This Week In Avalanche Hockey - Nov. 19
Avs Solid in Shootouts, Budaj's Performance in Calgary
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Don’t miss your chance to see Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf in their first visit to Pepsi Center this season.
| Date | Opponent | Time (MT) | TV/Radio |
| Thur, Nov. 20 | CALGARY | 7:00 p.m. | Altitude / AM 1510 |
| Sat, Nov. 22 | at Los Angeles | 8:30 p.m. | Altitude / AM 1510 |
| Mon, Nov. 24 | at Anaheim | 8:00 p.m. | Altitude / AM 1510 |
STASTNY AGREES TO LONG-TERM DEAL
The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced Monday that it has signed 22-year-old center Paul Stastny to a five-year contract extension beginning with the 2009-2010 season. Stastny is the Avalanche’s leading scorer this season with 15 points (3g/12a) through 17 games. The former University of Denver All-American has collected 164 points (55g/109a) in 165 NHL games.
Read more about Stastny’s signing
TOYS FOR TOTS HOLIDAY DRIVE
Join the US Marines and help thousands of needy children by participating in the Toys for Tots holiday toy drive. Simply drop off a toy at any collection barrel on your way into Pepsi Center before the Thursday, Nov. 20, Avalanche game against the Calgary Flames. Click here for more information on Toys for Tots or to make a donation.
BUDAJ’S PERFORMANCE ‘ROY-LIKE’ IN CALGARY
Peter Budaj stopped 47-of-50 shots in Colorado’s 4-1 loss to Calgary on Tuesday night, a goaltending performance that ranked among the best in Avalanche history. Budaj’s 47 saves are the third-most by an Avs netminder since the team arrived in Denver, trailing only a pair of Patrick Roy efforts in 1997-98. Roy made a career-high 51 saves on Dec. 10, 1997 at Toronto (2-2 tie) and blocked 48 shots in a 6-2 win at Edmonton on Oct. 15, 1997. Of course Roy also holds the playoff record with his 63-save shutout at Florida in Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals. The franchise record for saves in a regular season game is a whopping 70 by Ron Tugnutt on March 21, 1991 at Boston.
SHOOTOUT SUCCESS
The Avalanche is 3-0 in shootouts this season and has won seven consecutive shootouts dating back to last year, the longest active streak in the NHL. Colorado and Minnesota are the only NHL teams to boast perfect 3-0 records in shootouts this year (two clubs are 2-0 and the Rangers are 4-1). The Avs went 7-3 in shootouts last season (.700), the second highest winning percentage in the NHL behind Edmonton (15-4, .789%). After going 3-6 in 2005-06, Colorado has rebounded to post a 15-7 record in its last 22 shootouts. The Avalanche's current seven-game winning streak is tied for the fourth longest in shootout history.
LONGEST SHOOTOUT WINNING STREAKS, ALL-TIME
11 games Dallas Nov. 5, 2005 - March 24, 2006
9 games Minnesota Feb. 2, 2006 - Nov. 16, 2006
8 games Tampa Bay Jan. 7, 2007 - March 1, 2007
7 games Colorado Feb. 22, 2008 - present
7 games Edmonton Nov. 14, 2007 - Dec. 15, 2007
7 games Pittsburgh Jan. 26, 2007 - March 6, 2007
7 games NY Islanders Jan. 26, 2006 - Oct. 11, 2006
Wojtek Wolski leads the team with a 58.8% scoring percentage in shootouts, the second best mark in shootout history. He is a perfect 3-for-3 this season and has scored on his last five attempts dating back to last year.
HIGHEST SHOOTOUT SCORING PERCENTAGE, ALL-TIME
minimum 15 attempts
Player G Att Pct.
1. Joe Pavelski 11 16 68.8
2. Wojtek Wolski 10 17 58.8
3. Erik Christensen 15 27 55.6
4. Jussi Jokinen 18 33 54.5
4. Slava Kozlov 18 33 54.5
RECORD NUMBER OF SHOOTOUTS?
Through November 17, there have been 261 games in the NHL, 41 of which (or 15.7%) have been decided in a shootout. Should that trend continue, it would mark the highest percentage of games that have ended in a shootout since the tie-breaking format started in 2005-06. The previous high was 13.33% in 2006-07. Including this year’s totals, roughly one out of every eight NHL games (12.81%) goes to a shootout (3.951 games, 506 shootouts).
Scoring in shootouts is down this year, however, as teams are converting 30.8% of their attempts, which would be the lowest mark since 2005-06. On average, NHL clubs have scored once every three attempts (32.77%) since the shootout debuted.
STOA, GOPHERS ON A ROLL
University of Minnesota forward Ryan Stoa leads the Golden Gophers with 16 points (9g/7a) though 10 games, helping Minnesota to a No. 1 ranking in both national men’s hockey polls. Stoa’s nine goals lead the WCHA and rank fourth nationally, while his 1.60 points-per-game average ranks second in the conference. The unbeaten Gophers head to Denver this week to face the DU Pioneers Friday and Saturday at Magness Arena.
Read more about Stoa and Colorado’s other prospects in this week’s farm report
GAME 1,000 IN THE BOOKS
Colorado's 3-2 shootout win at Edmonton on Saturday was the 1,000th regular season game in Avalanche history (since 1995-96). It was also the 500th road contest since the team moved from Quebec. The Avs hosted their 500th regular season home game on Nov. 8 against Nashville, recording a 1-0 victory.
XM/NHL All-Star Fan Balloting presented by 2K Sports is underway. Cast your vote for Milan Hejduk, Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny. In a first for all major professional sports leagues, the NHL will provide real-time All-Star fan balloting results online at NHL.com. From Nov. 12 through Jan. 2, NHL fans will be able to vote as often as they like to select the starting lineups for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal. Fans around the world can vote online via interactive English and French ballots at Vote.NHL.com. Those in the U.S. and Canada also will be able to cast their votes via text message using any wireless carrier. During the voting period, real-time results will be available exclusively on Vote.NHL.com/results. This marks the third consecutive year the All-Star Balloting process is entirely digital.
