NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Something fabulous will unfold April 4.
The Stanley Cup playoffs could start on a Saturday afternoon in the Pepsi Center.
The St. Louis Blues, defending Cup champions, will close out the regular season against the Avalanche in Denver on April 4. And at the rate they’re moving, this game could ascertain the Central Division champion and No. 1 Western Conference playoff seed.
The fifth and final meeting between the Blues and Avs won’t just be the rubber game, as both teams have won. It might decide which group would face the playoff-poised Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs — and which team opens against the summit ’s eighth and last seed, which will be wild card No. 2.
There’s no opponent. Every playoff group could turn into Cup-worthy. However, the Avs would certainly prefer to start against a Group of the likes of the Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets or Minnesota Wild.
They certainly would prefer not to start against the Blues or even Stars in 2 scenarios that won’t happen should they win the division. They want the home-ice advantage matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 8.
The Blues entered Saturday’s match against Dallas with a division/conference-high 86 points — three before their Avs (who had two games in hand) and six over the Stars (just one ).
If Colorado finishes third or second behind division-winning St. Louis, it would probably open against Dallas — given the division’s current fourth-place team entered Saturday’s games a remote eight points behind the Stars.
Colorado, together with 18 remaining games following Saturday’s lean at Nashville, is in the regular-season stretch streak as a team. That hasn’t happened because 2014 when the Avs cruised into an period in Patrick Roy’s as head trainer. That team finished 52-22-4 before being upset about No. 7 Minnesota in a first-round show that went into overtime in Game 7.
The current Avs (38-18-7, 83 points before Saturday), despite still missing essential forward Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri and Matt Calvert during mid-March or longer, have 10 home games after Saturday, and just eight to the road. And that bodes well for a group which has started to play at home and has been successful outside of their Denver.
The Avs had won seven straight over the road entering Saturday, tying a club record set in 1999 with a squad led by Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Adam Foote and Roy, to name a few.
By all reports, healthy or not, the Avs are about a path that may wind up tournament — should they beat the Blues on April 4.
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Dreaded Wings. The Avalanche is next off to Michigan for its annual trip to Detroit, the NHL’s worst group. The Red Wings took a 15-47-4 record (34 points) into Saturday’s match at Ottawa.
With 15 games Monday when they host the Avs, Detroit is to finish with the league’s biggest wins because Colorado had just 22 in 2016-17. Beginning Monday, the Red Wings will play 11 of their last 15 games against teams in playoff position.
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