Best in the West - Detroit Red Wings at Colorado Avalanche

Detroit Red Wings at Colorado Avalanche

Saturday, October 24th – Pepsi Center, Denver, CO  

This contest is a rematch from last Saturday’s battle in Detroit, where Colorado won 4-3 in a shootout. The Avs followed that up with a 3-2 shootout loss to lowly Minnesota on Wednesday. Despite the setback Colorado is one of the biggest surprises of the season. Craig Anderson has flourished in his first full starting role of his career, rookies Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly have played well enough to earn full-time roster spots, and veteran Darcy Tucker is experiencing a career rebirth out in the Rockies. Two wins against Detroit in one week would silence the increasingly smaller number of critics the Avs have.  

Something is definitely wrong with the Red Wings. Losing to an emerging Colorado team is one thing, but on Thursday Detroit lost 3-2 to Phoenix in OT to drop to 3-4-1 on the season. Granted, two of those losses came in Sweden to begin the season, but something just seems off about Detroit this season. The goaltending is suspect, the injuries are piling up and the big stars just seem older. It’s too premature to call this the beginning of the end of the Red Wings dynasty, isn’t it?

What The Red Wings Have To Do To Win:

The Red Wings defense has been, on the whole, pretty bad so far this season. With the exception of Nik Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, all Red Wings defenseman have a ‘minus’  rating. Niklas Kronwall is the biggest sore spot, sticking out with a minus-4 rating.  

The poor defensive numbers could be attributed to poor goaltending. Chris Osgood isn’t doing himself any favors with his 3.21 GAA. However Osgood’s poor goaltending could be the result of shoddy defense. It’s a vicious circle the Red Wings can’t afford to be stuck in.  

Henrik Zetterberg has only one goal so far this season, and that’s a main reason why the team is below-.500. This is especially more-so with the injuries to Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen. The Swede needs to step up and carry the team on his shoulders for the time being.

What The Avalanche Have To Do To Win:

Colorado played a sloppy game against Minnesota, so it will be interesting to see how they respond. The Avs allowed seven power play opportunities against the Wild, and Minnesota capitalized, scoring twice. Colorado is the youngest team in the league, so those types of games will probably occur a few more times as the season progresses. How the Avs respond to that kind of play will determine whether or not their start is for real or just a flash in the pan.  

The Avs showed a lot of chutzpah in announcing that rookies Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly would spend all season up in the NHL as opposed to being sent down to juniors. It shows that the Avalanche are committed to their young talent and have loads of confidence in them. Now Duchene and O’Reilly have to return the favor and prove they belong.

Outlook & Pick

The Colorado Avalanche could be the real deal. It may be too early to tell for sure, but they could really make some noise as the season goes on. The Red Wings are stuck treading water. They are without a doubt a better team than the way they are playing, but perhaps their luck is beginning to run out. The Wings have always been able to get by on less than spectacular goaltending, but poor seasons by Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard have opened the eyes of many people. Detroit’s in a flux and the Avs are on a roll.

Pick: Colorado Avalanche