The end is near for the Avalanche -- mathematically, that is.
The Avalanche play in Anaheim on Friday night and in Los Angeles on Saturday, and chances are excellent they'll be officially eliminated from playoff consideration this weekend.
Here are the game notes for the contest against the Ducks.
While the Ducks (50-22-7, 107 points) have clinched first place in the Pacific Division, they are in position to win the President's Trophy for the best record in the NHL for home ice throughout the playoffs, so they'll probably continue to play most of their regulars.
After losing 5-1 in San Jose on Wednesday, the Avalanche (35-30-12, 82 points) remain eight points out of the playoffs, behind the Kings, who have moved into the second wild card position in the West. Winnipeg also has 90 points but has fewer regulation and overtime wins.
The Avalanche also trail San Jose (85 points) and Dallas (84), both of whom are also likely to miss the playoffs.
Colorado needs to win the final five games to finish with 92 points, and a regulation loss to the Ducks would prevent it from passing the Kings and Jets; L.A. and Winnipeg own the tiebreaker with more non-shootout wins.
Reto Berra will start in goal again. He was fine in San Jose, stopping 25 of 28 shots before the Sharks scored two empty-net goals.
One goal was scored on a deflection, another from the slot after Tyson Barrie lost the puck behind the net, and the other on a second rebound.
"I thought he played really well, he was very good in the first," coach Patrick Roy told the Denver Post. "A few nice tips in front of him and I thought he did a really good job. I was very happy with his performance."
The Avalanche have to make a decision about who will serve as Semyon Varlamov's backup next season, Berra or Calvin Pickard, who played so well following his call-ups from Lake Erie. Berra is in the first year of a three-year contract with a $1.45 million salary cap hit and Pickard will be a restricted free agent July 1.
Matt Duchene scored the Avalanche's lone goal Wednesday, his 20th of the season.
Here is the Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Alex Tanguay John Mitchell - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla Cody McLeod - Marc-Andre Cliche - Dennis Everberg Jordan Caron - Joey Hishon - Freddie Hamilton
DEFENSEMEN Jan Hejda - Zach Redmond Nate Guenin - Tyson Barrie Nick Holden - Brad Stuart
GOALIES Reto Berra Semyon Varlamov