This is crunch time. The Avalanche have had some tough losses lately. They should have beaten the Wild. The could have beaten the Penguins. They might have beaten the Flames. All those near wins have added up to a whole bunch of losses. Since beating the Leafs on October 17th to record their 5th straight road win, the Avalanche have gone all green eggs and ham on us. They do not like to win at home, they do not like to win on the road. They do not like to win the high scoring games, they do not like to win the low scoring games. Not great goaltending, not great D, not much offense...oh, Sam, let me be.
This is, of course, a critical stretch for the team (and, possible, coach Joe Sacco and GM Greg Sherman). The Avalanche are at home for the next 8 games, and all 8 opponents are above them in the standings as of today - Dallas (twice), San Jose, Vancouver, Edmonton, New Jersey, St Louis and Detroit. No easy games there, but the Avalanche will need to win a bunch of them to be back into the thick of things when the dust clears on December 4th. If not, we could be spending the rest of the season wondering which player the Capitals will be drafting with their lottery pick next June. And that's a tough meal to swallow.