harmfuljays wrote:
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.
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).