After taking four days off, the Avalanche sit one point out of the eight team playoff field and only eight points out of first place. The bottom three teams in the conference have played themselves out of the race, meaning that 12 teams are still alive in the Western Conference.
Western Conference Standings 1/6/12 (ESPN)
When looking at the teams ahead of the Avalanche, the for best teams in the West are: Vancouver, Chicago, San Jose and Detroit. Vancouver still has two starting goalies, which has created a minor controversy, but they could trade either of them and become a more powerful team. Chicago is not the team that won the Stanley Cup, but is still rich with talent including Toews and Kane. The San Jose Sharks are the same regular season threat that has yet to prove that they can make it to the Stanley Cup finals. And despite their old age, the Red Wings continue to be a force in the league.
Los Angeles, personnel wise, is the next best team in the West. They are currently on a resurgence with only one loss since Darryl Sutter assumed the team’s coaching duties. Will they be able to maintain this pace and compete? It depends on the locker room dynamic.
St. Louis and Nashville both have talented rosters but have yet to prove themselves. The Blues just do not seem to have the focus to compete long term for a top spot in the Western Conference. The Predators are a one hit wonder right now because of the players they will have to dump with salary cap issues coming up in the next season.
Of the remaining spots, Dallas and Phoenix will both continue to play well, but have played about average the last month or so. Minnesota has been on a downward spiral and will most likely land out of the playoffs if things do not turn around. Calgary will not be in the playoffs, they are barely still in the conversation.
As for the Avalanche, they are the only team in the West to win eight out of their last ten games. To compete for a playoff spot, they need to just continue to play hard every night and hope they can maintain their scoring with Matt Duchene out with an injury. The team has to stay with the pack though to compete.
I think the bottom four playoff spots are still up for grabs and if any team has a bad ten games, it could be all over. With half the season to go, the intensity of the games will heat up drastically. For the Avalanche, they looked to be finished a month ago. Now it feels like they have a shot.
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Absolutely, the Wild will continue to fall and Phoenix can’t keep up its stellar goaltending all season from two backups…. Avs will only have to outplay Dallas the rest of the way
If they continue to play like they did last night, they should keep things interesting!