Avalanche give thanks for Theodore
April 18, 2008
Canadian News Service
"Avs fans aren't overconfident the series is over, most likely. Four
times since 1996, the Avs have blown 3-2 series leads to lose a
series, including to the Wild in 2003."
http://www.cbc.ca/s****ts/hockey/hnicplayoff/2008/04/avalanche_give_thanks_for_theo.html
Hosannas for Jose.
That's what the teammates of the Colorado Avalanche goalie were giving
him, after he stole the rubber game of their series with the Minnesota
Wild Thursday night.
Colorado's 3-2 victory came on a night it was outshot 40-17. Yes, it's
still about goaltending in the playoffs, despite some recent
conventional wisdom in some circles to the contrary. Theodore was
never better than in the second period, in which the Wild so dominated
that on one ****ft, they made two line changes while the Avs trio of
Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic and Andrew Brunette was pinned in their
zone.
Theodore stopped all 15 shots he faced to keep the Avs' pulse still
going, entering the third tied 1-1. Allowed to regroup, Colorado coach
Joel Quenneville changed up his lines some, and got third-period goals
from youngsters Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski.
"It was all Jose tonight," Quenneville said. "A spectacular
performance. They came at us extremely hard in the first period, and
the second period was even more one-sided. Coming out of it tied going
into the third was almost like a win."
The Wild put relentless pressure on the Avalanche in the second. But
like they have much of the series, the fini****ng touch was lacking.
Leading scorer Marian Gaborik was shut out again, despite several
quality chances. Brian Rolston was tremendous as well, but he only
solved Theodore with the last of his eight shots, with three seconds
left.
"It's tough, but we just have to keep fighting," Rolston said.
Stastny's goal broke a series-long drought for himself, and it proved
the game-winner. It was a beautiful backhander in close, after he
accepted Milan Hejduk's hard lead pass.
"It helps the confidence a bit, but the im****tant thing was the win,"
Stastny said.
Theodore, the Hart Trophy winner in 2002, was nearly booed out of
Denver last year. But continued work with goalie coach Jeff Hackett
started paying dividends toward the middle of the season, and Theodore
has been one of the league's best since. His lateral quickness has
come back, and he's not allowing the big rebounds of last season.
"A really big third period for us was the key," Theodore said. "I just
try to make every save. They're going to come out hard next game
again, so we have to be better."
For the fifth straight time in the series, Colorado scored the first
goal, and for the third straight game Andrew Brunette was the one who
scored it. Brunette was deemed expendable by the Wild after 2004, and
has been a team leader since, and a Wild killer. Brunette beat
Backstrom after the Wild goalie let out a big rebound, on a Colorado
power-play midway through the first.
Avs fans aren't overconfident the series is over, most likely. Four
times since 1996, the Avs have blown 3-2 series leads to lose a
series, including to the Wild in 2003.
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- Scott Smith: scott.smith@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/choppersmith
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