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The Avs are still on the roll

In the latest match Avs crushed Caps with 5-1 in Verizon, and the Stars, who could only miss Lehtonen, could easily become just another team in Avs' streak

This season we're seeing a lot of surprises. Some of the good, some of them bad, but we can safely say that the Avs are the biggest surprise of them all. In five meetings they scored five victories in regular time, which is a result even the greatest optimists didn't dream of.

It's important to point out that the Avs didn't win some run-of-the-mill teams: for instance, they've beaten Ahaheim with a huge difference of 6-1, they've beaten Toronto in an away game, while Boston didn't manage to score a single goal in TD Garden... The sensation continued, and this time the place was Washington. Avalanche swiped through Verizon Center with a score of 5-1.


It was already known in the first period where this match is heading. Already then the Avs had the advantage of 2-0. Later they only made it bigger, and the Caps scored their first goal only after 4-0. The host had more shots, but they started shooting only after two-three goals of difference. Varlamov saved the pucks with no trouble at all, and in the end he became the star of the match with 40 saves.


- His saves were spectacular. What I love about Varlamov is that he saves with a lot of self-confidence, and deserves a score like this - said Avs' coach Patrick Roy.


Avs' goalies have this season, totally combined, allowed for only 0.80 goals per match. Giguere scored a shutout against Boston, while in all the other matches they've received only a single one.


Tonight the hosts' lines won't have any trouble with absences.


The young Dallas team is completely unpredictable, as was expected, regarding their lack of experience. They have a lot of oscillations in their games, and in some matches they leave an impression that they could be champions, while in the next one they're losing with three to four goals of difference against a lot weaker teams. For instance, they've lost against the weak Florida with 4-2, only to beat the Capitals in the following match with 2-1. Behind them is the meeting with Minnesota, who are currently on the rise. They lost 5-1, and it was a deserved loss, since they haven't even tried. They sent only 19 shots at the goal, unlike the Wilds who had twice the count. They weren't dangerous, the only goal they scored was out of powerplay which was 1/3, and they received two goals with a player less.


- Ill-advised play in our own zone. That gave them life right off the bat - said coach Ruff.


He explained his team's problem in a few short words. They didn't control the neutral zone, they lost the duels with far too much ease, and they allowed Minnesota to park the bus in their zone because of what they couldn't defend themselves, and it all resulted in four goals in their net.


Today they have the surprisingly well and undefeated Colorado team as their opponents, who are very similar to Dallas: full of young boys who can play a great game, but they have the inexperience problem. But, they also use the youth, speed and vigor better than Dallas.


The statistics are on Dallas' side: in the last three matches against Avs they scored three victories. These teams play open games when they're against each other, so tonight we could be seeing a wonderful game with a lot of chances and goals.


Everyone's healthy and ready for the match, except for the goalie Lehtonen who is questionable, and that could be a big handicap for his team.

The Avs have been the sensation of the NHL thus far, primarily thanks to their goalies. They have a fantastic 0.80 record of goals conceded per match. In one match they didn't face a single goal, while in other matches they conceded one goal a match. It's important to note that in doing so they didn't play against weak teams. On the contrary, they limited the Ducks to one goal, prevented the Bruins from scoring on their own ice, and then conceded one goal to the Caps, who also played a home match... The bravest among you can also try betting 1 on Colorado since Dallas will definitely miss their key goalie Lehtonen, but I'll go for a safer option here - Dallas under 2.5.