And this time they really mean it!
After Tuesday's game was wiped out by Blizzardapocalypse '11, the Avalanche are back home to host the Minnesota Wild towards the end of what is now a 7-game homestand. I was curious as to what was the longest homestand in Avalanche history, but only got as far as the 8-game stand just two seasons ago before I got bored. That one wasn't very good (3-5), and this one isn't off to a stellar start (2-3).
The Avs have slipped to 10th in the Western Conference, one point behind the Minnesota Wild. HEY, we PLAY the Wild tonight! Super news right there, as all we need is a regulation win to move up in the standings. It also would guarantee at least a tie in the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Wild, although the importance of that has been reduced significantly by the new non-shootout win tiebreaker.
There was talk that Ryan O'Reilly might have been able to play on Tuesday, but it turns out that he wouldn't have been ready to go and is questionable for tonight's game. Won't matter - Avalanche are going to win this one in a big way tonight. Oh yes, I just did that.
Go Avs!
Oh, and birthday wishes to Ryan Wilson. The Mack Truck is 24 today.
| Colorado | Minnesota | |||
| 21st | 56 | Points | 17th | 57 |
| 5th | 3.16 | GF/G | 21st | 2.60 |
| 30th | 3.30 | GA/G | 10th | 2.60 |
| 7th | 20.8 | PP% | 6th | 20.9 |
| 27th | 77.7 | PK% | 14th | 82.4 |
| 16th | 30.3 | S/G | 30th | 25.8 |
| 10th | 31.4 | SA/G | 9th | 31.8 |
| 21st | 49.8 | FO% | 17th | 50.8 |
| 18th | 12.5 | PIM/G | 6th | 11.0 |
| Duchene | 45 pts | Top Scorer | Havlat | 44 pts |