After The Game... 5-0 To Avs
Peli oli aivan loistava coloradon osalta, jos pelit jatkuvat samaan tahtiin, taitaa siita kehittya taman kauden dominoivin joukkue liigassa. Selanne oli erinomainen, tosin tilatojen muodossa ei saalistanut yhta monta pojoa kuin ketjukaverinsa... ESPN INside the game antaa paremman kuvan pelista
Chicago Blackhawks 0
Colorado Avalanche 5
"DENVER (Ticker) -- With the offensive talent the Colorado Avalanche have on their first two lines, expectations were understandably high. In the season opener, they did not disappoint.
Milan Hejduk scored twice and Paul Kariya and Joe Sakic added a goal and two assists apiece as the Avalanche stormed to a 5-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
David Aebischer turned in a perfect impersonation of former teammate and future Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, which may be more important to the Avalanche's Stanley Cup hopes. But the opener was about offense.
With last season's Art Ross and Maurice Richard Trophy winners already in tow, Colorado pulled off one of the great offseason coups, adding All-Stars Kariya and Teemu Selanne to its roster at relative bargain-basement prices.
The moves provided immediate dividends as Selanne set up Kariya's goal 5:40 into the game, giving Aebischer all the support he needed.
"Selanne made a great pass. He's such an underrated passer and it's great to play with him," Kariya said. "It was a good start. We had it going pretty well offensively."
"This is going to be so much fun," Selanne added. "Even this time, it's so much fun."
Sakic scored less than two minutes later and defenseman Rob Blake netted a power-play goal seven minutes into the second period for a 3-0 cushion.
Hejduk, who led the NHL with 50 goals last season, made it a four-goal advantage midway through the second before netting a power-play tally in the third to cap the scoring.
The league's leading scorer with 106 points last season, Peter Forsberg collected three assists.
Earning the starting goaltending job following Roy's retirement last May, Aebischer turned aside 31 shots, including 13 in the third period, for his seventh career shutout and third against Chicago.
"It's just one game," Aebischer said. "I'm happy with the way I played and the way we played. We just know it's behind us and now we have to think about (the next game)."
"They had five or six quality chances in the third period, but he stayed focused enough to make the big saves," Avalanche coach Tony Granato said. "He deserved (the shutout) because he worked hard to prepare for this opportunity. He was nervous before the game but very confident."
Michael Leighton made 24 saves for the Blackhawks, who have lost their last five matchups with Colorado.
After Colorado's ninth consecutive division championship banner was raised to the rafters at the Pepsi Center, Kariya took a backhanded pass from former Mighty Ducks teammate Selanne in the high slot and walked around a defenseman into the left faceoff circle before firing a shot into the top right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Just 1:56 later, Sakic tapped Kariya's feed by Leighton from alone in front, giving the Avalanche a two-goal bulge.
With Chicago shorthanded in the second period, Blake one-timed Kariya's pass by Leighton from the left circle at 7:04. Alex Tanguay fed Hejduk at the left goalpost three minutes later, and the Czech Republic native tucked it in to put Colorado ahead, 4-0.
"I'm kind of speechless," Leighton said of Colorado's offense.
"They're a great team. Those two lines are unbelievable. ...
They're really tough to defend because they're really shifty and move around a lot."
"You don't have to look at the scoresheets, but I'll lay money the first four goals, that Kariya, Selanne, Forsberg and Sakic either assisted or scored on every one," Chicago coach Brian Sutter said. "The interesting part is when they got the chance, they scored. It's that simple."
On the power play, Sakic made a cross-slot pass to Hejduk, who deposited the puck into a vacant net from the left side 8:15 into the third to complete the scoring.
"We saw some things we hope we can see all year from the offense, some good kick saves from David, saw some good things on the special teams," Granato said. "It was a good start."
Aebischer kept Colorado's first opening-night shutout in club history intact with a glove save on Steve Sullivan at the right post with 11:14 remaining."
http://nhl.com/onthefly/scoreboard/recaps/16_2_recap.html