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Thursday, December 2, 1999
Avs find a way here
Youngsters have shouldered the load for injured stars
The Colorado Avalanche can't buy a break.
Why buy them when they've been getting so many for free?
The Avs have been a walking injury report this season. And it's not just the rank and file who are going down in crumpled heaps. Their star players are the ones on the endangered species list.
The Avs came into Edmonton last night without the services of their captain, Joe Sakic, who's back in Denver with bad ribs. Then, 10 minutes before game time, they found out Peter Forsberg was a last-minute scratch because of a hip-pointer.
"After the Vancouver game the trainer told us that Peter had a sore hip and that he would be re-evaluated in the morning,'' said Colorado coach Bob Hartley, following Colorado's 3-1 loss at Skyreach Centre. "At game time, there was no change, and we didn't want to take a chance with Peter this early in the season.''
The Avs are 36-3-9 since 1997 when Forsberg scores a goal, but he's only been in the lineup two games this year. He missed the first two months of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery.
"He's such a competitor, he always plays so hard,'' said Hartley. "Injuries are part of the business.''
And the injury business hasn't been very good in Colorado these days. Sakic's missed nine games so far. Alexei Gusarov has missed 17 games with a shoulder injury followed by a broken finger. Adam Foote has missed 14 games with a shoulder injury, followed by a rib injury.
That's some pretty high-end talent sitting on the shelf. Those four guys alone make up about 75% of Edmonton's total payroll.
"It doesn't help, but you can't use that as an excuse,'' said rookie Avalanche netminder Marc Denis, who got the start because Patrick Roy rarely plays back-to-back games anymore. "Let's not kid ourselves, Peter and Joe are our two best players, but we have to find ways to win games like tonight.''
The Avs came out West looking to bury the Oilers in the Northwest Division pennant race. And they're steamed that they didn't.
"You want to put these teams behind you and focus on other things,'' said Denis. "It was a good chance to do that tonight.''
Still, despite the injuries the Avalanche have managed to keep their heads above water this season. Colorado is still ahead of Edmonton and just behind Vancouver at 11-12-3, thanks to some outstanding work from their kiddie corps.
Sophomores Chris Drury and Milan Hejduk are tops in team scoring and rookie Alex Tanguay is making a run for the Calder. Rookie defenceman Martin Skoula played more than anybody else on the ice.
"Those guys have made great contributions,'' said Hartley, who doesn't mind giving youngsters plenty of ice time and responsibility. "When you put players on the ice you don't look at their ages, you look at their performances. We're being competitive while giving our young guys a chance to play, and it's working.''
And when the big guns do come back, look out.
"It's not like two normal guys coming off of injured reserve,'' said Drury, who scored the lone Avalanche goal. "Those are two unbelievable players.''
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