Avs see sellout streak get away

Big news here in Denver this morning (apart from the impending snow storm which has me worried as my snow tires aren't in stock yet) is that the Avs sellout streak, the longest in Hockey, ended last night at the grand total of 487 games. Slightly related was the shock I got on Sunday when watching Newcastle on tv, with an attendance noted around 48,000 people, instead of the usual 52 or 53k.

Given how many top quality players have left the ranks of the Avs in the last few seasons (think Forsberg, Blake, Foote, Tanguay etc etc), it's hardly surprising that the results haven't been up to what the public expects. We were actually at the game last night, where we managed to get off to the spectacular start, falling 3-0 behind, before rallying back to 3-3 and then letting it slip again. I realize that the team got hit pretty hard with the salary cap, but last night it looked like there was a lot of sloppy passing, and we're definitely not strong enough on defence to mount a reasonable challenge this year. I guess the one saving grace is that it appears we have a little space to get some extra players in, but whether we will or not is a different matter.

Anyway, it was nice to see them live again, even after the loss, so thanks to my fantastic wife for the tix.

DenverPost.com - Avs see sellout streak get away