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Insane amount of scoreboard watching for Avs fans right now. Not only keeping an eye on Dallas, Arizona, Minnesota, Chicago, and any other team getting within spitting distance of the playoffs, we're also watching the dregs of the league: Los Angeles, Detroit, and Ottawa, and rooting for some of those bottoming-out teams to win a couple to get some separation between them and the 31st-place Sens.

Obviously with the new lottery rules (fuck off forever, Buffalo) the odds of getting that 1st overall pick are still not great even if the Sens finish dead last. Regardless, the Avs should be getting one hell of a player out of all this, but I'm hoping to hell it doesn't fall any farther than 2nd because I want that kid playing in the NHL next year, and Hughes and Kaako are almost assuredly turning pro in 2019.

Avs continue to get a lot of help at both ends of the standings. While the Stars managed a win, the Wild lost 1-0 to the Preds, Avs as of right now are still barely hanging onto a playoff spot.

Also, the Devils, Red Wings, and Kings all won last night, meaning there is a six point gap between the last-place Senators and the next-worst team (the Kings, if you're wondering).

Avs don't play until Wednesday against Les Chevaliers D'or.

It appears either those initial reports were wrong or Bowers plum changed his mind in light of a vast majority of his teammates opting for the pros. Reports now indicating he's going to sign.

The first post-Quinn season has not gone well at Boston University, and based on what I've read played a major role in a number of players not returning. Bowers didn't have a great season, so conventional wisdom might have suggested him staying. He would've been handed a letter of some kind, if not a C then an A for sure, would've enjoyed a prominent role and (probably) gotten bigger numbers prior to signing his pro deal, and the Avs likely would've had to burn the first year anyway, meaning he would've gotten a lot of money just for showing up. Opting for this seems to indicate he doesn't feel sticking with a troubled program is best for his career development.

In any event, he projects to be a very good 2-way center with size and speed to spare, but the question is where his skill level lands him. Most have him pinned as a good but not great 3rd liner. If the kid can win a goddamn faceoff now and again, his arrival can't happen soon enough.

Avs fans, for all the complaining we do (me included) about how the hockey gods are out to get them, are getting about as much help both on the ice and in the standings as they could possibly ask for.

A VERY fortunate win last night against the Vegas Golden Knights. They got off to a 2-0 lead, then up to a 4-2 lead before nearly choking it away in the final seconds. The good news is that Marchessault missed on a wide-open net that would've tied it with less than five seconds on the clock, he was so mad about it afterwards he broke his stick on the boards afterward.

And I do not give one shit what the analytics crowd says about it--the Avalanche have GOT to figure out this faceoff thing. It's unacceptable to continually lose them, especially in key situations where it's costing them goals at both ends of the ice.

I have in the past tried to stay away from criticizing broadcast networks and their personnel, but I've had to put up with two NBCSN broadcasts and eeeeeeeegad are they fuckin' terrible. Don't know why Avs fans slag Mark Moser so often when he's nothing compared to the national broadcast team who set up their first game live on-location up Patrick Kane's ass. The game last night featured an Alex Tuch's Dad Cam, they fucking panned to him between almost every whistle. Tuch played well for the record but I don't need to see his goddamn old man between plays FFS.

Only redeeming qualities of either broadcast were Keith Jones's analysis (always liked him as a player and TV guy) and Kathryn Tappen rocking a pink dress. Gimme back my frickin' Altitude guys, I don't care if they're blatant homers.

When Nate MacKinnon is on, he truly is a treat to watch. I still wish he were a little better defensively (he doesn't have to be Patrice Bergeron, just not a piece of driftwood on skates) but he makes up for it with plays like this. The Vegas PK was covering him like glue before they started to get tired, he finally got the space he needed and ripped the perfect shot.

I'm told the Senators' first rounder can't possibly be lower than 7th overall at this point.

Tonight's game between the Avs and Yotes has obviously huge implications. It doesn't guarantee the winner gets that final playoff spot (it's possible neither of them get in) but it might end up being the dagger depending on if tiebreakers come into play.

The grand irony of all this is that the Eagles and Roadrunners are also playing tonight and the both of them are fighting for an AHL playoff spot.

Some good, some not so good news on the Cale Makar front.

Should UMass get eliminated from the NCAA tournament, the Avs will undoubtedly try and get him signed to an ELC. The Avs would LOVE for him to just sign an ATO, play out the rest of the season (and hopefully postseason) with the Eagles, and have that ELC kick in on July 1st. But what's likely going to happen is, like a lot of kids turning pro these days, is that Makar and his agent will push for the Avs to put him on the roster right away and have him play for the Avs, thereby burning that first year right away. The problem there is that he will then be eligible for the expansion draft as he'll have technically played two pro seasons. That could make for some big problems, especially if they end up re-signing both Zadorov and Barrie.

I still think it's absolute horseshit that expansion teams get any shot whatsoever at players on entry-level deals, but whatever, I guess that's part and parcel of that massive entry fee.

Avs manage to blow a 2-0 lead to the team chasing them, the Arizona Coyotes, but manage to stay alive through OT and win it in the shootout, Nathan MacKinnon scoring the only goal in that session with a pretty sick set of moves. While 2 points in regulation would've been ideal, can't argue much with the end result. Avs now control their own destiny but still gotta stay on course.

In a strange bit of mirroring, both teams' AHL affiliates are also battling for the same respective playoff spots and played one another the same night as the parent clubs. BOTH games involved the Colorado team blowing a lead and both teams ended in a shootout, with the Colorado club coming out victorious.

They're all big games from here on out. Tonight, it's against a team that's just plain had their number all season in St. Louis.

Meanwhile, Cale Makar and the Minutemen will take on the DU Pioneers in the first round of the Frozen Four tournament. Avs fans are a little torn on this one.

3-2 shootout loss to the Blues, which completes the season sweep. And in fitting fashion, it's our old friend Ryan O'Reilly with the final dagger in the silly session.

BUT...I can't complain. The team just looks so ridiculously worn out. They came out so completely flat in the first period, they didn't get a shot on goal until maybe five minutes remaining. THEN they woke up big-time in the 2nd and 3rd and erased a 2-goal deficit in the final minutes, then survived 3-on-3. As a fan of this team, you just take the point and run.

Oilers and an apparently VERY frustrated Connor McDavid at The Can tonight. I think I read they're something like 7-2-1 in their last 10 games in Denver, which is ridiculous. Gotta win this one to keep playoff chances alive, because the Coyotes are only two points down, hold the current ROW tiebreaker, and are playing the goddamn Kings tonight.

I'd be afraid to meet the Blues in the first round. They have been on fire since the break.

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Scored my club level Game 4 tickets in the attack once zone today so I can watch Calgary score and complete the sweep!

https://www.altitudetickets.com/events/ ... 0675976114

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Nice! I miss going to playoff games, even ones they had no chance in.

You know me...I typically stay as far away from the Pepsi Center as possible (even bailed out of a ticket to that Arizona game last Friday). But.....this....I cannot pass up. Its been about 15 years since the Flames had a team this good. I've watched A LOT of both teams this year.....and don't get me wrong...I like the Avs (better than the Habs and the Leafs anyway) but they are punching way above their weight here. Grubauer would have to be Mr. Zero.....MacKinnon....Thanos like and the Flames would have to completely pass out like me taking Jager shots, along with Mike Smith waving at beachballs and putting the puck in his own net. Not impossible....but highly unlikely.

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Oh yeah, no arguments here. They're WAY outclassed if they end up making it. And or the Coyotes are going to be so damned worn down just trying to drag themselves across the finish line, they'll be easy pickings. And even if they were fully charged and ready to go...I still think they'd be easy pickings.

Rantanen should be back on Thursday.........I believe it will be most interesting to see where and how Cale Makar fits during the first round.

UMASS plays DU on 4/11 and then the Frozen four final is 4/13...so he may not join the team with enough time to make any impact.

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I think the Avs would much rather not burn the year than have him play a couple postseason games, but they're obviously REALLY excited about bringing him aboard (the normally laconic Bednar practically lit up when the possibility of Makar joining the team in the playoffs was mentioned) so I think they're okay with either scenario.

So...it's not a certainty, but it's going to take two AZ wins and two Avs losses in regulation for them not to make the postseason. I'd like to think they got this thing secured, but we'll see.

Oh, and best-case-scenario happened last night as far as the standings go. Avs played like horseshit in the 1st and went down 2-0 against the Oilers, but then woke up in the 2nd and lit 'em up with 6 unanswered. Alex Kerfoot, right now the proverbial whipping boy of Avs fans, gets his first-ever game-winning goal. Colin Wilson, to everyone's astonishment, got one of the best goals of the year, shaking off coverage from Connor McDavid with a nifty spin-o-rama and a backhand to put it past Koskinen.

Also, the Avs needed the Kings to beat the Coyotes for two reasons: One, to all but eliminate Arizona from snagging that wild card, and two, to ensure Ottawa finishes dead last in the league, thereby getting best lottery odds for first overall in the draft. Well...it happened, though I wish Darcy Kuemper didn't get a stick jammed right in his eye in the process (I read that he's okay, but it was scary as hell to see).

Oh, did I mention the Avs by virtue of winning last night eliminated both the Blackhawks AND the Wild. That's wonderful news even if they somehow screw this up and don't qualify themselves.

Hard to believe the Central Division, which was at one time the best division in hockey, might actually be the worst now. The same amount of points that would probably hand a team the division crown wouldn't even get you in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. That's stunning, and one huge reason why the Avs are on the cusp of qualifying for the playoffs after two-month swoon that would have completely turfed a team in the East.

Just take care of business against the floundering Jets and then it doesn't matter what AZ does tonight. I really hope they don't make the season's final game against SJ a must-win. All they need is an OTL, which, if nothing else, they excel at.

Great game and the Avs are in. They can stop winning now.......don't want to see Dallas in the first round! Nor do I want to watch another Nashville/Avs matchup.

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