One of the first rules of hockey: You’ll get no help on the out-of-town scoreboard when you really need it. Everything must be earned yourself.
There have been a few exceptions. In 2003, the Avs won a division title for a record ninth straight time on the last day of the regular season, by beating St. Louis at home, then awaiting the result of a late game between the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks. Only a Canucks loss in regulation would give the Avs the division title, and the Kings were not only terrible that season, they were decimated with injuries entering that game at Vancouver’s G.M. Place.
But somehow, Cristobal Huet shut out the Canucks 2-0, and the Avs had their record ninth straight division flag.
On Tuesday night, the Avs got no help on the scoreboard, as the St. Louis Blues leapfrogged them in the Western Conference playoff race with a 3-2 shootout win over San Jose. The Avs have 90 points, but the Blues have 91 now, and each team has six games remaining. The Avs can take a playoff spot back Wednesday night with a win over Philadelphia at home.
The Avs have lost two out of their last three games. In the two losses, to L.A. and Vegas, they were outscored a combined 11-2. Despite a 6-3-1 record overall in the last 10 games, it hasn’t been good enough to stay in the top eight. St. Louis is now 8-2-0 in its last 10.
The Avs and Blues play in the final game of the regular season, in Denver.
The Avs took the day off Tuesday. They have not been practicing much on off-days of late. They need to be ready to win against the Flyers, though, or else things might start looking pretty desperate.
Avs schedule from here:
Wed: Philly, 8 p.m.
Fri: Chicago, 7 p.m.
Sun: At Anaheim, 7 p.m.
Mon: At. L.A., 8:30 p.m.
Thurs: At San Jose, 8:30 p.m.
Sat: St. Louis, 7 p.m.
Blues schedule from here:
Fri: at Vegas
Sat: At Arizona
Mon: Washington
Wed: Chicago
Fri: At Chicago
Sat: At Colorado
0 Comments (6 conversations)
sokolonr
It’s going to come down to that last game and thank the hockey gods it’s at Pepsi Center
JDC15
Frittered away points, Van, Chic, Edm, Nash games all in the last month and half.
'@AvsFTW
I hope it comes down to the last game. I don’t have a good feeling 🙁
gtq
You can look at the opportunities the Avs have missed, but my God, in the last 10 days or so the Blues have won four games in overtime that they trailed in the third period in. These were 4 games they could have ZERO points in and they ended up with 8 points. We have seen similar late heroics from the Kings and Ducks in the last couple of weeks. So yes, you get no help along the way. We were down one goal to Vegas going into the 3rd period the other night and arguably outplaying them. Instead of going “all St. Louis” on them at the end we were dominated. The one thing are three competitors have in common is they can play a heavy game in the other team’s zone and in the third period that can make a difference. We can only play a finesse game. I am not saying I prefer one over the other, but this is what you see when you watch.
Mapletreemarty
Forget St. Louis until the last game of the year, right now we have a game in hand on the Ducks, with 1 pt. back. Absolutely need a win at home versus Philly tonight and Chicago Friday. Thanks last night to the Canucks for taking down the Ducks.
Apollo
I fear the Avs are toast. If they play anything like they have been all year (on the road and especially against the Pacific Division), they’ll lose at least 2 of those games on that west coast swing. I really hope they can prove me wrong but I’m not hopeful. I need to just keep reminding myself that they’re already doing much better than I thought they would this year, though, that’s no consolation when they’re so close to getting some playoff experience for the youth.