| COLORADO | VS. | ST. LOUIS |
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| 53-15-12 | 30-38-12 | |
| 118 Pts | 72 Pts | |
| 1st in West | 8th in West | |
| REGULAR
SEASON STATS TEAM STATS |
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| 17.2% (3rd) | PP% | 11.3% (29th) |
| 84.2% (23rd) | PK% | 86.5% (9th) |
| 12.9 (27th) | PIM/G | 15.3 (22nd) |
| 3.68 (1st) | GF/G | 2.82 (19th) |
| 2.48 (2nd) | GA/G | 2.74 (11th) |
| 29.9 (2nd) | SF/G | 27.0 (18th) |
| 24.6 (3rd) | SA/G | 26.7 (11th) |
| TOP 3 POINT SCORERS | ||
| LW Naslund (42-58-100) | 1 | RW Kovalev (29-39-68) |
| RW Hejduk (32-49-81) | 2 | LW Erat (26-28-54) |
| C Nedved (26-46-72) | 3 | LW Nash (24-21-45) |
| TOP 3 GOAL SCORERS | ||
| LW Naslund (42) | 1 | RW Kovalev (29) |
| RW Hejduk (32) | 2 | LW Erat (26) |
| RW Recchi (30) | 3 | LW Nash (24) |
| TOP 3 PLUS/MINUS | ||
| RW Hejduk +36 | 1 | RW Morozov +13 |
| LW Naslund +34 | 2 | LW Erat +12 |
| C Nedved +34 | 3 | D Brewer +9 |
| TOP GOALTENDER | ||
| Roy | DiPietro | |
| 2.43 | GAA | 2.62 |
| .900 | SV% | .897 |
| 48-14-10 | W-L-T | 16-19-4 |
| 4 | SO | 3 |
|
SEASON SERIES STATS |
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| Season Series Tied 1-1-0 | ||
| COL, 3 | Game 1 | STL, 2 |
| COL, 3 | Game 2 | STL, 7 |
| TEAM STATS | ||
| 18.18% | PP% | 14.29% |
| 85.71% | PK% | 81.82% |
| 7 | PIM/G | 18.5 |
| 3 | GF/G | 4.50 |
| 4.50 | GA/G | 3 |
| 27.5 | SF/G | 28.0 |
| 28.0 | SA/G | 27.5 |
| TOP 3 POINT SCORERS | ||
| RW Recchi (2-1-3) | 1 | LW Nash (2-2-4) |
| LW Straka (0-3-3) | 2 | D Zidlicky (0-3-3) |
| D Visnovsky (0-3-3) | 3 | RW Morozov (1-1-2) |
| BREAKDOWN FORWARDS |
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To say the Colorado Avalanche have a better crew of forwards than the St.Louis Blues would be a incredibly large understatement. With probably two of the top lines in the CTCHL consisting of Primeau, Nedved, Straka, Naslund, Daze, Hejduk and Recchi, they will outhit, outshoot and most importantly outscore the opposition. This team did not score the most goals in the CTCHL by fluke, their firepower is for real and will give Rick DiPietro and the St.Louis defense a difficult time. |
WINNER |
When your top line is centered by Mike Ricci and your second line boasts guys like Martin Erat, you know you're in trouble trying to compete with the best offense in the league. The Blues completely dismantled their previously star-studded lineup, moving guys like Mario Lemieux, Daniel Alfredsson and Ryan Smyth in exchange for the motion to rebuild. With a much younger, much less experienced lineup, the Blues don't have nearly as much firepower and won't be able to compete against the lethal Avs. Their only hope to compete in goalscoring will have to be a defensive style that limits Colorado chances combined with stellar play from young goaltender Rick DiPietro. |
|
DEFENSE |
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| Again, this category has to go to the Avs. But despite the big difference in goals against, the difference in defence is not as lopsided as it appears. The Avs have one of the top defenseman in the CTCHL in Rob Blake, but beyond Blake, the Avs lack a 2nd elite defenseman. Rather, the Avs have guys like Lubomir Visnovsky and Tomas Kaberle. With guys like Blake, Visnovsky and Kaberle, this defence can certainly be considered rather "soft" and more offensively oriented. | WINNER |
One of the St.Louis Blues' biggest strengths is clearly their defense. The Blues have a nice mix of offensive and defensive defenseman to compliment a strong young goaltender. Zidlicky and Malakhov top off the Blues' defense followed by Danny Markov and Eric Brewer. Both pairings have played well together and kept the Blues in the top half of the League Defense. Kyle McLaren and Christian Backman round out the top 6 displaying the depth the Blues have at defense, however without any real elite top defensemen. |
| COL PP vs. STL PK | ||
| Colorado on paper likely has the best powerplay in the CTCHL, with their forward firepower combined with the offensively minded defensemen. Any powerplay quarterbacked by guys like Blake and Kaberle will have success and when combined with their star-studded core of forwards, this powerplay can be Colorado's lethal weapon throughout the playoffs. | WINNER |
The St.Louis Blues easily have one of the worst PKs in the league, do not be fooled by their deceptive PK%. The core of players that used to man this PK like Daniel Alfredsson are long gone and have left the PK to young inexperienced guys like Alexei Ponikarovsky and Rick Nash. Discipline will be key for the Blues if they plan to win any games, the Avs have a deadly powerplay that cannot be matched by most teams, especially not a depleted one like the Blues. |
| STL PP vs. COL PK | ||
| Perhaps the Avs' only weakness this year is the team's lack of grinding, physical players. The team has a high-octane offense but overall is "soft". Without any true punishers on defense and without a physical presence at forward other than perhaps Mark Recchi, the Avs penalty kill may end up costing them if they become undisciplined. The mediocre PK% ranked 23rd in the league is an eyesore on an otherwise almost flawless team. | |
The Blues, despite their recent dismantling at the hands of GM Ray Nuvolone, still have a decent powerplay unit. With Kovalev, Nash and Ricci on the top unit and defensemen such as Markov and Brewer who are capable of quarterbacking the powerplay, the Blues have a competitive, legitimately strong powerplay. In the mix with the soft Colorado penalty kill, the Blues will have to make the most of their oppurtunities, which should be rare thanks to the discipline of the Avs. |
| GOALTENDING | ||
| With arguably the best goalie to ever dawn a CTCHL uniform between the pipes, the Colorado Avalanche, for at least one last time, are dominant between the pipes. Patrick Roy is a leader, a worker and a winner. His confidence surpasses most but he has the right to be confident. The Avalanche can depend on Roy to play well regardless if he gets much action or not, and even when his "soft" blueline gets him in trouble. | WINNER |
Rick DiPietro is a solid young goaltender, but his inexperience will cost the Blues in this series. With a relatively good defense facing one of the best offenses in the league, DiPietro can expect a lot of action, he won't be able to compete with Roy, but we'll give him kudos for any win he pulls out. |
| COACHING | ||
| Bob Hartley is a decent coach, with a pretty all-round system, however where he lacks in the coaching is consistently where the Avs need help the most. Hartley's defensive system could use some work and the Avs defense should be at fault if the Avs happen to fall out of the playoffs. | WINNER |
Joel Quenneville is a talented coach with many dimensions to his coaching. Both his offensive and defensive teachings are sound and his leadership will be crucial with the young Blues lineup. |
| PREDICTION | ||
WINNER IN 6! |
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| The Avs will win this series, they're too good not to. Their soft defense may cost them a game or two and DiPietro may just steal some for the Blues. | ||