A seemingly harmless body check, during a meaningless game against the Los Angeles Kings, was enough to change the culture of the Avalanche's lineup for the foreseeable future.
The concussion left wing Peter Mueller—known Mark Messier helmet advocate—sustained in the Avalanche's second pre-season game, has negatively impacted the team, through it's first four games.
Regular line-mate, Matt Duchene, has had to play with bizarre combinations in the wake of Mueller's injury, including a duo of rock-and-sock 'em grinders, in Daniel Winnik and Cody McLeod. Duchene's other set of line-mates, Brandon Yip and David Jones, have been on-again, off-again players in their short careers. Four of their combined five points coming in the 4-3 shootout win against Detroit.
Not exactly the ideal situation for a player the Avalanche view as a large part of their franchise, taking the 19 year old stand out third overall in 2009.
Additionally, Colorado's already pedestrian power play, has sunk to new low, capitalizing on only 2 of it's first 14 chances, while allowing two short-handed goals. Mueller's replacement on the blue line, defenseman K ...
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Article written by James Crider
Colorado Avalanche: Peter Mueller’s Calamity Still Affecting Avalanche
October 15th, 2010 by James Crider Leave a reply »
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