Edmonton, Alberta – The regular season of the Avalanche ends tonight, one that was nothing less than “Miracle On Ice, Part II” to fervent Avs boosters and nothing more than a step above mediocrity to cynics.
To the boosterish members of the fan base and media, making the playoffs in a tough Western Conference – and doing so without stars such as Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote and injuries to several key players – is an accomplishment worthy of lavish praise.
The cynics point to the fact that the Avs will finish with their lowest playoff seeding since moving to Denver in 1995, and went 4-11-1 against the conference’s three division winners.
Whatever one’s perspective on the Avs, the truth is there will be more hockey played after tonight’s season finale with the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. That is more than 14 other NHL teams can say, including Saturday’s opponents, the Vancouver Canucks.
One needed only to be inside General Motors Place on Saturday night to see how missing the playoffs can crush a team’s and its fans’ spirits. The Vancouver newspapers were full of stories detailing the anatomy of the Canucks’ failures and how much their absence from the playoffs would economically hurt many city businesses.
Inside the Avalanche dressing room after a 4-3 overtime loss to Vancouver, the mood was one of relief and anger. Relief knowing the Avs locked up at least a seventh-place conference finish, and anger they blew an extra point by allowing a goal in the final minute of regulation and another in the last minute of overtime.
“I don’t think there was any desperation (Saturday) night, because we were already in the playoffs,” Avalanche defenseman Rob Blake said. “But we need to be playing well going into the playoffs.”
Much like the perspective on the Avalanche’s performance in the regular season, the truth is probable somewhere in the middle as to how well the Avs are playing as the playoffs loom. The team has gotten the points when it really needed them – the point Saturday guaranteed the Avs won’t have to travel to Detroit for the first round, for example. But the Avs have lost nine of the past 15 games, either in regulation, overtime or shootouts. Not exactly a team entering the postseason with a full head of steam, in other words.
The Avs’ current problem areas are a lack of production from the lower lines and a power play that isn’t clicking. The issue of how prepared the Avs are in goal is an open topic as well. That newcomer Jose Theodore allowed a somewhat soft goal in the final minute of regulation – and was beaten to the short side on three of the four goals he allowed to the Canucks – might naturally cause the cynics to question his playoff readiness.
“I don’t think you can fault Jose on a couple of those goals,” defenseman Patrice Brisebois said, “especially the one that tied it 3-3 in the last minute. That was just a crazy bounce.”
Avalanche right wing Milan Hej- duk, whose game is struggling somewhat, seemed to sum up the team’s overall mood.
“We’ve done a lot of good things this year,” he said. “But we need to be a little better right now.”
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.
