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(Getty Images)After their season opening loss to the Boston Bruins, the Colorado Avalanche are in Edmonton tonight as the Oilers open their season at home. The Oilers have had a quite a wait to start their season and should be raring to go...

Avalanche @ Oilers - Game 2, Preview

by Shane Giroux (Columnist)

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Sports

October 12, 2008

Peter Budaj and his new Hulk mask
(Getty Images)
After their season opening loss to the Boston Bruins, the Colorado Avalanche are in Edmonton tonight as the Oilers open their season at home. The Oilers have had a quite a wait to start their season and should be raring to go.

And if Thursday's game was any indication, this one should be as exciting as they come. The Avs are coming hard under Tony Granato's new high-flying philosophy and the Oilers should respond with much of the same.

A great offense starts with a great defense
The high-flying style came with a cost on Thursday as the Avalanche gave up lot of odd-man rushes. Hopefully Granato has settled the team down and sorted out any confusion in their defensive zone. 

For all the hustle out there, the team looked a bit lost down low, often losing assignments and leaving far too much space for the Bruins to operate. If they leave that amount of space for speedy players like Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner, it's going to be another tough night for Peter Budaj.
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Budaj looking for vindication
Budaj was tossed under the bus by a few members of the media and I'm sure he's anxious to vindicate himself after a self-professed sub-par performance. 

After posting stellar numbers in the postseason, Budaj has opened up the regular season with a .750 save percentage and a 5.08 GAA. Some will say that the loss hurts most of all but I think those numbers have an equal sting - or is it stink - to them? But I still believe. 

Avs look to build on positives
An article on the main web site yesterday indicated the team is looking to build on the positives from game on. Building on positives is always a good - if not cliched - way to go. Hopefully they don't forget to take care of those pesky negatives as well.

Footer hits 1000
Adam Foote will be playing in his 1000th game which is quite a feat. Too bad a couple of those a couple seasons worth of games had to be spent away from the Avalanche but he's back home now.

Game Time and Coverage
The game starts at 8:00pm ET, 6:00pm MT and, for myself, is live on Sportsnet. For fans not in Western Canada, it will be live on Altitude as they kick off their television coverage. Unfortunately, neither network will be providing the feed in hi-def. So sad.

Related Links
ColoradoAvalanche.com Preview
Avs look to build on positives
Game 1 leftover thoughts

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About the Author Shane Giroux (columnist)

  • 151 articles written
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