It seemed like yesterday. Maybe it was. It was the most exciting, exhilarating, extraordinary game of hockey in the past, oh, 28 hours.
Same 2-0 lead.
Same 2-2 tie.
Same intensity in the final 30 seconds of regulation.
Same 3-2 final score.
Same coach on the winning side.
Same player on the losing side.
But Avalanche-Red Wings, the only game Monday night, was just not quite the same as Canada-United States, the only game Sunday afternoon. And the hurt wasn’t the same for Paul Stastny.
Those in Colorado who love Team Avs and Team USA were not thrilled by both results.
Those in Denver who cheer for Detroit and Canada — and there are more than a few — will not shut up and stop dancing.
Despite a mad rush at the net at the finish — reminiscent of the day before — the dreadhead Wings defeated the ambitious Avalanche in the first NHL game since the last Olympic game.
The Red Wings and the Avs did earn their mettle.
In front of a hostile crowd, the Avalanche did rally from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game — and coulda, shoulda, woulda won if life were fair. Instead, the Avs couldn’t take sole acquisition of the Northwest Division lead. The Avs are trying as hard as they can to return to the playoffs.
The Red Wings, before a rather homey following, withstood the Avalanche’s late flourish to move into the eighth and last playoff spot in the Western Conference. They have not been a postseason outcast in the last 20 years.
Canada and the U.S. can’t meet for another four years.
But those old-time hockey rivals could meet again in the playoffs. Wouldn’t that be fun?
“You wouldn’t want have to have to see us in the first round (of the playoffs),” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock declared afterward.
It was unclear if he was talking about me seeing them again, the Avs, anybody in the conference or perhaps the Czech Republic.
The night before, Babcock was celebrating as the triumphant gold medal coach of the Canadian team. There certainly was more pressure on him in Vancouver than in Denver, “but this is the team that’s paying my salary to play in the playoffs. . . . We have to make a decision to get in. . . . We have the ability; now we have to dig in and find the will and determination to get it done.”
Down the hall, Avs and Team USA center Paul Stastny wasn’t as wound up about the outcome. He was a member of the beaten team in back-to-back games to Babcock’s teams. “That (gold medal) loss was the worst, and you can’t compare them. But we (Avs) need every point we can get down the stretch, so this was tough.”
Although he hadn’t slept much in 48 hours, Stastny (who had an assist against the Red Wings) refused to make excuses. “It didn’t really affect me. In a game like this you’re always excited to get going and especially against Detroit. . . . I’ll play back-to-back any day (uh, any days) if we can win both.”
However, the Avalanche arrived flat after the two-week layoff, and the Wings looked as if they were on the way to a goal every six minutes. Then, in the second period, the Avs came with two of their own — and missed on a couple of other grand opportunities.
“It was a great game to play in,” said Avs coach Joe Sacco, who didn’t actually play. “Great atmosphere.”
Well, not really. Probably a quarter of the crowd was pro-Wings, and they were louder than the other three-quarters in the opening period. Sort of like when the Steelers played the Broncos last season.
But, then, we must remember that people in places like Pittsburgh and Detroit can’t wait to move to a city like Denver.
When the Avs play at Joe Louis Arena, there always are four or five Colorado jerseys in the stands. That’s the number of people who have moved from Denver to Detroit.
Oh, yes, I can’t wait to see my inbox on Tuesday. But someone needs to stir this rivalry again. Only a half-dozen players from the two sides and the good old playoff days are still on the ice for the Wings and the Avs.
Let us all pull for the Red Wings to hang onto eighth place and for the Avalanche to win at least 10 of their final 20 games (10 on home ice) so they can get back where they belong.
Long for another Red Wings- Avalanche series.
Back before Sunday afternoon, Denver and Detroit was about as good as it got in hockey.
Same old same special.
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com
