SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Avalanche entered Wednesday night among five NHL still standing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and just one win shy of reaching the Western Conference final for the first time since 2002.
Based on that alone, this been a successful season — particularly when looking at where the Avs were Feb. 12, after losing 5-2 at home to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The NHL’s standings — with the last number representing overtime defeats — make every team look better than they are, but Colorado’s 22-23-11 record at the time meant 34 losses to just 22 victories.
They were destined to not make the playoffs. They were destined to be done after the April 6 regular-season finale at San Jose.
More than a month later, the Avs are still alive, and their season could still end in San Jose. Their late-season turnaround was remarkable — finishing 8-1-2 to collect the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot — as well as their 7-4 playoff record heading into Game 7 on Wednesday at the SAP Center.
The Avs are a league-best 15-5-2 since March 17.
“When you get past the first round, you really start to think that you can win it all,” Avs right winger Mikko Rantanen said after Wednesday’s morning skate. “It’s second round, Game 7 — it’s hard to think about going out. It would be a big disappointment but I don’t want to think about. I only think about the win and next round. So it would be more of a disappointment than being proud.”
Defenseman Ian Cole — a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins — also said it’s far too early to be proud of anything.
“Our goal as a hockey team is to win the Stanley Cup. That’s what it has been all year,” Cole said from the visiting locker room at SAP Center. “It’s getting in the playoffs, obviously, that’s the first step, and then it’s to win the Stanley Cup. Anything short of that, you’re shooting for failure. Unless you win the last game of the year, it’s not a successful season. So we need to keep winning. We need to win this game and we got two more rounds to play through.”
Colorado believes San Jose carries the pressure into Game 7. The Sharks were expected to reach the conference final and seem to have weighted hearts for Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Thornton is the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer who has never won the Cup, and Pavelski is the team’s captain who is trying to overcome the serious head injury he sustained in Game 7 of the Sharks’ first-round series against Vegas.
“We’re the 8-seed so nobody expected us to be one win away from the conference final,” Rantanen said. “I don’t think we have any pressure. It’s mostly on the home team. We’ll just go out there and enjoy it, have fun and try to get a good result.”
The Avs’ season would have ended April 6 in San Jose if they didn’t enter that ultimately meaningless contest on a 10-game points streak (8-0-2). Each of those 10 games felt like elimination games.
“We’ve grown accustomed to playing in these games and so far we’ve had good results,” Cole said. “However, as they say in the financial world, past performances are not indicative of future results. We just need to go out and make sure we get the job done, regardless of what happened in the past.”
Pavelski update. The Sharks did not have an official morning skate but Pavelski could make his series debut in Game 7. He was bleeding from his head when his helmet hit the ice late in Game 7 against the Golden Knights on April 23.
“If he feels like he’s ready to come back, then we’re going to play him the exact same way we’re going to play anyone else on their team,” Cole said of Pavelski. “We’re going to limit time and space, be hard, physical, hit him — if those opportunities arise.”
Jared Bednar Part 1, talking about sticking with 11 and 7 … and more about Game 7 #Avs #Sharks pic.twitter.com/CBg4bPywd7
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) May 8, 2019
Footnotes. Avs forward Matt Calvert will miss his third consecutive game and fourth of the series with an upper-body injury. He did not skate Wednesday morning. … Colorado will again go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Patrik Nemeth serving as the extra blue-liner.
Jared Bednar Part 2 … pic.twitter.com/OtTKcP9oQa
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) May 8, 2019
