Like the Coyotes, the Avalanche were not projected to do as well as they did in the regular season. The Avs surprised the whole CPHL at one point where they had 1st place in the West all but locked up the way they were playing down the stretch. They slipped in the last 10 games of the season and lost that #1 spot.
Ever since the team made a big splash and traded for Ovechkin the team hasnt been playing up to expectations. They were still playing 0.650 hockey but that just is not good enough.
"We are excited to be in the playoffs and look forward to playing the Coyotes" said assistant captain Jason Spezza. "We feel we have a good mix of vets, experience, scoring and passing on this team. We all believe we can go all the way in the dressing room".
Captain Ed Jovanovski will play a big role in the playoffs. His leadership and experience will go a long way especially helping out the young guys on the team. "He has been great for us, we will need him to do the same throughout the playoffs" said coach Sacco.
Craig Anderson has slipped a bit in the past 10 games but David Perron and his teammates are not worried. "We have full confidence in Andy. He has been one of the top goalies in the CPHL this year and we expect him to do the same in the playoffs".
General Manager Swayze11 was asked if he was surprised with the success in the regular season. "No, not at all. I have faith in all these guys. We all believed in this team and thats all that matters".
Keys to the series:
- Cut the shots against down by quite a bit.
- Have our best players be our best players.
- Use our speed to our advantage.