



1. Saturday a friend and I made the last minute decision to get Stadium Series tickets. For those of you who live under a rock, the Avs were playing the Kings at the Air Force Academy Stadium for an outdoor game. While we had a good time and I certainly don’t regret getting the tickets I can vouch personally that most of the horror stories floating around are very true. The traffic was an absolute nightmare and the concession lines were among longest I’ve ever seen. The reason I’m mentioning this here is because I want to make sure people are aware that this was an NHL an event. The Colorado Avalanche organization had nothing to do with the planning or logistics of this event. There is a lot of anger and frustration from fans and to be frank most of it is justified. None of this anger should be directed at the Avalanche organization or their players because this was completely out of their control. While the team had a rough game, they aren’t the first to do so in a Stadium Series game and they won't be the last. An outdoor game is tough environment with not so great ice. The Avs won’t have to see another outdoor game this season. It wasn't all bad though I snapped this incredible picture of the opening ceremony and there were plenty of great views and good times despite all the headaches. I'll follow up in the next edition about the NHL's response and offer some thoughts. I put a small photo album from the outdoor at the end of article if you want to get an idea of the atmosphere inside.

Avalanche-Kings Stadium Series

2. The central division is turning into an extremely tight race. As of writing this there are 3 teams within 3 points of each other. The winner of the central likely claims the top seed in the Western conference and the two losers receive a consolation prize of a 1st round match-up against one another. Winning the Central is an important goal for all three teams (Dallas, St Louis, and Colorado). The NHL really needs to reconsider the playoff format as its consistently robbing of us of great match ups in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

3. One of the few positive things from all of the recent injuries is that they (hopefully) all occurred before the trade deadline. Should the Avs feel it necessary they can plug holes through trades to help ease the sting of losing so many important players for an extended time.

4. With the injury to Phillip Grubauer looking a bit more serious than most of us would have hoped, the Avs may need to look into trading for a goalie. I don’t want to speculate on names but there are several potential goalies depending on what the Avs are seeking. Is Grubauer out long term or is he just going to miss a few a weeks Its a question that will likely determine what the Avs do with their goaltending situation at the trade deadline. It does sound like no one is engaging the New York Rangers on their goalies trifecta so I wouldn't expect the Avs to go that route as many people have suggested.

5. With the injuries to Avs top forwards its time for captain Gabriel Landeskog to step up. Landeskog has struggled a bit this season but still remains a positive presence. If Landeskog can find his offensive touch with guys like Kadri and Rantanen out it would go a long way towards a central division title. He's a big game player and this is the time big time players show up.







