How the Avalanche rose from the dead to maybe still make the playoffs

Taps were played, the last shovel of dirt was heaved at the coffin and the Colorado Avalanche of 2018-19 was given a proper burial, about a week ago. The Avs were declared dead after a home loss to Anaheim last week, with all attention now on the April 9 NHL draft lottery.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Proclamations of the Avs’ death, well they were unjust.

Colorado beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 Thursday might, moving the Avs back into a tie on points with the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Both teams have eight games to go in the regular season, including once against each other.

How did this sudden turnabout happen? Well, first off, let’s give thanks to teams like Florida and Tampa Bay, who have knocked the Coyotes down a peg the last couple games, allowing the Avs to gain ground on them with wins.

Second off, one word:

GROOOOOOOOOOOOB.

So, this is why the Avs bought out the last year of Brooks Orpik’s contract, plus gave up a second-round pick, to get Philipp Grubauer from Washington.

Philipp GROOOO-Bauer was UUUUUUUGE for the Avs again in this one. He was just outstanding in stopping 44 shots. Aside from a fluky goal toward the end, Grubauer was a wall in upping his saves percentage from the .980 it had been his previous five starts. Quick, agile, composed, confident. Those are just four of the positive adjectives that could be tossed Grubauer’s way in this one. He is now the Avs’ No. 1 goalie, in case there was any confusion.

An opportunistic offense got the job done for the win. Erik Johnson leaned into a slap shot, after an outstanding Sam Girard cross pass, to break a scoreless tie in the second. Tyson Barrie, off another dish by Girard, snuck a wrister under the right arm of Ben Bishop to make it 2-0 in the third. Dallas got a late, lucky goal, but Carl Soderberg got a puck in the Avs’ zone and put it into an empty net from about 150 feet to seal it.

There is bad new, though: Mikko Rantanen may be hurt. He took a hit along the boards from Stars forward Joel L’Esperance in the third period, left the game in pain, and didn’t return. He was favoring his left side upon departure. Is it his hip? Shoulder? Ribs?

By the replays, it was hard to tell. And, as usual, the Avs had a “we’ll know more tomorrow” medical prognosis after the game. If the Avs lose No. 96, it will be really bad news. Say your prayers, Avs fans.

OTHER TAKEAWAYS

• That right pad stop by Grubauer on Jamie Benn in the third period, when it was 2-0? That was the play of the game in my opinion. What a save. Yeah, Benn could have just lifted the puck and probably scored, but Grooby was great there.
• Girard was tremendous. He’s elevated his game in the last couple weeks. That pass to Barrie on the game-winner was a really intelligent play.
• Now, it’s back-to-back games with Chicago, Saturday and Sunday. Man, if you were told earlier in the year a playoff berth might come down to wins against Chicago, you’d take it, right? But the Avs have had just tons of trouble with the Blackhawks this year.
• Using seven defensemen has worked for Jared Bednar, since he started using Ryan Graves as the seventh. The D looks fresher and the Avs certainly aren’t missing much when it comes to depth scoring without one of those recent fourth-liners who now find themselves scratched.
• The worry about Rantanen is that he’ll have a rib injury. If any rib gets cracked, you’re looking usually at a minimum of 4-5 weeks. Mark Rycroft seemed to suggest Rantanen might have a rib injury, on the postgame telecast. Let’s hope it’s not that bad. Let’s really hope.
• Remember how (before burying the Avs after that loss to Anaheim) I wrote that this team often plays better when everybody has counted them out, and/or after a big injury occurs, like the one to Landeskog? They just play a bit better when they are underdogs. Now, they are back in something of a catbird’s seat, though, with just having to beat Chicago on Saturday to really get things excited. Can they play when good things are expected of them? Or, will they take it easier somehow and play a flat game Saturday? We shall see. But, it’s nice to have games that matter again, eh?