It is playoff push time in the National Hockey League. The Colorado Avalanche will play their last six games of the regular season in eight days, ending with a two-game stint against the Kings in Denver after a long five-game road trip.
The Avalanche, now the second seed in the West Division, will hope to overtake Las Vegas’s two-point lead to claim the top seed. They lost the top seed a few weeks back when they had three games postponed due to a surge in COVID-19 cases within the organization.
Vegas has been hot since then, but Colorado certainly has what it takes to come out on top when the regular season is completed. They showed that in their gutsy come-from-behind overtime win against the San Jose Sharks Monday night which opened up their opportunity to win the division.
If they finish second, the Avalanche will almost certainly face the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs. If the Avs are fortunate enough to win enough games to edge out Vegas, the St. Louis Blues will be their opening opponent.
These will be the keys for the Avalanche against each of their potential first-round playoff opponents.
Minnesota Wild
The Avalanche went 5-2-1 against Minnesota in the regular season. When the Avalanche were healthy and the Wild were still figuring things out, Colorado played well against them. The Wild, who have played progressively better throughout this short season, whooped the Avs in their final meeting of the season, beating them 8-3. That was the most goals the Avalanche have surrendered to an opponent this season.
The Wild possess a rare combination of veteran leadership and standout young talent. Rookie winger Kirill Kaprizov is the odds-on favorite to win the Calder Trophy this season. He is a maestro with the puck in his hands, leading his team in both goals and assists in his first professional season. Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno have stepped up as leaders on the top line as Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon head up a stout Wild defensive group.
The Avalanche will need to play mistake-free hockey and control puck possession to be successful in a series against Minnesota. This will be especially important for the second, third, and fourth lines which have been inconsistent for Colorado as of late.
In their series against the Wild this season, they have proven that they can get an ample amount of scoring opportunities when they simply move the puck efficiently. Puck possession will also be important for limiting breakaway and odd-man rush looks for Minnesota, especially when Kaprizov is on the ice.
My series prediction is that the Avalanche beat Minnesota in six games. A slew of players on the injured list could help Minnesota steal an extra game and take the Avs to game seven. I will anticipate the Wild trying to match Colorado’s pace as best as they can, but the Avalanche will be too much to handle once players like Samuel Girard and Brandon Saad return to the lineup.
St. Louis Blues
The Avalanche won five of eight games they played against the Blues this season. It is worth noting that every game of the series was over at the end of regulation.
The Blues are the most likely to claim the fourth and final spot in the West Division after the Arizona Coyotes have entered full-on self-destruct mode in their last 15 games. Their gritty style of play led by captain Ryan O’Reilly has been successful and could give the Avalanche fits in the first round if the two teams meet.
The Blues’ biggest concern will be slowing down Colorado’s offensive attack. On their best night, they are an average defending team. They will attempt to contain the Avalanche by playing extremely physical, but matching the Avs’ speed will be a major issue for them.
The Blues get steady offensive production from O’Reilly and point-leading linemate David Perron, who just played in his 900th career game. They will need the other lines to chip in if they are going to go toe-to-toe in shots with Colorado, namely veteran winger Vladimir Tarasenko’s second line. The last thing they want is to burden goaltender Jordan Binnington with the pressure of stopping 30-plus shots per game and expect to beat Colorado in a seven-game series.
If these two teams meet in the first round, I’d expect Colorado to sweep them in four games. I don’t think St. Louis can compensate in any way for the Avalanche’s ability to dominate games. Combining Colorado’s 3.25 goals per game against St. Louis with the Blues’ lack of offensive continuity, I don’t see St. Louis stealing a single game.
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