Opening Night for the Avs actually started during the morning of October 1st with the installation of the “Joe Sakic Way” sign at 19th and Market streets in downtown Denver. News crews and a handful of fans bore witness to the haphazard job street crews did at 9:19 am. The sign was put up crookedly, and thanks to a broken level, wasn’t noticed until the guys declared the job finished. The 30 minute process was the perfect start to Joe Sakic Day (as declared by Governor Ritter) and the month of “Hocktober” (as declared by the hockey faithful on Twitter).
After a few celebratory Molsons and Jose (for Joe) with some fellow fans at Braun’s across the street from Pepsi Center, I made my way to the arena. Now, I know a lot of fans wear jerseys to games, but this was by far the most Avs/Nordiques jerseys (and a Tim Thomas Bruins one oddly enough) I have ever seen at one time. The fans really showed up to support Joe Sakic on his special night.
The ceremony was long, but not too long. Sakic’s entrance into the arena was shown on the jumbotron. As he made his way through the locker room to say hello to the staff and players, he was greeted by his locker room stall fully outfitted and enshrined in glass.
“They didn’t even give me a heads-up on that,” Sakic said. “When I walked in the room and saw that, I did a double-take. Honestly, when I saw that, I almost broke down. I got a chance to really look at it (after the ceremony). Never in my life or in my dreams could I imagine that. That’s something I really appreciate.”
Pierre Lacroix mentioned later in the ceremony that the shrine will stay intact as long as the Avs play at Pepsi Center.
Former teammate Alexei Gusarov (Goose!) presented Sakic with a painting of Super Joe hoisting the Cup, Avs owner Stan Kroenke and Lacroix gave him a painting of the Rocky Mountains, and the crowd gave multiple standing ovations and chants of “Super Joe”. The entire ceremony was well done and never got cheesy or overblown. Classy and humble, just like Mr. Sakic.
Then there was a hockey game!
The visiting San Jose Sharks, with their new captain Rob Blake, looked atrocious. The Avs were able to kill off a full 2 minute 5 on 3, Nabokov was very shaky, and the Avs consistently won puck battles throughout the game. With scoring coming from Wolski (2), McLeod (1), Tucker (1), and Liles (1), it truly was a whole team effort.
While the Avalanche outplayed the Sharks all night, there are still some worrisome spots on the roster. As usual, the Avs PK looked lazy and scrambling. There really needs to be some emphasis on puck clearing and effort in the defensive zone. Craig Anderson made up for a lot of mistakes the team made in their own zone with 38 saves, some of which were pretty dazzling.
Matt Duchene also stood out in his NHL debut. While he didn’t score a goal, he sure got close a few times. The chances that came off of the rookie’s stick were so good, you could feel and hear everyone in the crown tense up and hold their breath when he got the puck throughout the night. He did grab his first NHL point from an assist off of Liles’ goal in period 2.
Scott Hannan looked lazy, plain and simple. When you are playing opening night, after a jersey retirement ceremony no less, there is no excuse for the kind of effort he exhibited last night. I hope he’s gone before the trade deadline.
The Avs did a great job starting off the regular season, and I am actually excited to see how this team is going to fare with the new players, new captain, and new management. It all could have been just the shot in the arm the team needed.