Hyberbole aside, tonight's Avalanche Game against the top seeded Golden Knights in Vegas is the biggest game of the season for both teams. The Avs currently trail by 4 points for the top spot in the Western Conference playoffs, but can cut the Knights lead in half tonight. And if Colorado takes care of business against the Kings Wednesday and Thursday at Ball Arena, they can leapfrog to the top spot in the standings, as they have 1 more game than Vegas and will own the tie-breaker. The Knights regular season finale is Wednesday at The Shark Tank in San Jose.
Although the Avalanche lost at T-Mobile Arena, 5-2, when these teams last met, April 28th, Colorado currently has a 4-3 season advantage and a win tonight would not only cement the season series, but would also put the Avs in position to claim the President's Trophy as the NHL team with most regular season points.
Colorado's best player, forward Nathan MacKinnon has missed the last 2 games with a minor lower body injury, but Head Coach Jared Bednar said Monday Mackinnon will be in the lineup tonight in Sin City.
Bednar gave credit to his team saying, "we wouldn't be in this position if we hadn't taken care of business our last few games.
He also discussed what having home ice would mean, "I don't think it's the be-all end-all, the importance of it is our home record, and how we’ve played at home…the type of game we’ve played at home, it’s been outstanding…not just us, Vegas, you look at Minny, there’s big swings in home and road…home ice is a goal we set out for at the beginning of the season…I think setting small goals and accomplishing them can be good for a team."
Captain Gabe Landeskog, understandably, is happy to have MacKinnon back.