Getting your player ready...
The No. 8 Avalanche won’t know until this afternoon whether it will play San Jose or Chicago in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
San Jose beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 in a shootout Saturday night, enabling the Sharks to finish the regular season with 113 points and take a two-point lead over the Blackhawks in the race for the West’s No. 1 seed.
The Blackhawks close out the season this afternoon against Detroit, and if they win to also finish with 113 points, they will be No. 1 — and become Colorado’s first-round opponent — on the basis of more victories.
If the Blackhawks don’t win, No. 1 San Jose would face the Avalanche.
Terry Frei, The Denver post
