Pregame Skate: Avs with great shot at two points, Caps much tougher

This logjam in the West is pretty amazing right now. The Colorado Avalanche in 11th place are two points behind seventh-place Phoenix. They might have the lowest odds of the bunch thanks to having played more games -- Saturday they become the first team this season to play 70 games -- but they're still in it.

By Brian Stubits

Mar 10, 2012 at 10:30 am ET • 4 min read

The Avs continue to linger in the West playoff picture. (Getty Images)

The Pregame Skate is back. Every morning for the rest of the season we're going to take a look at the games that have the greatest significance in the push for the postseason for you to digest while you drink your java. We'll throw in some miscellany for the fun of it.

With 11 games on tap, have to be selective here.

3 ET, Edmonton at Colorado

The question first is how are they going to handle the loss of Matt Duchene ? The young forward was knocked out of the lineup for the next 3-4 weeks with a lower-body injury. Is that something that's going to cripple their chances?

I don't think so, and here's why: When you are a team as balanched offensively as the Avs are, you can absorb losses like this. They don't rely on him to do 30 percent of the scoring, there are plenty of other guys who can pick up the slack, including the new guys Steve Downie and Jamie McGinn , who have both worked out really well in Colorado so far. With the way they have played I think they can help get Colorado in.

But they have to get games like this. At home against one of the NHL's worst teams in the Oilers ? I hate to overuse the term must win so I won't label this game that, but it's big. You have to get the points that are dangling like a carrot in front of a jackrabbit, if not those come back to haunt you, in more ways than one.

1 ET, Washington at Boston

Now we get to see where this season for the Capitals is headed, the next few games will tell the tale, starting with Saturday's matinee at the Bruins .

The Caps, who have struggled all season on the road, are going to face some stiff foes in their own barns. For a team that enters the day tenuously holding the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, they feel the pressure. Of their 15 games left, nine of them are going to be away from Verizon Center.

Then again, considering the Caps just finished a five-game home stand 2-2-1 with the two wins being late comebacks against non-playoff teams, perhaps it will be good to get away from home, perhaps it will increase the sense of urgency and it will show in their game. You just continue to wait for the Capitals to put in a solid 60, consistent from start to finish.

Of course, Boston isn't the place I'd suggest a team begins that undertaking. Maybe, just maybe, the B's are waking up from their "slump." For the first time since mid-January, they are riding a two-game "winning streak."

8 ET, San Jose at Phoenix

About a week ago this looked like it was going to be a battle for first place in the Pacific. Well a lot has changed since then. Both the Coyotes and Sharks have gone in the tank a bit and the Stars have taken off.

So instead, this game is for seventh place in the conference, and some very important breathing room in that West logjam. Assuming the game only yields two points, the loser is left in a pretty perilous position. If it's the Sharks who lose, they could actually be outside the top eight by day's end. It looks and sounds a bit worse than it is with their games played and all, but still jolting to see.

And what has happened to the Coyotes? They haven't won a game since the calendar flipped to March, the exact opposite of how it looked in February. They are 0-4-1 this month against a murderer's row lineup that has consisted of the Flames, the Wild and the Blue Jackets twice. That's going from 60 to Zero in a second.

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You wonder if goalie Mike Smith wasn't a bit run down. Or, more likely, the team has just evened out as everybody usually always does.

Others worth watching

7 ET, Carolina at Tampa Bay: So starts the make-or-break seven-game home stand for the Lightning. With the proper help from other teams in the race, the Lightning can potentially be one point out of eighth place by night's end. Crazy considering where they were a month or two ago.

7 ET, Buffalo at Ottawa: While the Lightning and be one point back of eighth if things go their way, the Sabres can actually be tied for the position. They get their first look at Ben Bishop, who has won his first two starts with the Senators .

8 ET, Detroit at Nashville: This is a battle for the first-round home-ice advantage, that fourth seed in the west. In Detroit's case, they are still right there in the Predsidents' Trophy race too. If the Predators can pick up a clean two points, though, they are only four behind Detroit with one in hand. The Central is fun, isn't it?

Your promised miscellany

Friday's Winners & Losers
A great read going even deeper into the question that is asked every other day: What's wrong with Alex Ovechkin ? (Washington Post)
Herb Carnegie, who never made it to the NHL because he was black, died at 92. This is a great look at a guy that more people should know about. (New York Times)
Anybody want to ask Jets coach Claude Noel how bad it feels to have a pointless road trip?