It’s all relative, isn’t it?
The Avalanche’s chances of making the NHL playoffs probably are better than the average sports fan’s chances of winning the NCAA Tournament pool at the corner pub or office.
Unlike the folks who picked Texas, Wisconsin, Oregon or Winthrop, for example, to reach the Final Four, at least Colorado still has a shot.
The Avs on Saturday afternoon assured themselves of remaining in contention for a playoff spot for at least a few more days, getting power-play goals from John-Michael Liles and Paul Stastny and beating the Minnesota Wild 2-1 at the Pepsi Center.
The victory left Colorado a stunning 11-1-2 in March and at least temporarily closed the Avalanche to within five points of the Calgary Flames in the fight for that final Western Conference playoff berth.
What makes it stunning is Colorado played 10 of the 14 games on the road. What at the start of the month seemed destined to be a Farewell Tour at least has provided some evidence that even if the Avs miss the playoffs, it’s not out of line to go along with the view that, especially if the front office makes savvy moves in the offseason, Colorado can rebound next season.
The Avs also tied the franchise record for victories in a month, matching the 11 Colorado managed in January 2004.
By beating the Wild in a matinee, the Avs at least assured that they won’t be out of the running going into their game at Calgary on Tuesday.
“That’s what we were just saying, just coming off the ice,” Avalanche coach Joel Quenne- ville said. “We were hoping it had some meaning, and it would be an important game.”
However, the Flames were back up by seven after their 3-2 victory at Vancouver late Saturday.
Colorado and Calgary each have four games remaining, so the Avs’ chances depend on winning both of the head-to-head games against the Flames and getting help in Calgary’s other two games.
Against the Wild, Colorado gave up the first goal – on a Marian Gaborik wrist shot from the left-wing circle on a power play only 81 seconds into the game – but Peter Budaj ended up making 23 saves in his 10th victory in March. The elimination of ties the past two seasons means the statistic – either for a team or a goalie – isn’t directly comparable to the past, but that still is more victories than Patrick Roy had in one month for the Avs.
Budaj went 10-0-2 in March, and that equaled the number of wins Daniel Bouchard posted for the Nordiques in February 1981.
“We played a really strong game,” Budaj said. “We knew they’d come out hard because they’d lost the two previous games to Calgary and I’m pretty sure they were not happy. We outworked them a little bit, and it was a big kill for us on that 5-on-3 in the third period, and it’s a big two points. Hopefully, we’re going to build on that on the big road trip to Canada.”
The Avs were two men down for 40 seconds early in the third after Tyler Arnason went off for hooking at 4:22 and then Kurt Sauer was called for holding at 5:42, but the Wild couldn’t capitalize on what worked out to an even 200 seconds of skating with at least a man advantage.
While two men down, Avs defenseman Brett Clark made a key block – and limped off to the dressing room briefly – and Budaj made one tough save on Mikko Koivu from the slot. He knocked Koivu’s shot over his cage and into the safety net with the knob of his stick.
No help from the Canucks
The Avs stayed seven points behind the Flames after both teams won Saturday. Calgary would clinch the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot by defeating the Avs on Tuesday. Also, the Flames, who beat Vancouver 3-2, would clinch the final spot if at any time they increased their points lead to more than double the number of games Colorado has remaining. Schedules for the Avs and Flames:
AVS SCHEDULE
Tuesday: at Calgary
Thursday: at Vancouver
Saturday: Nashville
Sunday: Calgary
FLAMES SCHEDULE
Tuesday: Colorado
Thursday: at San Jose
Saturday: Edmonton
Sunday: at Colorado
Staff writer Terry Frei can be reached at 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
