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Monday, November 9, 1998
Avs still searching for winning touch
Sure. Of course. That's it. The name of Bob Newhart's character on his TV sitcom. No, no.
Not the last run (although, going 1-for-7, he might as well have used Larry, Darryl and his brother Darryl out there on the powerplay). No, a show removed from that.
The '80s incarnation, with Suzanne Pleshette in the role of his patient, perky wife.
Bob was a psychiatrist in that one, right?
Oh, that's the old Bob Hartley.
The new Bob Hartley isn't a psychiatrist. But he just might be consulting one soon, if this keeps up.
"That whistle had no right to be blown," grumbled Hartley. "It was clearly free. Not even close. The back referee makes that call."
And, the Colorado Avalanche coach's subsequent silence implied, he blew it. Well, of course he did. The puck had not been lost, smothered or covered when Adam Deadmarsh slotted it into the Flames net in the second period.
But that's the way fate is teasing the Avs at the moment.
That goal would've tied the score, and the way Colorado was storming the Bastille, chances are pretty good they'd have found another one somewhere in their bag of tricks. Instead, the uphill wall they've been unsuccessfully attempting to scale since this season opened seemed like a perpendicular pane of glass.
"Sure we worked hard," challenged Joe Sakic. "At the beginning, we weren't playing well enough to win. Lately, it's been better. But we're paid to get results and we're not getting them. We have to score more. Starting with me.
"It's inexcusable."
Certainly is. They outshoot Calgary 40-20 yesterday, and lose. They pit a certain Hall of Famer in Patrick Roy, a near demi-god with 382 NHL wins on his resume, against some kid with a hyphenated first name who only needed 381 to jog up alongside Saint Patrick on the all-time list, and lose.
"We're not as deep as we once were," said a stoic Sakic. "We can't just go out and score four or five goals without breaking a sweat, the way we used to. Those days are gone. Now we've got to battle every night. We've got to play like ... like ... Calgary."
Oh, Joe, say it ain't so! Not with a star-studded cast including (in alphabetical order): Deadmarsh, Peter Forsberg, Claude Lemieux, Roy and Sakic.
Hard to believe that this team, given its experience and individual talent base, could be so unpredictable. Colorado, believe it or not, has yet to put up back-to-back Ws this year. They beat the league's hottest goalie, Arturs Irbe, then lose to the expansion Predators. They get shut out in Toronto, then go into Edmonton and slay the team who -- at the time -- are tied for the best record in hockey, then roll into Calgary and do another face-plant.
"It's been tough," sighed Forsberg. "We do have a good lineup. We're not missing anybody, really." Oh, how about holdout Sandis Ozolinsh, or the departed Uwe Krupp or Mike Keane? "And we generated enough scoring chances to win tonight. But there's always ... something.
"Tonight, our powerplay was awful. Especially in the first period. We can't use luck as an excuse. We have to fight through bad luck."
Yes, it's early. Sure, they're a big week away from being right back near the top of the standings. Certainly, a lineup so gifted can't be kept under heel forever. Still, something is wrong here. Now it'd be absurdly naive to blame it solely on the rookie coach but all eyes are squarely on the new figure in the equation, the man behind the bench.
"Sure we see good signs," he said. "We generated 43 shots tonight and didn't give up many chances. We played solid, we played strong. It's only a matter of time."
Just how much time will be decisive.
The old Bob Hartley's show had a long, successful, happy run.
The new one must already be worried about his ratings.
