So now the Avalanche's playoff destiny comes down to Sunday, the final day of the NHL regular season.
Despite a 5-1 loss to San Jose on Friday night, the Avalanche still controls its postseason fate. A Colorado win at Anaheim on Sunday night would clinch first place in the Central Division and earn the No. 2 playoff seed in the Western Conference.
The Ducks won the conference and top seed Saturday night with a 4-3 shootout win in Los Angeles. That gave them a three-point lead (114-111) on the Avalanche, which will open first-round play at home against Minnesota or Chicago.
The Avalanche and injury-riddled St. Louis Blues, who have lost five consecutive games, have 52-22-7 records and 111 points with one game remaining, but the Avalanche holds the tiebreaker -- more regulation and overtime wins (47-43).
The Avalanche will know before meeting the Ducks what needs to be done -- if anything -- to finish first because the Blues will play Detroit at home early Sunday, 7 1-2 hours before the game in Anaheim. A Blues loss in regulation would clinch first place for the Avalanche, which otherwise would need to match any points St. Louis earns.
As for the Blues, they will be facing a Red Wings team that is already locked into the second wild-card slot in the Eastern Conference and has nothing to play for. That's because Columbus and Philadelphia won Saturday. The Flyers clinched third place in the Metropolitan Division and the Blue Jackets the first wild-card spot.
Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said after Friday's loss that goalie Semyon Varlamov would start against the Ducks, though Jean-Sebastien Giguere could get the call if Colorado doesn't need at least a point.
But health issues continue to plague the Avalanche. Right wing PA Parenteau returned to the lineup Friday and logged 18:26 in ice time with three shots after missing 15 games with a knee injury, but center John Mitchell (headaches, possible concussion) didn't dress. Defenseman Tyson Barrie, who has eight goals and 17 assists in the past 31 games, sustained what Roy called an "upper-body injury" (it's close to playoff time, so specific ailments won't be revealed now) on an open-ice hit from Sharks defenseman Jason Demers in the first period and didn't return.
With Barrie apparently questionable at best for Sunday's game, the Avalanche recalled defenseman Stefan Elliott from Lake Erie of the American Hockey League. Elliott has 14 goals, 14 assists and a minus-16 plus/minus rating in 61 games for the Monsters, who are last in the Western Conference's North Division with a 29-32-1-10 record.
Left wing Cody McLeod, who has missed five games with a sprained ankle, might be available against the Ducks.
The Avalanche isn't practicing Saturday and won't have a morning skate Sunday.
Because the Ducks played Saturday in L.A., forward Teemu Selanne won't be in the lineup against the Kings but will play against the Avalanche in his final regular-season game. Selanne, 43, is retiring after the playoffs and hasn't been playing in both ends of back-to-back games.