:: Avalanche 7, Blues 3 ::

A confident and casual Chris Stewart beat Blues goaltender Ty Conklin on a penalty shot, which notched the Avalanche’s first hat trick in a stunning 199 games and helped Colorado cruise to a 7-3 win over St. Louis Saturday night at Pepsi Center.

The win sets up an epic battle for the lead in the Northwest Division on Tuesday, when the good ol’ Vancouver Canucks come to town. The Avalanche Guild is hosting an AFTER-HOURS GAME and therefore have discounted ticket options available for anyone who would like to support our adult hockey programs.

The latest post on ALL THINGS AVS wonders about Peter Mueller’s development and potential in comparison to his rookie season output. Mueller actually extended his point streak to three games on Saturday night, so it looks like fresh faces in new places has worked for both he and Wojtek Wolski, who scored another goal (vs. Anaheim) in his second game with the Coyotes.

THE AVALANGELIST recaps the blow out and reminds everyone that Sunday is the annual Avalanche Charity Brunch event. AVS PROSPECTS has a piece of good news for a recently-drafted defensemen and MILE HIGH HOCKEY has Mike on game recap duties.

THE BURGUNDY BLOG has a quality game recap and made sure to poke fun of Chris Mason, who was pulled in the second period and stormed down the Blues’ runway and was seen trying smash the stick rack out of frustration.

How many times have you heard someone say, “A picture is worth 1,000 words…” before? Well, REAL DENVER SPORTS made a post after the game that lives vicariously through the phrase. Nice job X’ing out Jimmy Howard, too.

And to wrap things up for the big win, ANYONE BUT DETROIT posted some good tidbits on Stewart’s effectiveness and how strong Stephane Yelle looked during a couple of crucial penalty kills.

This was a sensational game for the Colorado Avalanche and I was once again extremely impressed with rookie T.J. Galiardi. The hit he made on Erik Johnson behind Chris Mason’s net in the first period was the exact type of play you wanted to see out of Wojtek Wolski but never really did. Here’s why it was such an important play and why it was the highlight of my scouting notes:

Nothing is more valuable to a team’s overall forecheck than a winger that embraces taking the body. When a forward can separate the puck carrier from the puck and force a turnover, he’s killing two birds with one stone. First, he eliminates the player from being able to retrieve that puck, block a pass or fill a passing lane. Secondly, he re-establishes possession of the puck and can then create scoring opportunities from there, while the eliminated player must scramble to recover and get back into position.

So not only did Galiardi force a turnover, but he eliminated Johnson from the play and that created an odd-man scoring chance right behind the net. The puck is quickly centered to Chris Stewart, who scores to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead. It was a momentum-shifting body check from a highly-skilled rookie and a play that cannot go unnoticed. That type of physical play has been missing from the Avalanche’s repetoire for years and it needs to be re-established if they hope to be successful in the playoffs. 

I also wanted to point out from my scouting notes the confidence that Stewart displayed in this game. If you watched his reactions and focused on his demeanor during the game, he just had that swagger in his stride and you can really tell he’s believing in himself and his abilities. Another sign he has a lot of confidence right now was seen in his penalty shot goal on Conklin. He cruised in with a calmness that you don’t usually see in a situation like that, regardless of a lop-sided score.

I’m really looking forward to Monday’s AVALANCHE WEEKLY radio show. I hope that many of you will try to tune in starting at 6:00p on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1510. This is a call-in show, so if any members of the Blogger Network want to be a part of the show, we will promote your blog and give you a few minutes on the air! We have had Aaron Musick on the show a handful of times, so tune in and get great Avalanche insight every Monday with myself and Mike Haynes from Altitude TV!