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HEAD COACH
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Bob Hartley
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ROSTER
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C - Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Stephane Yelle, Chris Drury.
LW - Valeri Kamensky, Rene Corbet, Milan Hejduk, Shean Donovan,
Warren Rychel. RW - Claude Lemieux, Adam Deadmarsh, Shjon Podein,
Jeff Odgers, Scott Parker. D - Sandis Ozolinsh, Sylvain Lefebvre,
Adam Foote, Alexei Gusarov, Jon Klemm, Aaron Miller, Greg deVries,
Cam Russell. G - Patrick Roy, Craig Billington.
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INJURIES
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Cam Russell, d (back, day-to-day); Warren Rychel, lw (hand,
indefinite); Jeff Odgers, rw (appendix, late February).
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TRANSACTIONS
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Assigned Eric Messier, d, to Hershey (AHL). Recalled
Scott Parker, rw, from Hershey.
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GAME RESULTS
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1/27 at Anaheim W 4-3
1/28 Anaheim W 6-2
1/30 San Jose W 5-0
2/02 at Boston W 3-2
2/03 at Buffalo W 5-3
2/05 at Detroit W 3-1
2/07 at Dallas W 3-0
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STANDINGS
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Northwest Division GP W L T PTS GF GA
Colorado 52 29 19 4 62 143 124
Edmonton 49 20 21 8 48 139 128
Calgary 52 16 28 8 40 129 156
Vancouver 51 16 28 7 39 128 155
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TEAM NEWS
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by Greg D'Avis, Colorado Correspondent
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Remember a few months back when all of us out here in Colorado were
saying those bad things about the Avalanche? Comparing them to the
NBA Nuggets? Saying it was time to get rid of Patrick Roy?
Oh, hell, we were just kidding. We knew it all along. This is our
year, baby. Patrick? Just rename the Vezina "The Roy Trophy" and
get it over with. Start carving the names on the Stanley Cup, and
hey, this time around -- try to spell "Deadmarsh" right.
Ok, it ain't that easy, but it's tough to not be giddy right now.
Twelve-game winning streak? Roy not just playing like the Roy of
old, but better? Undefeated since Ozolinsh's return? A
nearly-all-healthy squad?
Once the streak started growing, it came with a caveat -- all of the
wins but one had come against non-elite teams. The cynics said the
Avs were up for a big surprise on a four-game road trip that would
finally force them to face the real powers.
If anything was proven, it's that the Avalanche are for real.
Thrashings of Anaheim and San Jose are one thing -- decisively
beating Buffalo, Detroit and Dallas in the space of five days is
another.
And -- (dare we say? we dare) -- other factors recall the halcyon
days of 1996. Contributions from all lines; it isn't just
Sakic-Forsberg-Hejduk carrying the team. Valeri Kamensky and Claude
Lemieux are playing their best hockey of the season. Adam Deadmarsh
is hot. Rene Corbet, Chris Drury, Stephane Yelle and a now-healthy
Shjon Podein are tough to play against. Even Shean Donovan,
frequently a whipping boy in this column, has looked great.
Defensively, it's a far cry from the early season. The Avalanche
have so many healthy defensemen right now that Eric Messier was
sent down, and the ever-dependable Jon Klemm was a healthy scratch
two games in a row. After the scratches, Klemm returned against
Dallas -- and picked up his first goal of the season. Oh, it is to
laugh.
Contracts, contracts
As Patrick Roy was playing his best in years, the Avalanche locked
him up for a two-year extension, eliminating the terrifying thought
of seeing him in an Atlanta Thrashers uniform next season. Plus,
Podein got a two-year extension, and rumors are flying of an
imminent Forsberg contract which would end all threats of another
Sakic-Rangers debacle.
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