Well, outside of a 10 minute spurt after scoring their only goal (a beauty from Aaron Voros off Marian Gaborik's only point this postseason), I felt that Minnesota just didn't come to play; it never really seemed like there was a sense of urgency, or desperation, and it showed. Truly disappointing as a Minnesota fan, to watch and see no spark.
I will give all things Colorado Avalanche serious credit; Jose Theodore, who if he were to stay hot like he is, could propel the Avs beyond just the next series. He was very good in the sense that he rarely had to make that acrobatic, highlight reel save, but was on top of everything, blocked everything, smothered nearly every rebound...and those that he didn't always seemed to trickle away from the crease area with no repercussion. They got contributions from a lot of players; Wojtek Wolski and Andrew Brunette in particular, but also a cast of worker bees who lack star quality; David Jones, Cody McLeod (yeah I said it), Ruslan Salei, etc. This is exactly what you need from a team in order to advance; the star players are going to get an immense amount of energy and attention (see Marian Gaborik and his 1 point), so the other players have to step up, and in Colorado's case they did. Ryan Smyth sure picked a great time to come alive this season...
Minnesota lead in this series for about 4-5 minutes total. When that happens, the toll of tying the score or trying to go ahead justs that much more exhausting, and when you're constantly playing catch up, the opposing team can just go into a shell and make you do all the work; last night was a perfect example. Stack 'em up at the blueline, make us dump it deep and chase after it (which is the only option we had, much to the chagrin of a lot of folks watching the game), and make us make a play; otherwise they just retrieve the puck, make a pass in transition and go, or at the very least just flip it out of the zone. And then just repeat until there is no time on the clock.
Its a fashionable time for Wild Nation to start with the excuses; the injuries, the bounces, luck, the refs, etc; maybe that's easier than just admitting we got flat out beat by the better team.
What they are saying:
-Mike Russo
-Denver Post
-Adrian Dater
-Tom Powers
-Pioneer Press
-Draft Dodger from In The Cheap Seats
-View From Section 216
-Freaking Jim Souhan
-Rocky Mountain News
And finally this, also from the Rocky Mountain News.
0 called shenanigans:
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