Colorado Avalanche: Are Their Playoff Hopes Done?

With a regulation loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Colorado Avalanche may have blown their playoff chances this season.

The Colorado Avalanche lost to the Philadelphia Flyers last night. I have to admit — I didn’t think that would happen. Even when I heard goalie Semyon Varlamov was sick and the team was flying in Andre Hammond, I didn’t think the Avalanche would lose.

But, there we are. The Avalanche have lost three of their last four and weren’t exactly dominant in the single win, which was a 2-1 shootout win. What’s more, two of those wins came in Pepsi Center, where Colorado is supposed to be dominant. They were supposed to win against LA and Philadelphia at home to pad their points for the difficult California road trip coming up.

So, let’s look where we stand and explore if the Avs’ playoff hopes are over.

Hammond Solid in Debut

You can’t fault backup (backup) Andrew Hammond for last night’s loss. Hammond has never played with this Colorado Avalanche team (only practices). He’s bounced back and forth between Colorado and the Belleville Senators — not even the Avs’ AHL team but still Ottawa’s. He’s only played one (AHL) game in the last two-and-half months between being backup and suffering a freak concussion injury.

Despite all that, Hammond stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced.

To be clear, he looked a little shaky in the first period. Here’s how Avs insider Adrian Dater described Hammond:

"“He was oversliding and nervous looking in that first.”"

Well, we have to remember that he woke up yesterday morning in San Antonio, where he’s likely staying in a hotel since he’s been with the Belleville Senators most of the season. He just arrived in Colorado today after regular goalie Semyon Varlamov woke up ill — or maybe just sick of facing so many shots.

Anwyay, Hammond made some solid saves:

Andrew Hammond did what’s asked of all Colorado Avalanche goalies — he kept the team in the game. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough.

MacKinnon Goes Cold

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Star center Nathan MacKinnon started out the season weak, only getting to star status in November. It’s beginning to look like he’s going to finish the season cold. He hasn’t earned a point in the last three games and hasn’t scored a goal in the last five.

As MacKinnon goes, so go the Avalanche. It’s no secret the team has been riding his coattails all season long. He, and somewhat Varlamov, are the only reason Colorado is in playoff contention.

And MacKinnon’s talented linemates haven’t picked up the slack. Mikko Rantanen hasn’t earned a point in the last three, and captain Gabriel Landeskog has just a single assist in five games.

As a whole, this line hasn’t been even remotely dominant since the Detroit Red Wings game on March 18.

Standings and Schedule

The Colorado Avalanche aren’t eliminated from playoff contention, not by a long shot. They’re one point behind both the wild card teams, St. Louis and Anaheim. If they can just draw even in points with Anaheim, they’ll get the playoff berth because of regulation-overtime wins.

Colorado has five games remaining. The general consensus is 98 points will win a playoff berth. That means they need eight of the available points.

Unfortunately, that means playing better on the road than they have been. The Avalanche have only two more home games. Winning both only gives them four points.

That means Colorado needs to win four points on their three-game California road trip. They’ll be facing the Anaheim Ducks, LA Kings, and San Jose Sharks. Technically it’s possible to earn four points in those three games with some combination of regulation wins or overtime losses.

However, the Avs are barely a .500 team on the road. That would give them just three points on the roadie. And that just might not be enough.

Next: Overview of Final 6 Avs Games

This team has taken great strides from where they were last year. It’s not just in their record. The Colorado Avalanche have developed team chemistry. They have developed their own identity and have found ways to bounce back in the face of adversity. We should all be proud of what they have accomplished.

However, I told myself I’d buy tickets to the last two home games of the season if Colorado lost Monday and Wednesday. I’m not fickle. But I do want to see the Avs play a couple more times live. And I don’t think I’ll need playoff money.

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