Avs are out of gas, Flames may try to lure Yzerman, more notes

The Avs have been allowing 3.60 goals per game since the break as once-solid Craig Anderson wears down. AP

The Colorado Avalanche announced on Thursday that playoff tickets will go on sale Saturday.

No, it wasn't a well-timed gag, though going by their play of late -- over the last month, the Avs have been a house of horrors befitting Halloween more than April Fool's Day -- one could be forgiven for double-checking the calendar.

Actually, if the team had been smart, it would have moved the sale up to today. Because if things don't go well when the eighth-place Avs host the ninth-place Calgary Flames, there might not be much demand for those ducats.

Though the clash is being promoted as a must-win game for both sides, that's not quite true. The Flames have four games after it, the Avalanche five, leaving some room for last-minute jockeying. But with two points and a world of momentum separating them in the race for the final playoff spot in the West, the game sets up as the most important contest either has played this season.

What's hard to believe is that it ever got to this point. When these teams met back on March 17, the Avs held a comfortable nine-point lead. The Flames earned a 3-2 win that night in Denver, a victory that could have propelled their their playoff pursuit. Instead, they stumbled along, running up a 4-3 record that included humiliating losses and pulse-pounding wins. Exactly the sort of performance you'd expect from a team that's good but not quite good enough to earn an invite to the postseason party. But even mediocrity wasn't enough to extinguish the Flames. Not with the Avalanche grinding to a halt.

Since that night, the Avs are 1-4-1, allowing Calgary to carve away at their lead until it was down to just a pair of points. And with a regulation loss in their final meeting of the regular season, it's down to zero.

Winning in 60 is key to Calgary's cause. If the two teams are deadlocked at the end of the season, the Avs are likely to have the edge in wins (41-39 at the moment). They already have the head-to-head battle locked up after winning the first four meetings. But it has to burn Colorado that it's come to this. That they've become the cliche: the team that peaked too soon.

That's part of learning how to win in this league, but right now it's an awfully tough lesson to swallow.

Where other teams are ramping up their intensity, the Avs seem to be withdrawing. And while they'd never say as much, you get the sense that their confidence is flagging in a clearly exhausted Craig Anderson. Remember when he was a leading candidate for the Vezina earlier in the season? Not anymore.

Not to take anything away from his remarkable season -- where would they be without his heroics? -- but Anderson is dragging. His glove hand has slowed, his positioning is off. His slumping play is the biggest reason that, in the 15 games since the Olympics, Colorado has allowed 3.60 goals per game. That's a significant step down from Edmonton's 30th-ranked 3.36 season average and a full goal more than the 2.59 that the Avs were surrendering prior to the break.

Of course, Anderson's not the only reason for the slide. The team's overall defensive effort has slipped as it has scrambled to do too much. The forwards, Paul Stastny's line in particular, are being exposed for their poor positioning. And then there are the turnovers, a problem illustrated time and again during Wednesday's demoralizing 5-2 loss to the Ducks.

Though they were credited with just seven on the night by the kind-hearted Anaheim statisticians, the true number might have been double. It's a sign of a team that's trying to do too much. And that lack of patience is biting them hard.

But as grim as this skid has been, there's hope. Truth is, Colorado's fate is in its own hands. Beat the Flames, and the Avs are back in charge.

They'll also get a big boost when Brandon Yip, the rookie sparkplug who missed the month of March with a shoulder separation, and Stephane Yelle return to the lineup. Yip had 11 goals in 26 games prior to his injury and Yelle brings a steadying veteran presence. Both could play a key role in the Flames game and down the stretch.

Will that be enough to snap this skid? Hard to say. But the Avs might want to make sure they have a few extra operators standing by, just in case.

Jamming The Crease

It wasn't long ago that I was convinced the Sutter brothers had enough collateral to buy at least one more season to turn things around in Calgary. Now, despite this late run, it's hard not to get the sense that things have changed. Unless the pressure is relieved by advancing past the first round, you could see a new look in place before the draft. If that happens, Steve Yzerman is expected to be the team's first choice for the general manager's position.

But would he want it?

It's not even certain that Yzerman, who has served as vice-president of the Red Wings since Sept. 2006, believes he's ready for the challenge of managing an NHL team just yet. And if he is, he may not be looking for a Ty Pennington special like Calgary.

Consider what he'd have to deal with. He'd be handcuffed financially by the contracts awarded recently to Rene Bourque and Matt Stajan and a very expensive blueline. The team has no first round pick this summer -- that chip was dealt to Phoenix last year at the deadline for Olli Jokinen. The system is regarded as one of the bottom 10 in the league, thanks to years of questionable drafting. And the team's core is aging rapidly. Both Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff are in their mid-30s -- ideal if the team was in position to challenge for the Stanley Cup, but it will be long-in-the-tooth before this thing gets back on course.

Yzerman is so highly regarded as a managerial prospect that he can afford to pick his spot. Calgary might offer the type of challenge he craves. More likely, though, he holds off for something more appealing.