I think it's fair to call Thursday's game in St. Louis a statement game for the Avalanche, and not so much because of Tuesday's 2-1 loss to Carolina.
The Avalanche is entering a crucial part of the schedule with 20 of the next 21 games against Western Conference teams, 10 of them in the Central Division.
The Blues can be expected to finish no worse than third in the division, along with Chicago, and the top three teams in each division are guaranteed berths in the playoffs under realignment and the new playoff format.
A win against the Blues, especially on the road, would go a long way in determining just how good this Avalanche team is. The Blues are big and strong, hard to play against, and Ken Hitchcock is a heck of a coach. And you know that Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart would like nothing better than to help knock off their former team. Stewart is off to a slow start with two goals, three assists and a minus-2 rating, while Shattenkirk has one goal and 11 assists to go along with a plus-2 rating.
"To me, there's always a point to prove there," Shattenkirk told my NHL.com colleague, Louie Korac, in St. Louis. "It's just a pride thing. You want to show them what they kind of missed out on. Especially now that they're a team that we're chasing, a division rival. There's a new kind of motivation there. It's nice to have that as well to add to the fire."
Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson, who was acquired in that big 2011 trade with the Blues, has two goals, five assists and is a plus-10.
Like the Avalanche, the Blues are off to the best start in their history with an 11-2-3 record that includes a 7-1-2 mark at the Scottrade Center. They're coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to Phoenix on home ice. Hitchcock has been impressed with the Avalanche. "Best rush-attack team in the league,… he said in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "If you give them a 3-on-2 or a 2-on-1, they’re going to get a quality chance. They take advantage of your mistakes. Their forwards skate and really control it. You can just see the evolution.…
Hitchcock had this to say about Avalanche coach Patrick Roy:
"He’s a guy you have to listen to. He might be a rookie coach in the National Hockey League, but he’s no rookie coach. You coach eight, 10, 12 years in junior hockey, you’ve seen and done everything. He’s got a young team with real structure, real discipline. There’s discipline in their game, in their effort, and that’s going to make for a tough opponent every night. This is no fluke.…
Jean-Sebastien Giguere will start in goal for the Avalanche, while Jaroslav Halak will be in net for the Blues.
*****
No surprise that former Avalanche star Milan Hejduk is retiring. Hoping to get a decent offer from an NHL team that never came, the classy right wing will officially hang up his skates.
Hejduk, 37, told the Czech Republic newspaper Blesk that he plans to hold a press conference soon to make the announcement.
"I wanted to quit after the end of last season," he said. "But my agent told me not to be crazy, that maybe some interesting offer would show up. But I realized I did not want to move somewhere else."
Here's hoping the Avalanche eventually retires Hejduk's No. 23 to hang in the Pepsi Center rafters alongside those of Ray Bourque, Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote, Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic. He spent all 14 seasons of his NHL career in Colorado, ranks fourth in franchise history with 375 goals, fifth in assists with 430 and fourth in points with 805. He played in 1,020 regular-season games, second in team history to Sakic (1,378).
Team captain for the 2011-12 season, Hejduk won the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2002-03 with a league-best 50 goals and he tied Sakic's franchise record with 11 consecutive seasons of 20 or more goals. Hejduk is tied with former Quebec star Michel Goulet on the franchise list for playoff goals with 34, fifth in assists with 42 and fourth in points with 76 in 112 games, sixth on the franchise list.
Hejduk helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2001, he played in three NHL All-Star Games and was a member of three Olympic teams for the Czech Republic, winning a gold medal in 1998 and a bronze in 2006.
An outstanding player and a quiet leader, Hejduk is as nice and accommodating as any athlete you'll ever meet.