Why do followers of hockey still use the designation “the New NHL” to refer to the post-lockout era, months after some minor tweaks got rid of the fun-crushing style of play that has dominated the league the last several years?
When the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 1996, Joe Sakic was third in the NHL in scoring for the regular season with 120 points. He added 34 more points in the playoffs. And teams routinely tallied six, seven, even eight and nine goals a game. Those numbers were unheard of the past five seasons, with coaches such as that party-pooper Ken Hitchcock trapping all the fun out. But before that, it was offensive-minded teams that rose to the top.
This season, teams are again playing to 5-4 scores and Sakic again led the Avs in scoring with 87 points. His 7 points in the playoffs so far, matched by Milan Hejduk and Andrew Brunette, has the Avs rolling.
And for the first time in the history of the NHL, teams at each seed advanced to the conference semifinals. The top four seeds in the Eastern Conference all won first-round series. And the lower four seeds in the Western Conference, including the Avalanche, are all still alive.
And the league has rarely been more entertaining.
With such symmetrical parity among the ranks, some winning trends are surfacing, and the Avalanche are near the forefront.
The four highest-scoring teams so far in the playoffs – Ottawa, Buffalo, New Jersey and Colorado – advanced to the second round. It’s obvious the teams who score, win. What is less obvious among winning teams is who can most effectively erase a deficit.
In three of four victories over the Stars, the Avs came from behind. And in Game 2, Colorado weathered Dallas’ four-goal second period to score two straight for the win. It is a pattern not totally quantifiable, and it’s usually referred to as “grit” or “guts” or “resolve.”
And for fans of the New Colorado Avalanche, it makes for fun times.
WEAK IN REVIEW
Kudos to the Nuggets for giving us basketball fans so much to discuss after a meek first-round elimination to the Los Angeles Clippers. It’s almost comical discussing the depths to which the team sank, seeing as how they’re now closer to lottery status than an NBA championship. But here’s some starting-point advice to whoever is the Nugs’ general manager next season: No team that starts Eduardo Najera (0 points, 4 fouls in Game 5) in the playoffs will compete with the Spurs, Pistons, Suns, Mavericks, Lakers or Heat for an NBA championship. And no team that watches as Shaun Livingston posts up Earl Boykins (1 steal, 0 blocks, 0 rebounds in Game 5) over and over for easy turnarounds will become more than an also-ran.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
The Rockies-Astros matchup this weekend play out as excitingly and meaningfully as the current standings suggest it should. The Rox, leading the NL West, face NL Central contender Houston in a three-game series beginning tonight. And as an added bonus, expect Todd Helton back in the Rockies’ lineup.
THE COUCH
ON: Try as some of us wannabe handicappers might, we will never be like Charles Barkley or John Daly. But really, who would actually aspire to lose several fortunes gambling on sports? The answer: people who can. For the rest of us, we can live vicariously through friendly bets and rare major wager events, such as Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Several entries have top-notch résumés. But Santa Anita titlist Brother Derek, the favorite at 3-1, will start three spots from the outside in the 18th gate. But no horse has won from No. 18 since 1982. Just behind at 4-1 odds, Lawyer Ron, who will race beside Brother Derek at No. 17, and Barbaro, from No. 8, will also contend. Then again, if you pick winners based on which horse has the best name, try Sinister Minister (12-1) or Steppenwolfer (30-1). Find out how much you’ve lost at 3 p.m. on NBC (KUSA-4).
OFF: If you were too late to register for the Colorado Marathon in Fort Collins or the New Belgium Brewing 18 Hours of Fruita mountain bike ride on the Western Slope, then fear not. There are other recreation options, including three good races Sunday: The Cinco de Mayo Run, at 5K and 10K, starts at 7:30 a.m. at Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo; the 2006 Run with the Warriors 5K, put on by Westminster High School, kicks off at 8 a.m. behind the Westin Hotel at 105th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard; and the Make-A-Wish Half-Marathon and 5K runs at Cherry Creek State Park at 8 a.m.
AROUND TOWN
The announcement this week of the U.S. National soccer team’s World Cup roster added some extra intrigue to Saturday’s 7 p.m. Colorado Rapids-D.C. United matchup at Mile High. It was already to be United’s only trip to Denver this season with 16-year-old budding star Freddy Adu. And now the game between United, second place in the Eastern Conference, and the Rapids, second-to-last in the Western Conference, will pit two World Cup teammates against each other. Colorado defender Pablo Mastroeni, a veteran of the 2002 Cup in Japan and Korea, will go against United midfielder Ben Olsen, a World Cup first-timer.
