There's not much more to say that hasn't already been said. I think we all know the score - the Avalanche need to win tonight to stay alive. It's that simple.
In order to win, the Avalanche will need to stay out of the box and score some freaking goals. It's that simple. Well, not really. To score goals, the Avalanche need to get some people back. No, I'm not talking about Milan Hejduk, Peter Mueller and David Jones, all of whom will miss the game tonight. I'm talking about Chris Stewart, Paul Stastny, Matt Duchene, TJ Galiardi et al. All guys who've had some flashes, but none who've been able to provide any sort of consistent offensive threat. Duchene has been the Avs' best forward in through 5 games and he seems to be discovering a physical side we haven't seen before. And yet, he's doing far too much shaking and baking. He looks very much like the Matt Duchene from the first few months of the season. You know, the guy who was trying too hard? Galiardi has been an abrasive pest through the entire series and I absolutely love this new level of awesomeness to his game. But 7 shots and 1 point in 5 games? Won't cut it. Stewie and Stastny? After a great couple of games, we've heard nary a peep out of them in the last couple of duds. It would be nice to find out they are playing through some other method than just reading their names on the scoresheet.
When the season is over, I know we'll be able to look back and congratulate the Avalanche on doing far better than anyone expected in both the regular season and the postseason. But that time isn't now. Now is the time to hope that this team can find a way to dig deep and keep it alive. Despite the injuries and the rest, the Avalanche have shown they can beat the Sharks if they play as well as they're capable of. If not...well, I think we all know what will happen then.