Patrick Roy Teaches Life Lesson While Leading Av's To Victory

I am a passionate person with a passion for life and all things Colorado.  That includes the Avalanche (when they are winning) so my passion fire burned hot as the Av's took on the Wild in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoff chase.

The Colorado Avalanche are a very important team in Colorado. They are the team who helped us to capture our first major sports championship prior to Elway and the boys joining in on the act.  We enjoyed that run in true Colorado sports fashion.  Inside of those two championship journey's was plenty of reason to doubt.  The first title came in the face of immense opposition  while the second championship was captured in a way that resembled this season's opening round game against the Minnesota Wild. Back then, the Av's were a capable team that took it on the chin early in the finals only to find its fire from a legendary spark plug named Ray Bourque. Bourque inspired the team to get up off the mat when they had been knocked down and appeared beaten.

As I listened to the game on radio, (I much prefer it to television) I found myself standing face to face with the volume dial as I shadow boxed my way through the entire last minute of play. The Av's had once again picked themselves off of the mat and were mounting an attack against their opponent.

If you don't follow hockey, you are not likely to be reading this post, so I won't review the game much at all assuming you already watched it.  In short, the Av's scored first and appeared to be delivering some good blows at a goalie who held strong.  Minnesota responded quickly and often to everything the Av's offered up in this game and eventually gained confidence in their goalie by extending the game to a 4-2 lead in the 3rd period.  When the Av's scored to put the game within one point, it became a forgone conclusion that Patrick Roy would pull his goalie if the team could not generate the offense they needed to tie the game.

Roy not only pulled the goalie, he did it with over 3 minutes left in the game.  Historian's worldwide instantly stood in amazement wondering if any coach had every done such a thing with so much time to play in a playoff game. Coaches the world wide tweeted the letters WTF across the worldwide web trying to see which handbook this was drawn from and why did Roy have the only copy.

This coach (Me) immediately dropped the pool stick that I was holding and walked directly up to the radio, as if standing in front of it would get me right out onto the ice.  My eyebrow's remained stuck in the sky as I listened to see how each team would respond to this move.  I was hopeful for a score, but afraid bad luck would intervene since it had a 3 minute window to play with.  Bad luck usually needs much less time to do its damage.

As bad luck would have it, a puck popped loose an headed straight for the Av's net. The radio description of the puck that headed towards our goal felt like the final blow until Erik Johnson saved the day.  In a miraculous bout of effort and luck (the puck never got flat so it eventually slowed) Johnson stopped an imminent goal and justified the confidence of his coach.

I come from the Jim Thompson "Positive Coaching" school of thought, and I am keen on what happens when coaches invest belief and confidence into their players.  Great coaches are on a mission to help you see your capacity and to give you the fight to fulfill it to the best of your ability.  If you ever begin to doubt your own ability (as young teams often do), great coaches have enough confidence in themselves and in you to fill the void.

Confidence in sports is a unique thing because their is a wide gap between the words and the actions.  As a coach, I can say I believe in you but if I never put you in the game or let you stay there when you are not succeeding, then there is a  gap between the words and the actions.  Great coaches are looking for an opportunity to tell their players that they believe in them, but they are desperate for a chance to show it.

Patrick Roy is a legend in sports for reason's that had nothing to do with coaching.  This season, and in this game, his legend grew in a special way.  Roy saw a chance to display confidence in his team, but he wasn't exactly a river boat gambler.  His team had practiced this approach for a long time leading up to that moment, so they were confident in the approach.  In fact, it is something that most teams will do when faced with game desperation.

Just not at three and a half minutes.  60 seconds of an empty net is about all that any normal coach can endure without passing out from sheer anxiety.  By leaving the Avalanche net empty for over 3 minutes, Patrick Roy shifted the series and probably the playoffs all in one gutsy call.

Prior to that moment, Colorado sports fans were witnessing a much less painful variety of the Denver Broncos over the last two seasons.  An immensely talented team was once again outmatched or outlasted in the playoffs.  Minnesota put on a defensive display that ignited their offense and the concerns of Avalanche nation that all of our excitement was probably a season too soon. The moment Roy pulled the goalie, the Wild took on a defensive posture that eventually came to resemble the fetal position.

In the last minute of play, the Wild hoped they could simply absorb the Av's blows and just beat them on the score card. As I stood at the face of my radio swinging punches like a boxer, I became convinced that the same team that stopped an obvious open net goal would find a way to tie this game and win it in overtime....and they did it.

Not every defeat is quite the same.  Some of them have lasting effect.  Barring another injury, the Av's have probably finished off the Wild by snatching their hearts out in the first game.  The heart of an athlete will regrow, but it takes some time.

What also takes some time is the journey of legend.  Sure, for us sport fans it seems like the speed of light as we recollect the flashes of brilliance that connect us to our sports heroes.  For Elway, it was all of those amazing comeback moments with the spinning helicopter play against Green Bay in the Superbowl as the flashes in time that established his legendary status.  For Roy it will be similar, but his legend is gaining images that started on the ice and are extended to the coaching box.

First it was the opening game assault on the glass partition between him and the opposing coach, and now
 we will talk about the day he pulled the goalie at 3 minutes and won the game.  In both situations, he was making a statement that every coach, every parent and every leader of others could learn from.

"I Believe In You"!

Ducks Beats Av's With 6 Goals In One Period. Avalanche Looking Forward To Season Finale

Tonight was a difficult sports viewing night for a Nugget/Avalanche fan such as myself.

The Nug's, the Av's or Golf?
So many decisions....so little time.

Lured late in the evening by the Colorado sunshine, I got stuck playing the back nine (instead of stopping after nine) and finished in the darkest of functional dusk.  By the time I made it home, the Nuggets were late in the game against Miami, and the Colorado Avalanche were getting plastered with pucks by the Anaheim Ducks.

The Avs have recently beaten some of the best teams in the NHL.  The Ducks are among the top in the league, but not seen as playoff worthy like the Chicago Blackhawks or the St. Louis Blues, two teams that the Avs dismantled in recent games.

The last time these two teams faced off, it was the glass partition between the benches that became dismantled in a heated opening night match up that, if not for the partition, might of ended in a fist fight between the coaches of these two teams.  The Avs won that game 6-1.

Two things to remember.  The Ducks left that first game mad as hell over the outcome and the Ducks are the best team in the league at winning a game when giving up the first goal.  After peppering Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov with several shots on goal early, John Mitchell scored for the Avs to take a 1-0 lead into the second period.  .

This has become the nature of this team.  Even when they do not appear to be dominating play, they are dominating goal tending and grit.  True to their name, the Avalanche can come out of nowhere with ferocious impact, and they did again tonight against the Ducks.

Content that the Avs could find a way to do what they've done to others recently, I decided beating the Heat was a much for significant challenge for this Colorado sports fan and switched over to see the Nuggets close out Miami. When I turned back, the Av's scored a goal in the second period to take a 2-1 lead over the Ducks.

That would be the last lead they saw in this game that ended 6-4 in favor of the Ducks who blew the game wide open in the second period with all 6 goals (the most goals against the Avs in one period this year) and made the Avs chase the rest of the way, as they chased away the Avs goalie who did not finish the game.

The Av's have the benefit of fighting with the Ducks and a few other teams for the best record in the Western conference and will likely finish the season jockeying for playoff positioning.  Since the last game of the season will be in Anaheim against these Ducks, hockey fans in both cities are crossing their fingers for a meaningful game and a grande finale.

For the Denver Nuggets, the night would end more joyfully. (read more)

Postscript:  The Av's got the score as close as 5-4 in that second period with a magical play from the captain Gabriel Landiskog.  After making a move to get free in front of the net, Landiskog nearly held the puck till the window to score had fully closed and then unleashed an odd angled blast  past a goalie frozen by the move.  Peter Forsberg type stuff if I do say so myself.

Mackinnon Surpasses "The Great One". Is He Gretzky (or Is Joe Sakic More Accurate?)

I was about to lose my focus on this topic when I realized that the Avalanche have the most productive 18 year old on their team since the Great One Wayne Gretzky (12 game point streak).  If Mackinnon scores another point (goal or assist) he will surpass the Great Gretzky to stand alone with this record. Why we still have 18 year old hockey players but basketball players are forced into college is another blog for another day.

Especially since that magical 18 year old plays for my team, I celebrate whatever system allowed for that to happen.  Nathan Mackinnon is a player for the ages.  Earlier in the season I wrote a post about the best Avalanche player from a big list of options, and decided that Semyon Varlamov is clearly the best of the best.  Mackinnon is making me question myself.

Not that Mackinnon is really at THAT level yet, but the upside potential is absolutely scary with even a little bit of growth as a player.  Considering his age, physical stature as a result of age, and impending growth from both a physical and mental perspective, McKinnon is on a path to take over the entire NHL.....no really.  His point streak, that is equal only to Gretzky, does not appear to be a freak coincidence.  This kid does things that boggles the mind.  It feels like he is so advanced that he could be doing more hot dog type plays, which he sort of does, but with an obvious restraint.

If he was a 10 year veteran this would simply be impressive.  As an 18 year old rookie we are seeing amazing stuff coming from the stick and skates of this kid.  If comparisons to Gretzky are high praise, then we are at least seeing the reincarnation of Joe Sakic for sure.  We'll make him earn that Gretzky stuff later.

Understanding that comparison's are the most unfair thing that we fans love to do, my  praise of Mackinnon seems to discount the fact that Gabriel Landiskog is the captain of this team or that Matt Duchene is the most magical scorer we've got.

Mackinnon is something special.  I watched the Avalanche/ Detroit Red Wings game in Detroit as I wrote this piece, and the record that Mackinnon had tied with Gretzky is now Mackinnon's alone (13 games in a row for an 18 year old player).  With a pass from behind the net that looked like he threw it with his hand, Mackinnon found Andre Benoit in overtime to beat the hated Red Wings in their own house. A similar late assist from Mackinnon was the difference in beating the back to back champion Chicago Blackhawks two nights ago.

It was actually amazing goaltending that gave this team a chance to win.  Detroit was smothering in their defensive approach, so it took a patient Avalanche team to overcome the Red Wing D and capture the overtime win.  Much bigger than the Mackinnon scoring streak was the maturity of this win.  Detroit may not make the playoffs this year for the first time in years, but they are a hated rival who gives us their best shot whenever we play them.

Coach Patrick Roy made the wise decision to start goalie J.S. Giguere in net.  Giguere dislodged the net and broke a stick (old veteran tricks to slow down an aggressive team) as needed in order to overcome the initial attack from Detroit.  It is likely that starting Semyon Varlamov in goal would not have provided the calming effect that Giguere brought to this victory.

In the end, Mackinnon finished the game in a fashion that not only reminded us of Sakic (not Gretzky), but reminds us that all legends, even Gretzky, will someday be surpassed.

Not to be forgotten was the spinning pass that Erik Johnson made to Mackinnon when the puck was moving out of the zone.  That was a pretty special play as well. 

Coach Roy Must Motivate And Inspire Olympians

The good part about making it to the Olympics is the prestige and honor of playing for your country.  It also goes a long way towards helping a player to stack rack themselves against the forces of international competition.  Since the final rounds of international hockey look a whole lot like the NHL playoffs, mainly the young players gain a great deal from such competition.

The rest of Olympic hockey is all bad.  Players who have never done it have no way of knowing what to expect from their legs as the season progresses.  They may hit two or three walls that they will have to fight through before the season is over.  By the time playoffs arrive, only the veterans understand what to expect from the post Olympic playoff grind.

The Colorado Avalanche are blessed with several young players who swam in the deepest of waters by the end of this tournament.  Russia is the only team with an Avalanche player that did not play in the last few days, but he (goalie Semyon Varlamov) may have lost some confidence with the peppering he took on goal.  Gabriel Landiskog played Matt Duchene in the final game and Paul Stastny played, but lost the bronze medal match. Each will be challenged to maintain their legs if the Av's are to have any real chance at Sir Stanley's Cup.

If you were making a list of likely Stanley Cup champions, the Avalanche might not be in your top 3 list, but they would be #1 in the likely long shot bet.  No one really expects the Av's to win it all, even if they've all noticed that we have the kind of team that could. Winning is about more than ability, it speaks to vulnerability even more. No matter how bad Roy wants to return a title to Denver, he can not motivate any team to achieve it.  Inspiration must do that

When Patrick Roy started this season, he was loaded with fire for the job and plenty of experience with coaching young athletes since he recently coached in the junior hockey leagues. The word fire is often associated with the world of coaching but it can apply to any competitive endeavor.  Fire is the stuff that fuels success, but at times it comes in the fashion of heat from beneath the feet of uninspired teammates.

Fire is another word for motivation when you are a coach, and it is your fire or motivation of your players that can propel them to focus on the task at hand, but motivation is much like an exposed fire, it demands a constant source of fuel.  Motivation eventually burns up the people you prop up for so long or you'll burn out yourself from playing with fire day in and day out.

Furnace fire is highly effective because it is not exposed to the impact of the elements.  It is well contained and focused on the mission at hand.  The fire that burns inside of each of us is a similar fuel that drives our success.  In order for the Avalanche to overcome the impact of the Olympic journey, it will take a huge dose of inspiration from guys who felt like they emptied it all on Olympic ice.

Now the balancing act becomes resting the Olympic Av's at the risk of  losing games and a high seeding, or playing them at the risk of a lackluster playoff due to a lack of energy. Roy understand the grind that his players shall endure better than most, but some lessons must be experienced first hand.

Near death fatigue is one of them.

Winter Olympics In Sochi Get An Avalanche From Colorado

The Avalanche have sent four players to the Olympics in Sochi

If Vladimir Putin needs any help with security he might be on his own.  If he runs short of snow, Colorado sent an Avalanche to Sochi. Actually, we have sent four Avalanche players to the winter Olympics this year, and it begs a few important questions.

First of all, why would the NHL risk injury to their most valuable players by sending them to the Olympics in the middle of a season?  The mere privilege of playing for your own country is incentive enough to risk a lot. I realize that this has been the Olympic standard forever, but my team hasn't had such a likelihood of littering Olympic lineups in a while.

This year we have 4 players that did make it.  Matt Duchene, Semyon Varlamov, Gabriel Landiskog and Paul Stasny.  If you are watching the Avs, it should be clear that the rookie, Nathan McKinnon could  soon become an Olympian as well as Ryan O'Reilly. But what about P.A. Parenteau, or Jan Hejda?  What about Erik Johnson.  These guys could help any team win games, and when America gets to know all of these Av's, we will lose a few to free agency.  Those that remain will join this years group of Olympians four years from now.  It is possible that the Av's will bum rush the league with a deep run in the playoffs this year. They will certainly do it before the next winter Olympics return.

That is good from the standpoint of prestige, but bad when you consider the physical demand a long run in the Olympics will require, and the physical risk that you incur while doing it.  The most difficult part of being or having young players is the adjustment to such a long season.  Those who make the adjustment with lots of rest and proper diet can overcome the mental walls that challenge young players. Typically, you won't know what you don't know.

I am excited and concerned for all of our Olympians.  They are deserving of the honor they've received.  A couple of them have teams that could win the whole thing, so Av's fans might have a rooting stake late into this tournament.  I will also find myself watching to see if they make it through safely, and if they return to the team with the inspiration of an Olympian, or the legs of a noodle.