All I can say is, Turco was brilliant--Leddy was so-so. Mainly because Leddy couldn't handle a short pass that bounced off of his stick and skates and was then picked up by one of the Avs. They then scored their first goal on that breakaway.

Some solace can be taken for three reasons:

1) Hawks came back from a 3-1 deficit to tie it, forcing overtime.

2) In the NHL, you can get a point in the standings for losing, so long as it is in overtime.

3) In the Stanley Cup run last year, the Hawks lost their opener to the Florida Panthers in a shootout in Helsinki. The PANTHERS. Losing to the Avalanche is much less shameful, particularly on the road in their home, the Pepsi Center.