Thu, Feb 4th @ Nashville Predators (6:00 MST)
Avalanche forward Matt Duchene & Predators goalie Pekka Rinne
The Colorado Avalanche finally avenged the Western Conference Championship Game 7 loss in Dallas that sent the stacked Avalanche a’packing and the Stars to a Stanley Cup Championship. Forseberg, Drury, Sakic & Roy were deprived of a shot at another Cup title after besting the Red Wings 4 games to 2 one round prior. The eventual Colorado Cup victory in 2001 felt a touch hollow without a hard-fought series against the Wings or Stars en route to an epic 4-3 Finals win over the New Jersey Devils.
The coach of that ’99 Dallas team, Ken Hitchcock, was fired by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday after a dismal 38-game spiral that saw the team go from 12-6-2 to 22-27-9. The final straw was a 1-0 first period lead over the Avalanche in Denver that dissolved into a 1-5 thrashing.
Now Colorado is looking at a four-point gap between themselves and the 7th place Nashville Predators in the playoff race with Calgary and Detroit also in hot pursuit. In other words, the Avalanche are nearing the bubble of a tight field.
The Predators are going to be hungry and on home ice in this matchup, and the Avalanche will have to work very hard for any in-goal real estate. It was good to see the Avs’ offense open up on the discouraged Blue Jackets on Tuesday, but they were still seeing very little of the opponent’s zone. If this tight road contest comes down to puck possession, Colorado is in for a long night. Look for the Avalanche to convert one or two lucky breaks early. Otherwise the Predators will enjoy more than just a two-point hop in the standings, they’ll also win the season series tiebreaker over the ‘Lanche 3-1.
PREDICTION:Â AVALANCHE 2, PREDATORS 4
