The Avalanche are back in the Western Conference final for the first time in 20 years thanks to their forward depth. The St Louis Blues got to play the sacrifice as the Avs finally slew their Round 2 demons. https://youtu.be/yADuV00FWYs

At morning skate today, every member of the media that I talked to said roughly the same thing, “I can’t believe we’re back here.” Halfway through Game 5, everybody was making plans for what they would do with their days off in between series, and obviously you know what happened next. So there we were, sitting inside the Enterprise Center…...

In a tough loss that likely spells the end of any playoff contention hopes the Sharks fall short against the best team in the west despite a heroic performance from Tomas Hertl to keep it interesting. https://youtu.be/_8aL4gWY9ec

The Avs continue to make winning look easy against the weaker teams in the west, with top-end talent that other teams just can’t handle most nights don’t require maximum effort. https://youtu.be/RhEdZExNhiw

A glitch in the matrix perhaps? Two 7 – 3 games with fairly similar storylines one after the other leads the Avs to feel quite good about themselves but Rudo may be stuck on repeat. https://youtu.be/jbl4pTYdVdw

The Avs are right back to chaotic hockey as they manage to squeak a point out of Ottawa. With problems hitting them before the game even began the uphill battle was not made any easier by the reffing but the loss still ultimately falls on the Avs own faults. https://youtu.be/Rb14_GPQEdo

The Avs have well over half a dozen forwards that are likely to see time on the fourth line this season. With those spots mostly locked up for opening night, the question becomes what is it going to take to earn an opportunity and who is going to take advantage of it? https://youtu.be/pl3z1rPGRo8