NHL Playoffs: What Are the Chances the Colorado Avalanche Make an Appearance?

The Western Conference of the NHL has been locked down in one of the closest playoff battles that professional sports has ever seen all season long.  At the moment, seeds four through 12 are separated by only nine points.  With 20 games still left to play on many team's schedules, that leaves a lot of potential for these rankings to change.

Currently sitting just above the basement of the Western Conference are the Colorado Avalanche.  They are the 14th seed right now with 59 points.  With 20 games left in the regular season, the Avs find themselves in a situation where, if things really went right, they could make a push for the playoffs.

How realistic is that?  Well, that's what we're here to figure out.

The Avalanche are currently in the middle of an absolutely dismal streak.  They have lost 11 of their last 12 games, including a stretch of 10 in a row at one point.  They have only three points in the standings since the All-Star Break and have made some pretty large moves on the trade market. 

Have the trades helped our hurt their possibilities?  Well, Craig Anderson has won his first two games with his new team in Ottawa and allowed only one goal in those two games.  Brian Elliot, who the Avs received from Ottawa, has played in one game and was lit up for five goals by the worst team in the NHL.  Avalanche backup Peter Budaj has struggled with inconsistency all season. 

In fact, you would have to go all the way back to January 14th to find a game where the Avs gave up fewer than three goals in a game.

The Avalanche defense definitely was improved by the acquisition of Erik Johnson from St. Louis.  In the few games that he has played, he already has a big goal that he scored against his former team and showed many of the great skills that made him the number one overall draft pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.  He's helped the power play, though it still struggles, and has been solid defensively. 

The loss of Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk are big losses for the Avalanche.  While Johnson more than fills the void on defense, Jay McClement, the other player acquired along with Erik Johnson, gives the Avalanche a defensive forward without the same type of scoring ability that Chris Stewart has.  All in all, these two trades have not helped the Avs move forward in their quest to make the playoffs.

Injuries are something that has absolutely decimated the Avalanche this year.  The total man games lost has reached over 300 games and is definitely a factor in the struggles of the team.  Not an excuse, but you can't lose as many people as the Avalanche have lost and not be affected by it.

The main thing that needs to change if the Avalanche want to have any shot at the playoffs is the team attitude.  Paul Stastny put it the best in his post game interview after the loss to Edmonton. 

"We got down a couple and then we just kind of hang our heads and play a different game than we should. We can't do that. We've been doing that all year."

The trademark of this Avalanche team last season, and early on in this season as well, was its resilience.  If the team got down a goal or two, it didn't matter.  They found a way to work hard and get the game back to even, or took the lead, or trailed just by one. 

Now, when the Avs give up a goal, just like Stastny said, they hang their heads, throw up their arms, and essentially say "Well, here we go again" and almost give up on any chance of coming back.

Taking a look at the team right now, a playoff run is unlikely, though many people had written off Calgary and New Jersey a long time ago.  Now, both teams are on incredible hot streaks and are well within reach of a playoff berth.  So if the Avalanche can start throwing some wins together, it might be possible.

Looking at the schedule, however, it doesn't bode well.  The Avs have several games left against teams that have dominated them all year.  The L.A. Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver Canucks all have multiple games left against the Avalanche.  These are teams that are just plain bigger, meaner, tougher, and better than the Avalanche at this point.  Obviously the Avs can still win some of these games; that's why they bother to play them. 

But, based off recent history of this team and the schedule that is left, the chances you will see the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL playoffs this year are slim to none.