It’s official: For the first time since the Quebec Nordiques were moved in 1995 and began operating as the Avalanche under joint ownership with the Nuggets, there will be no NHL or NBA playoff games in Denver this year.
The end to the Avs’ playoff hopes came a few hours before their Saturday night game against the Kings in Los Angeles, when the Winnipeg Jets beat Vancouver 5-4 in an afternoon game in Winnipeg and got to 92 points.
With four games remaining, the Jets are in the second of the Western Conference’s two wild-card spots.
While Winnipeg doesn’t have the second wild-card berth locked up, the Avalanche has 84 points and its maximum possible total is 92. Colorado would lose any tiebreaker with the Jets and others still in contention for that spot because of fewer regulation and overtime wins.
So what seemed increasingly inevitable for several weeks has become reality. The Avalanche (36-30-12) postponed the elimination with a 4-2 win over the Ducks in Anaheim Friday night, with Reto Berra making 35 saves and Matt Duchene getting the tie-breaking goal in the third period.
After facing the Kings Saturday night, the Avalanche finishes out the season with a three-game homestand, against Nashville Tuesday, Winnipeg Thursday and Chicago Saturday.
