If the puck never reaches the net, it won't go in, and the Avalanche know it. It's a philosophy they live by. In last night's 3-1 victory over the Devils, Rob Blake and Co. blocked 18 shots. In Game 1, they blocked 17 and in Game 2, they blocked 14. It's easy math -- that's 49 shots on goal that never reached Patrick Roy, 49 saves that Saint Patrick never had to make. Life for a goalie is much easier when the guys in front of him lighten his load.

But throwing your body in front of 90 mph slap shots night after night, series after series isn't easy for anybody. "It never feels good," says Avs winger Shjon Podein. "But that's the character of this team."

Blocking a shot isn't always a frantic, last-ditch effort to stop the puck from reaching the net. Believe it or not, there is a technique. It's difficult for a player to block a shot without pulling himself desperately out of position, and some guys are better at it than others.

"You have to decide if you're going to go feet-first or headfirst," says Avs defenseman Jon Klemm. "You don't want it to hit the back of your legs or your back where there's no padding. You want it to hit your shin pads or your pants. But, you're never sure where it will hit, so you just try to get something into the shooting lane."

Every player hopes that something won't be his head, and every player knows that something will hurt later on.

"It always hurts," says Klemm, "but if you win, it doesn't hurt as much."

Lindsay Berra is covering the NHL playoffs for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail lindsay.berra@espnmag.com.