It's over. The Avalanche were officially eliminated from playoff contention Saturday afternoon when Winnipeg defeated Vancouver 5-4.
The Jets moved into the second wild card position in the West with 92 points and the Avalanche can't overtake them. They have four games left, starting with Saturday night in Los Angeles, and would finish with 92 points by winning them all. But the Jets have an insurmountable lead (34-27) in regulation and overtime wins, the tiebreaker.
The Jets haven't wrapped up a playoff spot, though. The Kings can move ahead of them with a win against the Avalanche because of ROW.
The Avalanche, who finished first in the Central Division last season with 112 points, have 84 points this year and have now missed the playoffs five times in seven seasons.
Semyon Varlamov will be back in goal against the Kings when the Avalanche conclude their three-game trip through California.
Here are the game notes.
Varlamov last played Monday when the Avalanche's 4-1 loss to Edmonton pretty much sealed their non-postseason fate. Varlamov stopped 32 of 34 shots before the Oilers scored two empty-net goals.
The Kings lost two games in a row before blowing out the Oilers 8-2 on Thursday.
Goalie Reto Berra made 35 saves Friday in a 4-2 win in Anaheim. Matt Duchene, John Mitchell, Gabriel Landeskog and Dennis Everberg (an empty netter) scored the goals.
Tyson Barrie had two assists, giving him 51 points. He joined Rob Blake, Ray Bourque and Sandis Ozolinsh as the only Avalanche defensemen to collect 50 points in a season.
Said Berra, who stopped 25 of 28 shots Wednesday in the 5-1 loss (two empty-net goals) in San Jose: "It was another good game for me. I felt really good. I thought the whole team played a really good game. Every time I play, it's an honor for me and I try to give it all I have.…
Here's 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 Semyon Varlamov Reto Berra