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.
While I do agree that the healthy of certain guys is vital to our playoff chances. I think we NEED to go into this playoff series with a win. Not because we would avoid San Jose, because I think we are capable of upsetting them, but because we need that momentum heading out of the road for the first two games.
Q needs to limit Forsberg’s ice time, but he should still play close to 12-15 minutes. He seems to do just fine when his ice time is in that range. Of course, all this is dependent on how close this game is and the style in which it is being played. If we some how get a lead and a 2-3 goal cushion I’d give the 3rd and 4th lines more ice and shorten the shifts on the top lines.