Go figure: as the Avalanche entered their toughest stretch yet this
season, they started playing their best hockey.
No one expected that it would take the Avs until the third month of
the year to finally hit .500, but hey, better late than never. And
it came as coach Bob Hartley did some pretty funky things with his
lines.
After two straight losses -- a bad defensive performance against
Edmonton, and a good game but a hot goalie against New Jersey and
Martin Brodeur -- Hartley shook things up.
For the first time in their careers, super centers Joe Sakic and
Peter Forsberg found themselves on a line together against the
hated Red Wings. The line clicked.
Sakic and Milan Hejduk (the lucky rookie drew the third spot on the
line) both picked up goals and Forsberg had an assist in an
exciting (and fight-free!) game. Claude Lemieux didn't punch or get
punched, and even though he'd never played against goalie Norm
Maracle, Patrick Roy resisted the fighting urge.
The line continued to look good in the next two games, a
home-and-home against scrappy St. Louis. The three continued to
rack up the points, and the Avs have enough depth to keep opposing
teams from concentrating solely on that line.
Trade Rumors
Of course, someone had to suffer to put that line together, and
Valeri Kamensky found himself in a bizarre position -- on a
checking line with Rene Corbet and Jeff Odgers. While Kamensky said
that he's happy to contribute in whatever way, his days are likely
numbered.
As are, quite possibly, Lemieux's. There's been a plethora of rumors
of him going to the trade-happy New York Rangers in exchange for Jeff
Beukeboom and other defensemen.
Ozo, Ozo...
As always, nothing new with holdout defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh. He's
been in town, but like two ships passing in the night, he and GM
Pierre Lacroix didn't speak.
One ridiculous rumor has Ozo, Kamensky and odds and ends going to
Vancouver for Pavel Bure. Could anyone imagine Lacroix and Pavel
dealing with each other?
A Healthier Defense
The much-injured defensive corps has improved in recent weeks,
allowing Aaron Miller to occasionally come off the ice. Sylvain
Lefebvre and Wade Belak both returned, shoring things up, as did
Adam Foote, briefly (before suffering a concussion when he hit his
head on St. Louis Blue Jim Campbell's skate).
But other players have got the injury bug, including center Stephane
Yelle, with a sprained wrist, and newly-acquired Shjon Podein, who'd
played something like every game for the past four years before
fracturing his leg against St. Louis. He's out two months.
Rookie Watch
As mentioned before, Hejduk has played well enough to earn a place
on the top line, and surprising center Chris Drury has moved up to
second-line center. Drury's scored well, with six goals, and his
scrappy play has been inspirational.
Much-touted tough guy Scott Parker finally got to make his NHL
debut, and didn't disappoint, first irritating a number of Detroit
players, then going toe-to-toe against World's Toughest Man winner
Tony Twist. Twist won, but Parker made it a good battle, and was
back in there the next night against Rudy Poeschek.
