As we have been painfully aware, the Avs have struggled on the road this year. However, in their most recent road trip, they won all four of their contests and finally have a winning road record of 18-14-5. The Avs were coming off a three-game winning streak before the start of the trip and now have won eight in a row and are undefeated since the trade deadline on March 8th. While the Avs played intense, solid hockey, there might be another factor in recent wins: I was there. Well, for two out of the four.
In 2019, my dad and I traveled to see the Avs play in Montreal and decided we wanted to see all seven Canadian hockey teams play the Avs. Obviously, COVID put a bit of a damper on this idea, and we finally embarked on the quest again this year, traveling to Calgary and then Edmonton. The Avs first took on the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday, March 12th. The Saddledome is located in downtown Calgary and is part of Stampede Park for the annual Calgary Stampede, the event of the year according to Calgarians. Built in 1983 for the 1988 Winter Olympics, the Saddledome is one of the oldest NHL stadiums in the league and the oldest of all Canadian franchises. Only Madison Square Garden is older (1968) but has undergone significant renovations over the years, while the Saddledome has had few major improvements.
However, there is a certain charm about the old concrete stadiums; perhaps it's the nostalgia for the early days of the Avalanche in McNichols Arena, but I appreciate a no-frills stadium. I’m there to watch a hockey game, not sit in the clouds, because most of the arena is developed around club and suite levels. It’s bare bones, and that’s why we like it. It also helped that the Avs laid a 6-2 beat down on the Flames. Though, true to the Canadian ‘nice’ image, the fans accepted their defeat. We even got offered a coupon for a free popcorn from a Flames fan. Since the stadium sits in massive Stampede Park, there is not a lot of nightlife directly outside the stadium, and thus, we discovered that fans flock to the nearby Cowboy Casino for post-game festivities.
Upon speaking to local Calgarians, we learned that there aren’t a lot of tourist attractions in the city outside of the quintessential Calgary Tower, but as we ran into Coach Bednar on the streets, it was easy to say no tourist attraction would have superseded that. With its proximity to Banff, Calgary resembled Denver in many ways, including an extensive craft beer scene. A recent proposal has been approved to build a new Calgary Event Center, which will replace the decaying Saddledome and sit not far from the current structure.
While the Avs quickly left Calagry for a back-to-back in Vancouver, we stayed in Calgary another night. We wrongly assumed we could find the game on TV since the Avs played another Canadian team. However, we quickly learned that since the Oilders were playing, that was the in-market game and we couldn’t find the Avs anywhere. It was like we were back in Colorado, unable to watch the Avs. The Avs were trailing 3-0, and in a last-ditch effort, we went back to the Cowboy Casino, and even amongst the hoards of TVs, they couldn’t televise the game. However, once we arrived at the Casino, Mikko Rantanen scored in the final seconds of the second period, so we decided we should stay. MacKinnon and Colton then got goals to even the game during the third, and the game headed to OT. A mere 30 seconds into OT, Big Val brought in the game-winning goal with a deflection off his visor. After our experience in the city, I would return there. Great food (10 Foot Henry and St. James). Good beer (Banded Beak and Trolley 5). Views of the mountains and hockey; the only thing missing is my dog (and husband, of course).
With two wins on the road trip, spirits were high, and we rented a car to see Banff National Park. While not on the way to Edmonton, it was well worth the detour with its stunning scenery.
Trying Edmonton’s famous green onion cake…
Upon arriving in Edmonton, we saw the two major attractions: the Muttart Conservatory and the West Edmonton Mall, the largest mall in North America, so, like Calgary, there are only a few tourist attractions. We did try Edmonton’s staple, the green onion cake, and quickly realized trying it once would be enough. We then went to the J.W. Marriott located downtown next to the NHL stadium, Rodgers Place, and it happened to be where the Avs were staying. We arrived just in time for happy hour, saw Geiogiev, Landeskog, Parise, and Manson, and chatted with our favorite T.V. personality, Marc Moser. Attractions be damned, we’re only here for hockey anyways!
While most of downtown Edmonton could use a facelift, the Ice District surrounding Rodger’s Place is vibrant and new. Roger’s Place, not to be confused with Roger’s Arena in Vancouver and Toronto’s Roger’s Centre, the Canadian communications company sure has a lock on the arena market, was built in 2016. It replaced the aging coliseum northwest of downtown, where Gretzy led the team to four Stanley Cups from 1984-88, and had undergone several name changes, including Northlands Coliseum, the Edmonton Coliseum, Skyreach Center, and most recently, Rexall Place. In the inaugural season at Roger’s Place, the Oilers made the playoffs for the first time after an 11-year drought and have only failed to qualify twice since the opening. After visiting several other stadiums, Roger’s Place might be the nicest one I’ve been to. Though their lines for a drink could be better, I’m willing to overlook it since the bartender was an Avs fan.
The Oilers have continuously been ranked as the team to win the Cup this year, and when two of the best players in the league, MacKinnon and McDavid, match-up, we knew it would be a big game. This was likely the hardest of the four-game road trip, but it was also the one we wanted to win the most. In the first period, both teams played conservatively, and it wasn’t till halfway through the game that the FNG, Sean Walker, got the first goal for the Avs. The Oilers remained scoreless until the third, where they scored three goals (one was disallowed), and then Walker struck again to tie the game at three. The Avs entered overtime for the second game in a row, and after nearly five minutes of OT play, Lehkonen sniped one in with .5 seconds on the clock.
Okay, maybe the glorious win made me like Roger’s Place. If the outcome had been different, would I have thought differently of the stadium? Thankfully, we will never know.
That would conclude our Canadian tour for the Avs, my dad, and me. While we flew back to Denver, the team traveled to St. Louis, where they took on the Blues, who were on a four-game winning streak and trying to fight their way into the final wild-card spot for a playoff position. The game was back-and-forth, with the Avs trailing twice, but thanks to the Moose, who had his seventh-career hatrick, the Avs won 4-3—making a clean sweep on their road trip.
The Avs are now on a five-game home stretch to close out the month and have already beaten the defunct Columbus Blue Jackets 6-1, making it their eighth win in a row. My dad and I will have to wait until next season’s schedule is released to decide what Canadian City will be our next trip, where we hopefully will be the defending champions.