Playoffs?

[AvalancheFan19]

A little premature? Maybe. I usually don't make threads but I think that some of my points hold weight and want to hear what you guys think..

- Duchene and Landeskog haven't really gotten to go beast mode together. I know that it would be awesome if they played together, but that experiment hasn't worked. I'm pretty excited to see them on two separately lines producing. I mean last year we almost made it without Duchene (hell when he played he was struggling), and this year Landeskog has only played 8 games.. They are arguably our two best players so I look at both of them together in the lineup as a huge game changer.

- O'Reilly, possibly our third best player. Sour taste in my mouth indeed, but hey.. He's a great hockey player and his chemistry with Landeskog is undeniable. This leaves us with Landeskog-O-Reilly-______ and McGinn-Duchene-Parenteau (I don't think McGinn is a lock there but it has been working pretty well thus far)

- Stastny. Yes he's invisible at times, but he quietly produces and could possibly slot in with Lando and O'Reilly but more likely will hold down the other line. The three scoring lines was what we were so excited for in the summer, and we can finally see it happen.

- Defense. Yes, they are pretty terrible but without our top two guys EJ and Wilson, they are somewhat tolerable. Give EJ 21+ minutes a night and slot Wilson in and it could work out for us. I know we badly need a partner for EJ but that's not going to happen anytime soon it seems.

- Varmalov. Steve. I love the guy. I'm not sure if letting in an early goal, which he has done a few times this season soft or not, is becoming a worry but he has proven this year and last he can steal games for us. Every start will up his confidence, and he's still a young goalie. Needless to say, he's the least of my worries and I think he's a goalie who can get us into the playoffs.

So.. thoughts, criticisms, etc? Next 5 are the Blue Jackets, Red Wings Hawks x2 and the Sharks and we'll be precisely halfway done the season. Tough teams but we have to go 3-2, or at least 2-2-1.

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[SuperJoe]

A little premature? Maybe. I usually don't make threads but I think that some of my points hold weight and want to hear what you guys think..

- Duchene and Landeskog haven't really gotten to go beast mode together. I know that it would be awesome if they played together, but that experiment hasn't worked. I'm pretty excited to see them on two separately lines producing. I mean last year we almost made it without Duchene (hell when he played he was struggling), and this year Landeskog has only played 8 games.. They are arguably our two best players so I look at both of them together in the lineup as a huge game changer.

- O'Reilly, possibly our third best player. Sour taste in my mouth indeed, but hey.. He's a great hockey player and his chemistry with Landeskog is undeniable. This leaves us with Landeskog-O-Reilly-______ and McGinn-Duchene-Parenteau (I don't think McGinn is a lock there but it has been working pretty well thus far)

- Stastny. Yes he's invisible at times, but he quietly produces and could possibly slot in with Lando and O'Reilly but more likely will hold down the other line. The three scoring lines was what we were so excited for in the summer, and we can finally see it happen.

- Defense. Yes, they are pretty terrible but without our top two guys EJ and Wilson, they are somewhat tolerable. Give EJ 21+ minutes a night and slot Wilson in and it could work out for us. I know we badly need a partner for EJ but that's not going to happen anytime soon it seems.

- Varmalov. Steve. I love the guy. I'm not sure if letting in an early goal, which he has done a few times this season soft or not, is becoming a worry but he has proven this year and last he can steal games for us. Every start will up his confidence, and he's still a young goalie. Needless to say, he's the least of my worries and I think he's a goalie who can get us into the playoffs.

So.. thoughts, criticisms, etc? Next 5 are the Blue Jackets, Red Wings Hawks x2 and the Sharks and we'll be precisely halfway done the season. Tough teams but we have to go 3-2, or at least 2-2-1.

Playoffs? Are we talking about playoffs?

 

[Freaky Styley]

I saw yesterday as the first time this season for optimism, as far as playoffs are concerned. At the beginning of the season (when I thought we had ROR) I had us slotted into 7th or 8th. With the ROR situation and injuries I had given up hope, but last night was different. Landeskog finally getting back up to game speed, the end of the ROR saga, and huge come back win and with EJ and Wilson returns looming, I think we have a shot. We aren't too far back, and will take a bit of a winning streak at some point, but we have a chance.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

It's playoff whisker time for our young pups. Stretch drive.

 

[Freudian]

The team has managed to tread water during the O'Reilly mess and all the injuries. At least they have a chance with O'Reilly and EJ Johnson returning, even if it's going to be difficult to make the playoffs.

 

[henchman21]

We have a chance at the playoffs. We will need a run fairly soon to accomplish it though. Something like 7 of our next 10. With ROR, EJ, and Wilson all coming back soon, we are getting a huge injection of talent.

 

[marioni]

I think 6 of the current top 8 teams in the western conference are lock for the playoffs.

We're close to #8 spot, but so are Sharks, Yotes, Oilers.. Are we better than those teams? I dont know. Radar being back changes things for the better, we have a chance for sure, just as long as we start playing now. No games to waste anymore.

 

[Appleanche]

I think it was a really big momentum swinging win, it will only be easier to keep momentum as EJ, ROR, Wilson will be back soon and that means our group will be huge!

It will still be a tough road ahead though, 3 of our next 10 games are against Chicago, ideally though we should be able to win 6 or 7 of our next 10 and send us into the picture.

One thing to keep in mind is a few teams have games in hand on us.. and as bad as this team has played somtimes, as many injuries, subplots, distractions and everything we're only 5 points from Vancouver for the division.. so we're still very much in the thick of it.

 

[Avs]

I believe that we have a decent shot at the playoffs still.

The only major doubts I have is our defense (obviously) and our inconsistency. As it has been stated, to get ourselves in the thick of the playoff run, we need to string together a decent streak. I like to think positive and believe that we can get at least 1 win against the Hawks.

Also, I was looking at the standings and we are only 4 points behind the 4th/5th spot in the standings AND have 2 games in hand on those teams (DET and NSH).

And as for teams having games in hand on us, LA is the only team that does, and they only have 1 game in hand.

 

[Unaffiliated]

With Landy + Duchene + RoR + EJ + Varly all beasting, there's always at least a chance.

I mean, we're finally getting back to what we thought our FULL roster should have been at the start of a full season, and I believed we would be competing for a spot for sure.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

I'd feel even better about our chances if this warrior was in the lineup:

 

[Avs]

I'd feel even better about our chances if this warrior was in the lineup:

I am thinking one of these years, we will have a full, healthy roster for at least 5 games.

Ehh, who am I kidding? I do agree though, Downie in this new lineup would sure make make things even better than they are already starting to look.

 

[Nihiliste]

If only we had Downie and another top 4 dman.

I think we'll ultimately miss the playoffs but put up a good fight down the stretch. Depends how soon EJ/Wilson come back and how well they play.

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

the 95-point mark is what's generally the threshold for the playoffs in the 82-game season. In a 48-game season, you'd need about 55 points. So in the 29 games the Avalanche have left, they need 36 points, needing to go something like 15-8-6. For a team that's 8-8-3 and by all metrics is bottom ten in the league, it's very unlikely. Sports club stats puts Colorado's chances at 22%, which I think is still generous.

 

[Huis Clos*]

the 95-point mark is what's generally the threshold for the playoffs in the 82-game season. In a 48-game season, you'd need about 55 points. So in the 29 games the Avalanche have left, they need 36 points, needing to go something like 15-8-6. For a team that's 8-8-3 and by all metrics is bottom ten in the league, it's very unlikely. Sports club stats puts Colorado's chances at 22%, which I think is still generous.

The truth shall set you free.

 

[Freaky Styley]

the 95-point mark is what's generally the threshold for the playoffs in the 82-game season. In a 48-game season, you'd need about 55 points. So in the 29 games the Avalanche have left, they need 36 points, needing to go something like 15-8-6. For a team that's 8-8-3 and by all metrics is bottom ten in the league, it's very unlikely. Sports club stats puts Colorado's chances at 22%, which I think is still generous.

technically, that's a record of 15-14 so it doesn't seem all that far-fetched.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I certainly see us in the thick of things again this year.

I mean were playing to a .500 record right now without:

- Our only Top pairing Dman, and his partner.
- Our leading scorer last year, and our best player last year.
- Our Calder winner last year for half of this season


That's arguable our 3 biggest pieces from the team missing last year. Combine the return of those guys to the roster, + Duchene's resurgence + PAP + Barries breakout and all of a sudden this team SHOULD(key word) be much better then the Avs team last year that was within 2-3 points of playoffs last year until the final 2 games of the season.


One guy who I think needs to step up for this to happen though, Varlamov. The guy has been very very good in some games this year, but he's also been horrible in others. He wasn't good last night against Calgary, nor was he good against LA. We need consistency from Varly. I'd rather 2-3 goals against every game, then 0 one game then 5 the next then 1 the next then 4 after that. 2-3 against a night and we know what we have to do to win.


We are 8-8-3 right now, 19 GP 29 Left. We would need to got 16-9-4 in the remaining 29 games to makes playoffs IMO. that would give us 55 points on the season. Certainly doable.

 

[Nihiliste]

Apparently we just need to make sure our losses happen in overtime

But no, it's definitely unlikely.

 

[henchman21]

I don't think it will take 55 points. IMO it will be around 52. Teams in 8th (actually tied for 6th) are just 3 points ahead of us. If we can go on a run now, we have a chance to sneak into the 8th spot within a couple of weeks.

 

[PAZ]

I don't see it.

If we had this comeback against the Hawks, this would be a different story. But this was against a mediocre Flames team. I don't care how good we looked in the 3rd, we were still playing the Flames.

Theres a reason why the Avs make other teams like the Kings have a good offensive in the regular season. Same reason the Flames allowed the Avs to look good in the 2nd and 3rd.

 

[NothingLikeAnEJ]

It would be a lot more realistic if we didnt blow that Edmonton game. Those 2 points hurt.

Still doable though we just need a a couple mini win streaks

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I don't see it.

If we had this comeback against the Hawks, this would be a different story. But this was against a mediocre Flames team. I don't care how good we looked in the 3rd, we were still playing the Flames.

Theres a reason why the Avs make other teams like the Kings have a good offensive in the regular season. Same reason the Flames allowed the Avs to look good in the 2nd and 3rd.

Well yes, but the Avs defense is also missing its 2 best Defenders(at the time they went down) right now. The defense is extremely weak, but with EJ and Wilson both close to a return, our Defense wont be half bad if they come back and play like they were before they left, while Hejda and Barrie continue with there strong play.

Then you factor in factor returning, and all of a sudden our PK game could get much better, and our team defense improves.

It is definitely possible.

 

[bohlmeister]

I don't see them making it. Too many holes on defence.

 

[Hennessy]

It's not out of the question, but I wouldn't count on it. If it happens, great. If not, I don't care. I've already written off this season with the expectation that, beginning next season, the Avs are done playing around. I'm just along for the ride this year.

 

[avsfan89]

Barrie - Hejda is a legitimate pairing for us so far. If Wilson and EJ can be a reasonable top pairing then that's a doable top 4 for us in a stretch drive. KEEP O'brien, he wasn't as bad as hunwick or o'byrne has been.

O'brien - Zanon would be my bottom pairing. Hunwick and O'Byrne sit.

So I think we have a shot at a 6-8 playoff seed if our lineup is:

McGinn - Duchene - PAP
Landeskog - ROR - Stasnty
Jones - Mitchell - Hejduk
McCleod - Olver - Kobasew

Wilson - EJ
Hejda - Barrie
O'Brien - Zanon

Varly
Giggy