Avalanche Players Agree: This Is for Bourque

The Colorado Avalanche proved beyond a reasonable doubt in Game 7 last week against the Kings that it can deliver a clutch performance when needed.

Top-seeded Colorado had been pushed to the brink by the underdog Kings. And there was some question about the Avalanche’s mental toughness in Game 7s.

But Colorado showed its mettle in subduing the Kings, 5-1, and advancing to the Western Conference finals against the St. Louis Blues. The victory also ended a three-game losing streak in Game 7s.

In retrospect, perhaps there was something else at work last week in Denver. Call it unselfishness.

The Avalanche players, young and old alike, have taken it upon themselves to deliver a Stanley Cup championship to 40-year-old defenseman Ray Bourque, who could be playing his last season.

Bourque is difficult to miss in the team’s dressing room. He’s the one with the nearly all-gray goatee. He’s the one who looks more like the father of an Avalanche player than a superstar of the team. He’s the one with 22 seasons behind him, but no championships.

And he is the sentimental favorite of fans with no allegiance to any of the final four teams still in the hunt for the Cup.

“It’s not only in this dressing room, it’s all over the hockey world,” Colorado winger Alex Tanguay said when asked if he hopes to see Bourque at last hoist the Stanley Cup.

“Everyone wants to see that.”

The Avalanche got Bourque only as far as the conference finals last season, where the Dallas Stars torpedoed Colorado in seven hard-fought games.

Of course, it also is possible to say that Bourque got the Avalanche only as far as the conference finals last season. Pierre Lacroix, Colorado’s general manager, acquired Bourque late in his 21st season with the Boston Bruins to boost the Avalanche into the finals.

Bourque came up short last season. And, for a brief time last week, it appeared his leadership and dedication and skill and experience would not overcome the challenge of the Kings, who rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to force Game 7.

However, Bourque’s first point of the playoffs--on an assist of Rob Blake’s power-play goal--got the Avalanche rolling toward a lopsided victory in Game 7.

“He’s never won a Stanley Cup,” Tanguay said. “But you can see his passion and dedication and everybody here is trying to get into his frame of mind.”

You might think, after 22 regular seasons, Bourque would be entitled to a few perks--a day off while younger players practice, for instance. You would be wrong.

It’s remarkable to Tanguay, 21, that Bourque “after so long can still love the game and still play at such a high level.”

Blake, his defense partner for Game 7, says Bourque’s commitment to hard work never falters.

“He never takes a shift off,” said Blake, a former King, who was acquired Feb. 21 to bolster the Avalanche’s roster.

“He hasn’t slowed down and he’s still playing 30 minutes a game. But he’s pretty smart about it. He never extends his shifts too long. He’s got amazing recovery time. He needs only 10 or 15 seconds [of] rest and he’s right back out there.

“That’s how you should play the game. You should play as if every shift is your last shift.”

In Bourque’s case, each shift truly could be his last. His status for next season is uncertain. He said he will decide only after the Avalanche’s season is complete.

Of course, a Stanley Cup victory would make the season--and the career--complete for Bourque.

Coaching Merry-Go-Round

The Mighty Ducks are said to be interested in hiring Alain Vigneault, former Montreal Canadien coach, to replace Guy Charron, who was not asked back.

Vigneault said he has “a job right now as a scout for the Blues.”

The Ottawa Sun reported last week that Vigneault is a top candidate in Anaheim. General Manager Pierre Gauthier will not comment on possible candidates.

The Chicago Blackhawks’ hiring of Brian Sutter as their coach is a bit of a puzzler. Sutter is an old-time coach charged with leading a strong-skating, European-style team. You have to wonder about the fit.

The Boston Bruins’ hiring of Robbie Ftorek to replace Mike Keenan isn’t as much of a head-scratcher. However, you might recall that the New Jersey Devils fired Ftorek late in the 1999-2000 season and replaced him with Larry Robinson, who led the team to the Stanley Cup championship.

Buh-Bye, Maple Laffs

Maybe the best thing to happen so far in the playoffs was the second-round exit of the churlish Maple Leafs.

It’s been a while, but Tie Domi’s senseless elbowing of New Jersey’s Scott Niedermayer should not pass without comment. Nor should Coach Pat Quinn’s roughing of a Toronto photographer.

Domi and Quinn were penalized for their actions, but you wonder when the league finally will tire of this sort of dumb and dumber act and throw the book at offenders.

Quinn is in double trouble here, first, by putting tough guy Domi on the ice in the fading seconds of a victory. Second, by overreacting to the photographer taking Domi’s picture.

The good news is that Niedermayer, having recovered from a concussion, hopes to play tonight in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals series.