January 26, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Scott Gomez (23) tries to score in the third period against Colorado Avalanche goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere (35) at HP Pavilion. San Jose won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton.

Among Avalanche fans in my Twitter timeline, it was almost unanimously agreed upon yesterday that the Avalanche got screwed by the refs during yesterday’s game in San Jose, when Ryan O’Byrne was given 19 mins in penalty time after immediately and spontaneously defending Gabe Landeskog following Brad Stuart‘s hit.  While I agree that it is unfair to award the Sharks with a 4 min PP after an illegal hit (and yes, it was illegal), but the refs did not decide the game.

What decided the game was the Avs craptastic special teams.  The Avs went 0 for 2 on the PP and 3 for 6 on the PK.  Unfortunately, after 4 games, this appears to be a trend, not an outlier.  Let’s just look at some stats:

Penalty Kill: 20 for 25: 80%.  

• Home: 12 for 12: 100%
• Road: 8 for 13: 61.5%  (and keep in mind, San Jose scored immediately after one of those 8 kills)

Power Play: 1 for 12: 8.3%

• Home: 1 for 7: 14.3%
• Road: 0 for 5: 0%

After 4 games, the Colorado Avalanche sit at 2-2, gathering 4 of an available 8 points.  In the uber-competitive cauldron that is the Western Conference of the NHL, average is likely to leave you on the outside looking in when the playoffs begin this May.

In seemingly unrelated news, earlier this week, NHL teams, including the Colorado Avalanche, released their yearly headshots.  (PS – check out Brett Burns!!!)

Question: What happens when you mix test surveys and Avalanche headshots?  Answer: Blogging magic.

I surveyed 14 women and asked them to rate the hotness of each Avalanche player on a zero to 50 scale, using this year’s headshots.  Its important to note that most of the survey takers were not hockey fans – so the players talent level was not a factor (which the results show).

So, without further adieu…

HOT:

3. Chuck Kobasew: Direct quote from one survey taker:  ”I am publicly announcing that Kobasew is dreamy with those broken eyes.”

2. Steve Downie: Must be the long hair…

The most attractive Avs player is:

1. Gabriel Landeskog: Freakin’ Swedes.  BTW – If you ever want to be angry with God, just consider Landeskog’s fellow countryman Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist – not only is he talented enough to be one of the very best goalies in the world, he’s also unbelievably attractive (just ask your girlfriend).  I’d gladly take one of those things.

NOT:

3. Jamie McGinn: Sorry, Jamie.  You are more attractive than two other players on the team, but less attractive than that ginger Cody McLeod.

2. Milan Hejduk: I guess its hard to hang with the young guys when you’re the old man on the team in more ways than one.

The least attractive Avs player is:

1. Greg Zanon: The Avs blogosphere might be in love with your epic beard, but the ladies are not.

Complete Results: