It’s getting to that time of the year when the division races are beginning to wind down. In the Colorado Avalanche’s case, the club can lock up the Central Division title with a win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
The Avalanche enter Saturday night’s contest with 106 points and 11 games to play, including Saturday’s contest. With a regulation win, the Avs can accrue 108 points.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars enter their contest with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday evening with 97 points. Dallas has 10 games remaining. Even if the Stars won out the remainder of their season, they could rack up as many as 107 points.
That’s why a win would give the Avalanche official dibs on the Central Division title. At worst, an overtime or shootout loss would give the Avs exactly 107 points. That would be enough to clinch the division.
But why get into the rigors of tiebreakers and all that? Win, and that’s it. The Avalanche can lock up the Central Division and officially focus on getting set for their first-round matchup.
Avalanche can also lock up top seed in Western Conference
A regulation win would also allow the Avalanche to lock up the top seed in the Western Conference. That’s been a fait accompli for a while now.
However, the only remaining question would be who the Avalanche would face as their first-round opponent.
As it stands, the Nashville Predators have a claim on the second wild card spot with 77 points. The LA Kings are right behind with 76. The Seattle Kraken remain within striking distance at 74.
As for the Winnipeg Jets, they’re still mathematically within the race. But they’re five points out and not likely in the hunt.
All told, it seems that the Avalanche’s first-round opponent may not be known until the final game of the regular season. The good news is that the Avalanche are in a position where it doesn’t really matter who they play.
The focus should be on getting focused, ready, and staying healthy. The Avalanche are hitting their goldilocks zone at the best possible time. That’s no bueno for the rest of the Western Conference.