Any thought that today's game would be meaningless was thrown out the window last night when the Vancouver Cancucks rolled over against the Flames 7-1. Not that we should have been surprised; the Canucks have lost 6 of their last 7 and 3 straight in front of their whisper-quiet fans. The win by Calgary moves the Flames into 6th place. The Avs now need a point today to get back into 6th to avoid a first-round series against the Sharks.
While the game has some meaning for the Avs, it has virtually no meaning for the Wild and that scares me a little. The Wild were pushed around in the playoffs last year. A meaningless game against a team they may end up playing in the playoffs would be a great game to use to send a message. I don't know that that's quite Jacques Lemaire's bag, but the opportunity is there nonetheless. I look for this to be an extremely chippy game.
I'm also quite curious to see if Quenneville rests any of the key players event though the game will decide our opponent. As good as San Jose has been, I think the health of guys like Peter Forsberg is more important than first round matchups.
UPDATE: No rest for any of the Avs today. Theodore is in net, and all the same players / lines as the Vancouver game are dressed. Foote is playing as is Forsberg.