Colorado beat 4th place Minnesota 8-0 in their final game of the season giving the high-powered offense of Colorado 300 goals for the season. However, they're going up against 7th place Calgary who enter the playoffs on a 6 game winning streak. Two of the wins include 4-1 and 2-1 wins over their playoff opponent. So although Colorado won the regular season series 5-2-1, Calgary could pose problems for the Avs in the playoffs.
The Offense: Winners - Colorado
Easy choice with the choice in offense. With Richards, Malkin, Horcoff, Sharp, Marleau, Morrow and Doan; Colorado has one of the best top two forward lines in the BRHL2 and have good depth as well. Colorado was led by Russian sensation Evgeni Malkin with 37 goals and 91 points. They had 11 players who had 10 or more goals, two of them were defensemen. Compared with Calgary's top line of Horton, Carcillo and Guerin, the Avalanche have the edge up front. Stephen Weiss led the Flames with 72 points, though Nathan Horton has had 21 points in 22 games with the Flames so expect him to make a big impression on the series.
The Defence: Winners - Calgary
As it was an easy choice to pick Colorado for offense, it's equally easy to pick Calgary for defense. A likely Norris candidate in Bryan McCabe has led the Calgary blueline to the playoffs. As it's unlikely to place the praise on Calgary's forwards; McCabe came second in defenseman scoring but his 22 goals led all defensemen. Backed by Christian Ehrhoff with his 47 points, Colorado must be concerned with the puckmoving ability of Calgary's blueline. Colorado's top defenseman Duncan Keith has had a disappointing season and it's doubtful he'll be a key in this series. If Colorado will get any production from their blueline, it looks like it will come from veterans Craig Rivet and Toni Lydman.
The Goaltending: Winners - Colorado
Colorado wins out solely based on the quality of their backup. GM Ross Simnor will have to hope that Christobel Huet is up to the challenge, but they do have a solid backup in Peter Budaj who has a stunning 2.44 GAA and .902 SV%. Great numbers for a team that put the emphasis on offense over defense.
Calgary will rely heavily on the experience of Olaf Kolzig, even though his 3.19 GAA and .884 SV% are unimpressive. If Calgary suffers an injury to Kolzig, Tellqvist will struggle against the high-powered Colorado offense.
Who wins?
This will be one of my upsets in my opinion, as long as Kolzig stays healthy, I predict Calgary in 6.
-- Edited by BluesGM on Thursday 16th of April 2009 05:01:56 PM
The only series in the West that is tied at 1-1 and after a nervy start from Colorado they respond with a victory in Game 2. Close in goals as well with Calgary outscoring the Avalanche 5-4 which is surprising considering the offensive talent on the Colorado roster.
Surprises of the Series thus far:
Stephen Weiss - 3 points in two games including the equalizer and game winner in game 1
Colorado's inconsistent scoring - 2nd line scoring in game 1, 1st line in game 2
Colorado indisciplined play - Giving Calgary 18 powerplays
After splitting the first two games in Colorado, Calgary had a shot to gain a good lead over the Avs with home ice. However, after returning to Calgary they were quickly brushed aside and eliminated in 5.
Surprises of the Series
Stephan Weiss - Though eliminated, can take heart with his 4 goals and 6 points total, including Calgary's only game winner
Bryan McCabe - 4 GP, 0 points meant Calgary's best defenseman is a key area of where Calgary went wrong
Nick Schultz - Defenseman playing better than most of his teammates with 4 goals in 5 games
Brad Richards - Only two goals but had excellent timing as both were game winners
