Mile High Sticking
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Colorado Avalanche: Playoffs Will Depend on California Road Trip

By Ross Kleppe

ST. PAUL, MN - MARCH 13: Colorado Avalanche Defenceman Tyson Barrie (4), Colorado Avalanche Center Nathan MacKinnon (29), and Colorado Avalanche Right Wing Mikko Rantanen (96) hug Colorado Avalanche Center Tyson Jost (17) after his 3rd period goal during a NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche on March 13, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. The Avalanche defeated the Wild 5-1.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - MARCH 13: Colorado Avalanche Defenceman Tyson Barrie (4), Colorado Avalanche Center Nathan MacKinnon (29), and Colorado Avalanche Right Wing Mikko Rantanen (96) hug Colorado Avalanche Center Tyson Jost (17) after his 3rd period goal during a NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche on March 13, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. The Avalanche defeated the Wild 5-1.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Colorado Avalanche have one final road trip this season for the playoff push, and it’s against the California teams. These games are rather important. 

The 2017-2018 season is winding down and somehow, someway, the Colorado Avalanche are in a playoff spot. It’s still a little crazy to me, but here we are. It’s been a while since Avs fans have seen playoff hockey and I can’t wait to see it again.

That being said, there still are just over two weeks left in the regular season and the Avs are by no means a lock for a playoff spot. All within a few points of the Avalanche are the San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues. The Calgary Flames are six points back, but even they aren’t out of contention yet.

There are so many teams fighting for only a few playoff spots. Of course every game will be key, but I look at games 79, 80 and 81 of the Avs schedule as the most important. They play the Ducks on Apr. 1, the Kings on Apr. 2 and the Sharks on Apr. 5., and they’re all on the road.

It’s no secret the Avalanche are a dominant team at the Pepsi Center. Jared Bednar can have the matchups he wants and keep the Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog line away from the opposition’s top shutdown center or line. That line can have a field day and light any team up at home.

The problem comes on the road. The Avalanche are 14-16-6 on the road, and those last three road games will be critical.

The Avs are 2-0 against the Ducks this season, but both of those games were at home. They are 0-1 against the Kings and play them two more times, once at home and on the season-ending road trip. Against the Sharks, they are 2-0, playing both games at home. Each team presents  similar challenges for the Avs.

The Ducks, Kings, and Sharks all have had recent deep playoff runs. These are tough and battle tested teams. Only Landeskog, MacKinnon, Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie and Semyon Varlomov have any memory of the playoffs with the Avs, and that was 4 years ago.

Playing in playoff atmosphere-type games is not something this young team is used to. The good news is they’re beginning to have some of those games this year. The lack of these types of games may not affect them, but that possibility is always there.

In addition, all three of the Kings, Ducks and Sharks are deep down the middle. The Ducks boast maybe the best center depth in the Western Conference with Ryan Getzlaf, Adam Henrique and (most annoyingly) Ryan Kesler. Kesler is one of the best, if not the best, defensive centers in the game and is exceptional at getting under the skin of the opposition’s best player. No one is fully immune, and Nathan MacKinnon will be no different. How he chooses to deal with Kesler will be critical to the Avs success against the Ducks at Honda Center.

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The Kings are always a tough team to play against. Even though they’ve gone through some changes (mostly in coaches and upper management) in the last year or so, they still are a tough, physical team. Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter down the middle as a one-two punch is pretty darn good. They’ve each rediscovered their scoring touches at just the right time for the Kings.

Carter, specifically, was not in the line-up the last time the Avs played Los Angeles. Assuming Varly is in net, he will need to be extra sharp, especially because this game is the second half of a back-to-back. Teams are usually a bit sluggish during those games, so the Avs will need Varly (or whoever is in net) big time.

The Sharks are currently without Joe Thornton due to a knee injury, but they still have Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture down the middle. Those two are no slouches themselves, on pace to score 60+ points each to end the season. Those may not be MacKinnon numbers, but that’s still good scoring depth to lead a balanced attack on the top 6. The Avalanche will need all six defenseman to be on top of their game.

In the first two games against the Sharks, the Avs gave up 48 shots and 39 shots. Those games were both at home, so I expect similar numbers in San Jose. The Avs have some rest between the Apr. 2 game against the Kings and this game in Apr. 5., so they have no excuse to not come out ready and hungry for two points.

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In this particular race for the playoffs, every game matters. I don’t mean to suggest that any other game isn’t important. The Avs need all the points they can get. Considering how they’ve struggled for the most part on the road this season and how the last three road games are against the California teams (all of which are in the thick of the playoff race), it seems to me at the conclusion of this final road trip, the Avs will know if they’ve made the playoffs.

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