obe24

Minneapolis, MN • United States • 31 Years Old • Male

Avs Back In Playoff Picture

Two excellent games by the Avalanche equal two wins over two very talented hockey clubs. Solid goaltending from Raycroft along with a huge 1st star performance by Wolski was enough to overcome some spotty play on special teams. Add some secondary scoring and the Avs are winners of 3 in a row and are suddenly fun to watch again.

Wolski's ascendence to a first line center has gone better than anyone could have possibly hoped. Even in the offseason when I wrote that Wolski should be put at center, never did I imagine he would be this good this fast. Of course, this is all based off of a very small sample size. Is this the true blossoming of a new Colorado star? Or is this just a spurt which will fade away and simply serve to tantalize and frustrate Avs fans? Only time will tell, but this stretch feels different than his (or Svatos') past bursts of offensive output. He's not only in the right place at the right time (although that's certainly part of it), but he is dominating stretches of the game and bending the action to his own will. That is a trait that all of the great players have in any sport: they make it seem as though the game revolves around them instead of the other way around. Wolski has done that in his past few games.

The Avs are back to their recent high water mark of 3 games above .500. So what now? January and February have historically been good times for the Avalanche, for whatever reason. They have made hay in past seasons in the dog days of winter. If it is true that adversity improves a team in the long term; that what doesn't bury a group makes them stronger, then the Avs need only to make the playoffs to have a shot at making a Cup run. Imagine three talented scoring lines centered by Sakic, Stastny and Wolski.

Smyth-Stastny-Hejduk
Forsberg-Sakic-Svatos
Jones-Wolski-Stewart

Is this how the lines could look in April? Just about any way those top nine are scrambled, they make a pretty nice looking omelette. Forsberg is, as ever, a huge question mark. But if the Avs are in the hunt and it looks like Sakic will come back, I would not be surprised to see Forsberg in an Avs jersey once again this spring.

The point, though, is that if this Avs team is playing well with what they are currently putting on the ice, then when they are able to add talent such as Sakic, Stastny and/or Forsberg, this could be a team to be reckoned with. Stranger things have happened. I'm tired of seeing people state that it's a waste to get in as a 7 or 8 seed only to lose in the first round. Sorry, this isn't the NBA. Multiple low seeds have made the Cup finals in the past several years - Oilers and Flames immediately come to mind. They were battle tested teams that rarely got an easy point playing in arguably the best division in the NHL. Any clubs making the playoffs from the Northwest division will have that same distinction this season. All you have to do is get in the tournament and get hot.

So the goal is, as it always should be, to make the playoffs. The Avs have 40 games remaining; a possible 80 points. If they play .600 hockey the rest of the way (simply gaining 12 out of every 20 points), that would give them an additional 48 points for a total of 93 points. This is right on the edge. It would have been enough last year, but not the previous two. A safer goal would be .650 hockey. Not a huge increase, only one point for every 10 games - 13 pts out of 20. But .650 hockey translates to 52 points and a season total of 97 which virtually guarantees a playoff spot.

So that's it. Break the remainder of the season down to four ten game pieces. The Avs need to capture 13 points in each of these stretches to make the playoffs. That should be the goal - 13 points. Doesn't sound so hard, does it? It starts tonight in Columbus. Avs players and fans need to understand how important these games are. The thought of the Blue Jackets might make you yawn, but this is the 9th place team missing their superstar. 2 points is a must tonight. Hopefully we will see the same intensity that the Avs exhibited againt Chicago and Pittsburgh.

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