Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Avs get Thrashed early, can't fully recover.

Today, the Avs gave their best impression of a team who could care less about attempting to make the playoffs, at least in the first period. Shortly after the 11 minute mark of the first period, the Thrashers had a commanding three goal lead on our boys in burgandy. However, the Avs decided to show a sign of life as Milan Hejduk scored his 9th PPG of the year on a beautiful cross-crease pass from none other than Paul Stastny. That pass right there really showed what we have missed over the past two months with him out of the lineup. In the second, Hejduk cut the game to a one goal deficit for the Avs with a rocket of a wrister from the slot which banked off the inside of the post before finding the twine. Though, four minutes later, the Thrashers scored their second short-handed goal of the game, bringing their lead to two goals once again. The third period saw a lot of back and forth action with the Avs seeming to have a little bit of an edge. With Budaj on the bench, Chris Stewart scored his 9th goal of the year, but the Avs efforts to tie the game fell short and ended up with a 4-3 loss. The Avs showed a lot of resiliency in this game, but in all honesty, they shouldn't have had to battle back from a three goal deficit against a team like Atlanta. With Stastny back in the lineup, the Avs should be able to put goals on the board, but they can't keep digging themselves into the holes they've become accustomed to this season.