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A few weeks ago, you could make a sure bet that the Colorado Avalanche were set to miss the playoffs for the second straight season. The Avs finished with 69 points last season, putting them in last spot in the Western Conference and 28th in the League behind the New York Islanders and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The jersey number of Joe Sakic, far right, is hoisted into place in the rafters of P bc football epsi Center next to other jerseys retired by the team during a ceremony to mark Sakic's retirement from the Colorado Avalanche before the team's home opener of the NHL season against the San Jose Sharks in Denver on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. (AP Photofont> So far that assumption is far from reality. With new coach Joe Sacco behind the bench replacing Tony Granato, the Colorado Avalanche are raisi bc football ng the eyebrows of almost every hockey analyst and pretty much every fan. With their impressive 8-1-2 start to the season, the Avs are pleasantly perched on the top of the Northwest Division and best in the West.Since moving to Denver, the Avalanche have won eight division titles and went to the playoffs in each of their first 10 seasons with the streak halting in 2007. The Avs are the first NHL t bc football eam in history to win the Stanley Cup the first year after relocating to a new city as they did from Quebec City in 1996. The Avalanche picked up their second franchise Stanley Cup in Denver in 2001. On July 8th of this year, veteran captain Joe Sakic officially announced his retirement from the game of hockey. He played 20 years in the NHL, 17 of them serving as captain for the Quebec Nordiques a bc football nd then the Colorado Avalanche. On October 1st 2009, the Avalanche retired his number in the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. His well-deserved career earned his jersey a spot in the rafters, joining goaltender Patrick Roy and Ray Bourque. Since the retirement, the -C- has been handed over to veteran Adam Foote. Foote and his teammates look to get the Avalanche back to the team they once were, on bc football top of the Western Conference. After a disappointing season, the Avalanche had to look forward. The bright side was they landed the third pick overall in the 2009 NHL entry draft. They didn-t have to think twice about selecting center Matt Duchene from the Brampton Battalion of the OHL, who had 79 points in 57 games last season. Their second round pick, (33rd overall) was center Ryan O-Reilly of bc football the Erie Otters of the OHL who totaled 66 points in 68 games last year. Not only did the Avs struggle offensively, finishing last in the leaque for goals scored, but their goaltending wasn-t exactly phenomenal either. Ever since hall-of-famer Patrick Roy, there-s been a hole between the pipes for the Avs. Peter Budaj was their starter last year with Andrew Raycroft as backup. When the Vancouve bc football r Canucks took Raycroft, the Avs knew it was time to find a new spark that would stay consistent throughout the year. That-s when Craig Anderson came in. Anderson played 31 games with the Florida Panthers last year and has played in 109 NHL games before joining the Avs. Anderson has been unbelievable so far for the Avs, starting in every game this season recording eight wins which leads NHL goalte bc football nders. He has one shutout and sits at a 2.14 GAA. Since the addition of youngsters Duchene and O-Reilly plus a new goaltender, the young team continues rolling along. This has been their best start since moving to Denver in 1995-96. The Avalanche temporarily lost their winning reputation and are determined to get it back and be the force they once were. bc football
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