A week ago, the Avs defeated the third-seeded Carolina Hurricanes 7-4 and secured the top place in the West with 116 points, two points behind the franchise record for most points in a season. The Avs haven’t won since. For the second time this season, the Avs have lost three in a row, first to the Kings, then the Kraken, and most recently in a humbling 6-3 defeat against the Oilers. The last time the Avs lost three in a row was October and now sit behind the Florida Panthers for the President’s Trophy.
The President’s Trophy is not the prize that the Avs are after and will only matter if the Avs make it to the Final Round against the Panthers. However, this is not the time of the year to sit back. Yes, we are in the playoffs. Yes, we will have home-ice advantage against any team in the west. Yes, Landeskog, Rantanen, and Francouz are out of the lineup. But the one thing that you can’t do if you want to win the Stanley Cup is make excuses. You win despite them.
We’ve been spoiled with theatrical wins this season, so it is shocking when we lose a game, but when we blow games, it is a slap to the face. We are not used to watching poor performances in back-to-back-to-back games. We are the team that will be down by multiple goals and comes back to win the game. We’ve seen hints of that team in the last three games, but they have been fleeting moments.
The good news is that the Avs could lose the last four games and enter the playoffs in a solid position. However, playoff series have been won on momentum, and it is not uncommon to have upsets by clubs who have been battling for a playoff spot. The St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup run in 2019 serves as a prime example and a reminder that Tampa Bay won the President’s Trophy that year and was swept by Columbus in the First Round. There are zero guarantees in the playoffs, which is why the Avs must get their sh** together. Now.
Their next game is against a non-playoff team, the Winnipeg Jets, with the final three games versus playoff teams. Hopefully, Rantanen will return to the lineup after missing two games due to an illness (not Covid). However, there has still not been word on when Landeskog will return after undergoing knee surgery. It sounded like he should be ready come playoff time. However, with no news, it seems concerning that his recovery may be longer than expected. In an unfortunate play, Pavel Francouz took a puck to the face while sitting on the bench in the first minutes of the Oilers game. It is unclear if it hit his eye or just exceedingly close, but Frankie did not return to the bench. No further injury update has been given, and the Avs have called up Justus Annunen from the Colorado Eagles, who will join the team in Winnipeg.
The Avs need to come out strong on Sunday and remind themselves how they have gotten where they are. They have come too far to let themselves slide. It would be like training months for a marathon and then deciding that you didn’t need to run anymore in the weeks leading up to it. You probably could still run the race, but you’re making it harder on yourself. They might say they don’t care about winning the President’s Trophy, but I do. I want to beat the franchise record for most points in a season and enter the playoffs on a roll. It’s not my fault I want these things. The Avs have set my expectations high this year, but now it is up to them to maintain their own standards.
The playoffs commence a week from Monday, and hopefully, the Avs will have snapped out of this slight slump and are ready to start the race that they have been training for: the race to the Stanley Cup.