Rinkside with Aarif Deen

The Avalanche are back from the holiday break with two big wins to kick off a busy January schedule. Aarif and J.J. break down Tuesday's victory over the Chicago Blackhawks and focus most of their time on the Cale Makar overtime game-winning goal that dazzled the hockey world. They also look back at Sunday's come-from-behind win over the Anaheim Ducks and how the team has fared since returning fro...

On today's special edition episode, Aarif and JJ wrap up the calendar year of 2021 with the top stories surrounding the Avalanche from the past 12 months. They also share their favorite memories of the year and predict some of the outcomes we could see in 2022. The guys also share updates from Colorado's practice on Friday and discuss what the lineup could look like when the team returns to play o...

The Avalanche are back and prepping for Wednesday's game after an extended holiday break. Aarif and J.J. have all the roster updates after Sunday's practice, including guys in COVID protocol and their return dates, upcoming call ups, the goaltending situation and the return of taxi squads. The guys then prepare early 2022 new years resolutions for a number of players on the team before closing out...

Following the Avalanche's COVID shutdown, Aarif and JJ breakdown everything that happened on a strange Thursday night in Nashville and why the NHL had no choice but to postpone Colorado's next four games. The guys also discuss what the league should do amid the latest COVID outbreak and if testing rules need to be loosened given the number of asymptomatic players that are testing positive. Should...

The Avalanche defeated the New York Rangers for the second time in a week and the band is back together to chat about their recent stretch of play. JJ returns from vacation to give Aarif a rapid-fire of 10 players, discussing how their seasons have gone to date. The guys also break down the COVID surge around the NHL, the Olympics and if the league should participate in them and a preview of the A...

Coming off the Avalanche's 7-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, Aarif is joined by Avs beat reporters Peter Baugh of The Athletic and Kate Shefte of the Colorado Sports Gazette for a roundtable edition of the podcast. They discuss the Avalanche's recent offensive success, their mishaps defensively and goaltending inconsistencies. They also have conversations about what's next between the pipes...

Coming off another high-scoring affair in Philadelphia, the Avalanche are set to complete their five-game road trip at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Aarif and guest co-host Patrick Stedman break down Colorado's 7-5 victory, which followed a 6-5 overtime loss in Ottawa. They talk Justus Annunen's debut, Cale Makar's insane goal and the Avs' shorthanded goal-scoring prowess. Aarif then specula...

The Avalanche bounced back against the Montreal Canadiens after a forgettable day in Toronto. Aarif comes to you live from Toronto on Friday to recap both games on this rare solo edition of the podcast. With JJ on vacation, Aarif traveled to Toronto to cover Wednesday's game live from Scotiabank Arena. He breaks down the Darcy Kuemper injury and how the emergency goalie Jett Alexander's story unfo...

The Avalanche are headed to Toronto after a great bounceback effort against Nashville. Aarif and JJ recap the month of November as well as the Avs' past three games. The guys also preview the upcoming road trip, starting with perhaps the biggest game on the NHL calendar to date on Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. With both teams playing at the top of their game, Aarif and JJ share their...

The Avalanche scored seven goals for the third time during their five-game winning streak. Aarif and JJ breakdown the 7-5 victory over the Ottawa Senators and the strange back-and-forth game that was. They also highlight various top performers which once again includes Nazem Kadri and Cale Makar as well as Valeri Nichushkin and Devon Toews. The guys then talk Jared Bednar tying Bob Hartley in all-...

The Avalanche went into Seattle for their first ever matchup against the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena and scored seven goals. Aarif and JJ break down the decision to not start Philipp Grubauer against his former team only to have him enter the game and surrender three goals. The guys also shout out a number of Avs players for strong individual performances, including Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsk...

The Avalanche won their third straight game for the first time all season led by another three-point effort from Nazem Kadri. Aarif and JJ break down the special teams dominance, particularly the power play, before getting into the frustrations that led to a number of calls against Vancouver. The guys then highlight Kadri's recent stretch of excellence and how he's having one of the best seasons o...

After a shaky start to the season, all seems to be going well again for the Avalanche. Aarif and JJ break down the teams' last two wins, which consisted of 13 goals for and only three against. The guys discuss the power play and the penalty kill, which combined for five of those goals, as well as Darcy Kuemper's steadiness in net. They also discuss injuries to Bowen Byram and J.T. Compher before s...

Aarif Deen and producer Patrick Stedman joined The Hockey Show's JJ Jerez for a mashup of Hockey Mountain High: Your go-to Avalanche Podcast live on Mile High Sports radio. The guys chatted about some of the teams that have impressed around the league, The Dallas Stars' poor start to the year and previewed Colorado's game against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. They also broke news live on the sh...

The Avalanche blew another 2-1 third-period lead and lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The show starts with a recap of the loss before reviewing the Avs' first 10 games of the season as a whole. Aarif and JJ share their thoughts on all the inconsistencies around the team from injuries, to line combinations, long breaks between games and their on-ice play. The guys then break down some highs and l...

The Avalanche were called out after Wednesday's loss by their coach for giving up five preventable goals. JJ and Aarif break down each of the lapses that led to Colorado's defeat where it blew a two-goal lead in the first of two games against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The guys then discuss the fallout of Gary Bettman's press conference on Monday, Jack Eichel's trade to Vegas and reinforcements th...

The Avalanche bounced back in a big way with two wins over their division rivals to get to .500 on the season. Aarif and JJ start the show with a recap of Saturday's victory over Minnesota and who stuck out on the ice. They specifically touch on big performances from Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Erik Johnson and Darcy Kuemper. They also discuss the dirty hit on Bowen Byram before breaking...

From Aarif and JJ: Before any hockey is discussed, we'd like to take a moment to apologize to Kyle Beach. The hockey world failed you. We hope you feel vindicated by what's been shared with the world this week and the fallout of what's to come when hopefully everyone else who was involved is held accountable. Thank you for being an inspiration. The show starts with thoughts on Beach coming forward...

The Avalanche close out their road trip with a shootout victory in Tampa Bay to end a three-game losing streak. Aarif and JJ discuss all the good habits the team started to develop in order to earn the two points. The guys also review the loss against the Florida Panthers and some of the consistency issues facing the team. They also take a deep dive into Dary Kuemper's first four games with the Av...

Star center Nathan MacKinnon finally escaped COVID protocol and made his season debut but it was about as forgettable a game as he's ever had. Aarif and JJ review the Avalanche's 6-3 loss in Washington and MacKinnon's poor performance. The guys also break down the team's efforts through three games and if it's too early to panic. The show ends with a conversation about Jack Eichel and the report f...

The Avalanche honored the architect of their two Stanley Cups, former team president and general manager Pierre Lacroix on Saturday at Ball Arena. Aarif shares his experience of covering the banner-raising ceremony, talking to former Avs legends Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote, and how Lacroix has shaped the way the organization is still run today. The guys then break down the 5-3 loss to St. Louis...

The Avalanche were victorious on opening night and the guys are here to share their thoughts on how it all unfolded. JJ and Aarif talk about the in-arena pre-game show, which players stuck out and specifically Darcy Kuemper's excellence in his Avs debut. The guys also talk in length about J.T. Compher, Jack Johnson and Bowen Byram. The show ends with thoughts on the Gabriel Landeskog two-game susp...

Opening night is finally here but the Avalanche will be without their star center Nathan MacKinnon and head coach Jared Bednar to start the season. JJ and Aarif discuss the upsetting news before recapping the Joe Sakic press conference on the eve of Wednesday's game. The guys also give updates on Pavel Francouz and Devon Toews and praise Jack Johnson for earning a contract. The show ends with a fu...

Hockey Mountain High opens the show by breaking down Pavel Francouz's lower-body injury before getting into Nazem Kadri and Jared Bednar's comments post-game about the goalie. Aarif then details what he reported Wednesday morning about Pavel Francouz after seeing him without a boot or brace in Denver. The guys then turn their attention to the remaining training camp battles and break down who coul...

There's actual hockey to review! The Avalanche are two games into the preseason and the guys are here to break it all down. Aarif and JJ highlight the best (and worst) individual performances from Erik Johnson, Darcy Kuemper, Nazem Kadri and Oskar Olausson among others before getting into the play that led to an enraged Gabriel Landeskog against Minnesota. The guys also share their thoughts on Sam...