Anaheim, Calif. – If it were a chess match, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim would be the ones with a board full of queens, able to move freely in any direction. The Avalanche would be reduced to mostly pawns, able to move only one or two strides ahead before being eliminated.
Two more powerful moves by Anaheim and it will be checkmate in the Western Conference semifinals. Colorado was blown out again Sunday in Game 2 by a 3-0 score at the Arrowhead Pond, in a performance that was every bit as anemic as Friday night’s.
The playoffs are going eerily the way they did in 2004 for the Avs: a five-game, first-round victory over Dallas followed by two lopsided losses on the road to a California team. The Avs will try to get back in this series in Game 3 on Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center.
The way things are going, a win seems like a pipe dream. Right now the Avs are just trying to find a way to score a goal.
“We’re squeezing the sticks a little,” Avs winger Ian Laperriere said. “We’ve just got to go back home and feed off our fans, and try to get a win and go from there.”
The Avs were shut out for the second time in a row, the fourth time in team history that has happened in the playoffs and the first time since Games 6 and 7 of the 2002 Western finals against Detroit. Mighty Ducks goalie Ilya Bryzgalov recorded his third consecutive shutout, showing shades of backup Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s Conn Smythe Trophy performance of 2003.
Bryzgalov could have played the game in a hammock the first two periods for all the pressure the Avs put on him. Colorado took only 10 shots while Anaheim had 25 on Avs goalie Jose Theodore.
Three went in, off the sticks of Ducks players Ryan Getzlaf, Ruslan Salei and Joffrey Lupul. If you’ve never heard of them before, it’s understandable. But right now, this no-name Anaheim team is handing it to Colorado’s more recognizable veterans.
“It feels like they have the (puck) all night,” Avs winger Andrew Brunette said. “We’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror. But there’s no doubt that we can come back. We’ve got to pick up the tempo another notch. We have to play harder and better.”
The Avalanche played pretty well in the first 10 minutes or so, looking quicker and delivering on its promise to surround the puck more. The problem is the Avs can’t seem to do anything with the puck when they get it. They can’t sustain any pressure in the Anaheim zone, can’t get set on power plays and don’t have any time or space to make plays against a fast, high-pressure Ducks defense.
“We have to have the puck more,” Avs coach Joel Quenneville said. “I don’t think (Bryzgalov) is in our head. We’re not getting enough pucks on him, and the lanes are pretty clear when we do. We’re still looking to make too many plays. I think we need to simplify the game more.”
Things started going downhill for the Avs with 1:43 left in the first period. Getzlaf tipped a Scott Niedermayer shot past Theodore on a power play after Jim Dowd was called for interference. Theodore never seemed to see the shot, nor the second goal, a similar one scored by Salei at 4:41 of the second.
“After the second goal, we lost a little bit of how we were competing,” Quenneville said.
The Avs played better in the third and easily could have gotten back into the game. But Alex Tanguay failed to get enough wood on a doorstep, power-play chance and Rob Blake hit the post with a blast from the point soon after.
That’s the way it has gone for the Avalanche, and time is running out on ways to fix things.
“It’s obviously very disappointing,” captain Joe Sakic said. “It’s two of our worst games, back to back. We’ve got to try and feed off our fans for Game 3 and find a way to win.”
Staff writer Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.
Ducks take 2-0 series lead
COMEBACK HOPES: Riding on wings
Since moving to Denver for the 1995-96 season, the Avalanche has come from behind once in the two series it has opened 0-2. The lone comeback: against Detroit in the 1999 conference semis.
KEY MOMENT: Doubled down
Ruslan Salei’s goal to make it 2-0 Ducks in the second period came just after the Avs had killed off a penalty. Colorado seemed to sag for a while after that.
KEY STAT: Zilch, nada
Zero: As in, number of goals scored by the Avs in Game 2 – and the series.
BESTS: Icing Friesen
Hit: Rob Blake’s crush of Jeff Friesen in the third.
Save: Ilya Bryzgalov’s stop of Ian Laperriere’s one-timer in close in the third period.
Foghorn: Anaheim’s arena horn truly sounds like a steamship’s and is accompanied by faux fog.
Use of time: Dustin Penner played just 11:06 for Anaheim, but had three shots and an assist.
WORSTS: Off kilter
Organization: Milan Hejduk was about 10 feet offside on a simple rush up the ice by teammate Jim Dowd in the second period.
Skating: John-Michael Liles slipped and fell while all alone with the puck on a second-period Avs power play.
Muffed shot: All Alex Tanguay had to do was tap in a shot to get the Avs on the board in the third period, but he fluttered a shot instead that made for an easy Ilya Bryzgalov save.
