SAN JOSE, CALIF — The Avalanche went through a 30-minute practice this afternoon in the HP Pavilion and are headed out for a team dinner at a South Bay restaurant tonight.
With Colorado — surprisingly to most — holding a 1-0 lead in the first-round playoff series against the San Jose Sharks after a 2-1 victory Wednesday, the Avalanche today seemed even looser as a group than as the series approached.
“I think we’re excited,” Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said. “I think we feel good today about the game that we played last night, realizing that there’s still a long ways to go in the series. It’s important to get off to that good start and it’s nice to get that first one under your belt.
“We had some good energy at our practice today. It was short, but I thought the energy level was pretty high.”
Sacco said he wasn’t concerned that the Avalanche might subconsciously be willing to accept a split of the first two games before returning to Denver for Sunday night’s Game 3.
“We’re not looking at that,” Sacco said. “Obviously, Game 1 is over now, it’s a new game tomorrow night, and I’ve said all along it’s one game at a time and focus in on that. I’m sure that the guys will be ready to play tomorrow. We’re not looking at a split right now. We obviously want to go back home 2-0. San Jose’s going to try to say differently.”
Sacco acknowledged of the favored Sharks: “I’m sure they’ll make a strong push tomorrow night at the start of the game. As long as we’re on our toes and making sure that when the puck drops, we’re ready to play, and try to counter what they’re going to try to throw at us, we’re going to be fine.”
Footnotes
Sacco wouldn’t commit to using the same lineup in Game 2 as in the 2-1 Game 1 victory Wednesday, but that seems likely.
… Winger Peter Mueller continues to do light aerobic work off the ice back in Denver, but he still hasn’t skated since suffering a concussion against the Sharks April 4.
… The Sharks practiced today at their practice facility near San Jose State University south of downtown
… As of this afternoon, Sunday’s Game 3 in Denver is not sold out.
