11	30	40	44	55	5v5
DET	1	16:38		5	10	39	41	54	55	8	22	24	30	43	52	5v5
DET	1	16:37	Goal	5	10	39	41	54	55	8	22	24	30	43	52	5v5
DET	1	14:04		10	37	41	52	54	55	21	22	29	30	51	52	5v5
DET	1	10:14		8	10	23	26	41	52	5	11	30	40	44	55	5v5
DET	1	8:36		9	10	16	40	41	52	21	23	28	29	30	51	5v5
COL	1	8:05		8	22	23	26	27	41	5	11	30	40	44	55	5v5
DET	1	5:20		9	22	26	39	41	52	22	30	33	44	51	52	5v5
COL	1	3:33		8	22	23	26	27	41	11	23	28	30	40	44	5v5
DET	1	0:42		15	22	23	27	37	41	11	23	28	30	40	44	5v5
DET	1	0:15		5	26	39	41	52		21	29	30	51	55	96	4v5
DET	2	18:47	Goal	10	37	41	52	54		11	29	30	40	44	55	4v5
DET	2	18:19		9	10	16	40	41	52	21	23	28	29	30	51	5v5
DET	2	17:14		5	8	23	39	41	44	18	22	30	33	52	96	5v5
DET	2	17:05		5	8	23	39	41	44	18	22	30	33	52	96	5v5
DET	2	16:55		5	8	23	39	41	44	18	22	30	33	52	96	5v5
COL	2	15:10		9	10	15	16	22	41	21	23	28	29	30	51	5v5
COL	2	15:08		9	10	15	16	22	41	21	23	28	29	30	51	5v5
DET	2	8:34		22	23	26	27	41	55	5	11	30	40	44	55	5v5
COL	2	7:56		9	10	16	41	52	54	21	23	28	29	30	51	5v5
DET	2	4:25		5	8	15	39	41	44	21	28	29	30	51	52	5v5
COL	2	0:15		9	16	23	26	27	41	8	23	30	51	52		5v4
COL	3	18:50		9	16	23	26	27	41	5	30	33	43	55		5v4
COL	3	18:46		9	16	23	26	27	41	5	30	33	43	55		5v4
DET	3	17:00		22	23	26	27	41	54	5	11	30	40	44	55	5v5
DET	3	15:00		15	22	27	39	41		5	11	28	30	40	96	4v5
DET	3	14:59		15	22	27	39	41		5	11	28	30	40	96	4v5
COL	3	10:55	Goal	22	37	39	41	44	55	8	22	24	30	43	52	5v5
COL	3	8:17	Goal	9	22	27	40	41	55	8	23	24	28	30	33	5v5
COL	3	6:37		9	10	40	41	52	54	5	21	29	30	51	55	5v5
DET	3	6:25		9	10	40	41	52	54	21	23	28	29	30	51	5v5
DET	3	6:24	Goal	9	10	40	41	52	54	21	23	28	29	30	51	5v5
COL	3	3:07		22	27	37	39	41	55	18	28	30	33	55	96	5v5
COL	3	2:33	Goal	22	27	37	39	41	55	11	28	30	40	44	52	5v5
COL	4	3:57		9	22	27	39	41		11	21	23	28	30		4v4
DET	4	2:14		9	22	27	40	41		23	28	30	40	44		4v4
COL	4	0:08		5	9	27	39	41		11	23	28	30	40		4v4

#	Player	EV			PP			SH
5	B. CLARK	13:56	1	6	1:50	0	0	3:06	0	1
8	W. WOLSKI	8:24	2	5	1:59	0	0	0:00	0	0
9	M. DUCHENE	13:23	8	6	4:02	3	0	0:42	0	0
10	K. CUMISKEY	16:36	4	8	1:46	0	0	2:23	0	1
15	M. HENDRICKS	6:44	3	2	0:00	0	0	0:41	0	2
16	D. TUCKER	12:05	3	2	3:51	3	0	0:00	0	0
22	S. HANNAN	21:27	10	5	1:22	0	0	4:00	0	2
23	M. HEJDUK	18:58	2	7	3:51	3	0	0:15	0	0
26	P. STASTNY	19:00	2	4	4:09	3	0	2:18	0	1
27	K. QUINCEY	21:32	8	4	3:51	3	0	2:26	0	2
28	D. KOCI	4:26	0	0	0:00	0	0	0:00	0	0
37	R. O'REILLY	12:55	3	2	0:00	0	0	3:17	0	1
39	T. GALIARDI	13:50	5	7	0:18	0	0	4:45	0	3
40	M. SVATOS	10:28	3	5	1:51	0	0	0:00	0	0
41	C. ANDERSON	51:05	13	17	6:00	3	0	7:55	0	4
44	R. WILSON	12:31	1	4	0:05	0	0	0:00	0	0
52	A. FOOTE	16:39	2	7	0:18	0	0	3:55	0	2
54	D. JONES	14:28	2	6	0:47	0	0	2:05	0	1
55	C. MCLEOD	13:03	4	4	0:00	0	0	1:47	0	0

Period	Totals		EV		PP		5v3 PP		SH		5v3 SH
1	3	8	3	7	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
2	4	7	3	6	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
3	7	5	5	3	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
4	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	16	21	13	17	3	0	0	0	0	4	0	0

This was not a particularly good game for the Avalanche through two periods. They were outchanced handily and looked like a decidedly inferior team to the Red Wings. In the third period things changed. The game was much more competitive with both teams getting some good opportunities but the Avalanche getting far superior goaltending. Matt Duchene's goal in particular was a weak one by Osgood who looked like he lost his net (the same thing happened to him in game seven of the Cup finals... get a different goalie Red Wings!). The Avalanche were able to get the game to overtime and eventually won in the shoot-out. Not exactly a well deserved win but a win nonetheless.

Joe Sacco was pissed off with Wojtek Wolski something harsh. He didn't take a shift in the third period or overtime and wasn't scheduled to shoot in the shoot-out even though he's been Colorado's best shooter. At the start of the second he took one shift that lasted almost two whole minutes which I'd imagine wasn't particularly endearing, especially since the Red Wings earned three chances during that sequence. He was used three more times after that and he certainly didn't look hurt at the end of his last shift (where again the Wings were able to generate a couple of scoring opportunities, although on one they missed the pass on the odd man rush). I've mentioned in the past that the line of Wolski-Stastny-Hejduk has been getting outchanced almsot every game. That trend continued in this game and it looks like Sacco is beginning to lose patience.

The power play had its second straight down game. Three chances in six minutes isn't close to the incredible 1:1 ratio the Avalanche were putting up earlier in the season with Liles in the lineup. If the Avalanche are going to keep winning it will probably be on the strength of their special teams which means the power play needs to be better.