On the Horizon

We are now in the month of April. Well... the Colorado Avalanche are. The second day of April marked the beginning of the last scraps of the regular season for the Avs. The month of March was very good to us, but on a down note, we ended March losing two straight. Granted one of them was post-regulation, but still, it's two straight losses. The Avs had seven games left, and five of them were on the road. The first of those games was a visit to Chicago, our last in the regular season.

Now, it's usually fun and interesting when the Avs and Blackhawks face off. It's been interesting this year, but not that fun; the Blackhawks, strangely, have been tough against us. Scott Wedgewood was in net against Spencer Knight, and the game was back and forth to start. Sam Malinski drew first blood and scored, but that goal was removed. They said offsides. Yeah, sure. I saw the replay. Any other team, that goal counts. So it's still scoreless. Both teams pressed, but at least we got the game's first power play. So we could get that goal back. Problem. An odd man rush the other way, and Ilya Mikheyev (who should still be a Maple Leaf) puts it in. So instead of 1-0 Avs, it's 1-0 Hawks. That's a downer.

Rest of the PP was killed off; the 1-0 score held up after 20. Second period, Avs received another PP, but it was not good. At least we didn't give up another shortie, but we actually came close. PP killed off and a couple of minutes later, Connor Murphy makes it 2-0, and one of the assists: Connor Bedard. Hell's bells. Avs received another PP, this one actually had some life before it was killed off. We get a few things going, but then, the Hawks go on the PP. We kill it off, and it's 2-0 Chicago after 40. Third period saw the Avs really press, and I found myself really hoping and nearly praying for something. Finally, at 9:17, Cale Makar puts us on the board. That's one.

We had half a period left to tie it, but Chicago received a PP. Killed off. Then, with under four minutes left, another PP for Chicago. Oh boy. We killed that off, too, thank goodness. Wedgewood was pulled for the extra attacker, we controlled the puck for the most part. A stoppage occurs with 20 seconds left. Faceoff in the Chicago zone, Makar gets the puck, fires it, goes off Brock Nelson, deflects off Martin Necas, and goes in! With 9.8 seconds left in regulation, the Avs tie it up! So overtime arrives, and that's one point in the standings. Both teams had close calls, but nothing goes in. Game goes to a shootout, and thankfully, Jared Bednar learned from the last time. Brock Nelson missed after Ryan Donato went wide, and following that, Connor Bedard hit the post. Nathan MacKinnon scored, but so did Teuvo Teravainen. Artturi Lehkonen would put in the winner.

An absolutely amazing comeback win for the Avs; down 2-0 with over half a period left, Makar puts us on the board, then Necas somehow ties it with 10 seconds left, and we win the shootout! This is absolutely fantastic!! So with the victory, the Avs are now two points away from clinching a playoff spot. Two points. That's one win! And even better: this was the first of a back-to-back set for us. So we can get this done on the next day. The Avs will be in Columbus on Thursday. If we win, we're in. If we only get one point, we'll need the Calgary Flames to lose to the Anaheim Ducks in any fashion. We are definitely on the horizon, Avs fans!

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