The Facts of Life

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have a nasty loss to the Stars yesterday.

Granted, the Avs were coming off of two outstanding games in the previous three days, but you have to wonder whether the team is going to have enough bodies in the lineup to continue their hot streak this week.

That and whether Joel Quenneville is hell bent on playing Theo every single game...because resting Theo for what turned out to be a 3-0 loss in the second game of a home and home series against the Stars would have made a difference...just thought I'd point that out.

After Saturday the Avs were primed to take the lead in the Northwest Division, then the injury report came out. And almost on cue Forsberg was gone with groin injury, Salei was dropped with an eye injury, and Adam Foote has a bad hip.

I'm glad we got the band back together...

I am getting a bit tired of writing glorious articles on the return of the Avalanche to respectability only to turn around the next day and see someone new on the injury report.

Is it a requisite that every important player in the NHL has to go out with at least one leg, groin or sports hernia injury every season? It has gotten to a point where I'm wondering if teams are going to start taking out additional groin, leg and hernia insurance on their stars.

This is why I'm starting a trend.

From now on I'm referring to any and all hockey injuries as "Gabbies", in honor of everyone's favorite perpetually injured superstar, Marian Gaborik.

Admittedly this trend of naming injuries after players started when I was in college and former Broncos offensive lineman Matt Lepsis was playing for CU as a tight end. Nearly every year Lepsis found his way on to the injured list with a malady du jour causing my friends and I to explain to others that "Matt hurt his Lepsis". This season, Matt's Lepsis finally hurt him so much that he felt it was time to retire. Bummer.

I think something like this needs to work its way into casual NHL terminology. So, for the foreseeable future Peter Forsberg is out with a nasty Gabby. Adam Foote is on the shelf with a Gabby of the hip. And Rusty Salei will be sitting with a Gabby of the eye.

I have to admit, it's got certain a ring to it.

Fortunately the Avalanche have a fairly light schedule this week featuring one away game at Atlanta, a homer against Edmonton, and finishing up with the Devils at the Can on Saturday. So they should at least get Foote back while allowing Forsberg to ice his Gabby and prepare for yet another return.

Now if the Avs can just make it through a week without losing someone of importance I might just have something new to write about. Yay.