Avs flat in Vancouver

Canucks 3

Avalanche 0

Final

Well the Avs decided to pick up right where they left off in San Jose. They went into Vancouver and got shutout by Andrew Raycroft (yes the same one that helped land us Matt Duchene last season). Raycroft only had to stop 18 shots and that was mainly because the Avs couldn't get any kind of sustained pressure in the Nucks zone. Raycroft himself even said it wasn't his best performance. Thats how bad the Avs played.

Craig Anderson, who was the clear MVP for the Avs in October, wasnt as sharp as usual. He stopped 17 of 20 shots but when the team in front of him can't even muster up 1 goal, it's pretty hard to pin the loss on Andy. He looked noticeably fatigued throughout the game and it almost seems like we'll see Budaj in next game.

Performer of the night goes to O'Reilly because he did have a couple of chances and looked like he cared. Honorable mention goes to Phil Dupuis who was in his 1st game of the season. He got a few chances as well.

Underperformer of the night goes to Paul Stastny. He was finally benched by Sacco in the 3rd period. He was his usual self defensively but nearly invisible anywhere else on the ice. The guy has got to learn to perform offensively like a 6 million dollar man is supposed to. Stastny is looked at by many as the future captain of this team but I would not want this type of player leading my team. Hopefully Sacco benching him will light a fire under him.