Standings Continue To Tighten As Avs Grab A Point

ANAHEIM, Calif.--The Colorado Avalanche will take the point in the standings but getting two would have been much sweeter, especially when its opponent is also fighting for a postseason spot.
Rookie Tyson Jost scored twice and Jonathan Bernier made 38 saves for the Avs, but they fell 4-3 in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night at Honda Center. The Ducks came back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to tie the outing, and Ondrej Kase tallied the game-winner 1:34 into the extra session.
"I think the first 40 minutes, we played well," said Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog. "Obviously in the third, we knew they were going to come. We knew they were going to come hard. It's disappointing, no doubt."

The point earned in the overtime loss brings the Avalanche's point total to 93 and moved the team back into a playoff position for the time being. Colorado has a one-point lead on ninth-place St. Louis, but the Blues have played one fewer game. The Avalanche hosts the Blues in the regular-season finale on Saturday.
Anaheim moves up into third place in the Pacific Division with 95 points.
"The only day in the standings that matters is next Saturday," said Avs head coach Jared Bednar. "It's a point, it's what we got. Disappointing we didn't get two because we played OK for a lot of that game, and we were in a position to win that game and turned a few pucks over. Part of that is their doing and part of it is our doing. We had some puck luck early, they had some late."

The Avs' final four games of the regular season are a prequel to a hopeful playoff run, with each outing holding vast significance. Colorado was within six points of each of the four opponents entering Sunday, with three of the teams beginning the day within two points of one another.
Anaheim is one of the squads Colorado is chasing, and the intensity of two desperate clubs looking to play past this week was displayed on the ice. Sunday's contest was full of chippy play before and after whistles, as the two teams combined for 10 penalties and 47 hits.
Among the exchanges that took place were several battles between the clubs' primary power forwards in Landeskog and Anaheim's Ryan Kesler.
"It is the way it should be at this time of year. It is a lot of fun," Landeskog said. "I was trying to focus more on playing hockey than he was I think, but that is the way it is. It's fun. It's competitive."

Bednar appreciated his players' discipline during heated exchanges and the offensive chances they created when the squads weren't jawing at each other
"We were competing. We got to the scoring areas. We scored some goals," Bednar said. "We didn't take any penalties. We capitalized on the power play, so for a lot of that game I thought we were fine. I would have liked to see us push a little bit harder, push back a little bit harder in the third period. You got to be able to execute and you got to have a little poise with the puck to do that. We lacked a little bit of that in the third period."
Every game at this time of the season is biggest one of the year, and that remains true for the Avalanche's next outing on Monday at the Los Angeles Kings. L.A. is in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Colorado.
With the game against the Ducks now in the past, the Kings are the only team the Avs are worried about now, and their play is the only thing they can control.
"If you start thinking about how you're getting to the playoffs and things like that, you're not going to play your team game," Bernier said. "I think you just have to focus on the process, and it's been working for us all year. Tomorrow we just have to get back at it."

BERNIER'S BACK

Jonathan Bernier made his first start in three weeks on Sunday night and had a solid performance with a 38-save outing.
"I felt pretty good right off the bat," Bernier said. "I thought it was more toward the end, third period, that's when you're physically, mentally, it's a lot harder. For a first game, I felt pretty good."
Bernier was making his first start since March 10 versus the Arizona Coyotes. However, he has only appeared in three games since Feb. 16 due to two separate head injuries and an illness.

"Obviously when you haven't played in a long time, you have to rely on your practice habits and make sure it comes easy in the game," Bernier said. "I felt pretty good overall. I wish I had a little more juice in the third there and stayed more focused."
The netminder was also playing the squad he dressed for last season. It was the third time this year that he played the Ducks, with him and the Avalanche winning the first two outings.

INJURY UPDATES

Defenseman Mark Barberio (upper body) and Colin Wilson (lower body) are making progress with their respective injuries and could return to the Avs' lineup in the near future. Both players are in California with the team and took part in Saturday's practice back in Denver in non-contact jerseys.
"Both are getting close," Bednar said prior to Sunday's game. "Barbs, he's been out for a significant length of time so it's hard to put a timeframe on him. He's had setbacks along the way, but he's doing well this week. He's skating and trying to get back into condition to play. Wilson, shorter-term injury, but things are starting to go good for him, too. He could be a possibility on this trip for us."
Wilson has been out for the past four games after getting hurt in the March 22 contest versus Los Angeles. Barberio hasn't played since Jan. 23 at the Montreal Canadiens.
"The key is to get him on the ice and get him in practice with the group," Bednar said of Barberio's long layoff. "He started that at home the last couple of days. We'll have another few practices on this trip as well and then we'll take it day-by-day and see how things go."
Goalie Semyon Varlamov missed his first contest after getting hurt on Friday versus the Blackhawks. Bednar revealed before the game in Anaheim that Varlamov did not join the team on the trip and is out indefinitely with a knee injury.
Defenseman Erik Johnson was out for the second straight outing after fracturing his patella on Wednesday versus the Philadelphia Flyers. The blueliner will miss a minimum of six weeks.

BACK-TO-BACK IN SO-CAL

Colorado concludes the second half of its back-to-back set on Monday at the Los Angeles Kings.
Jonathan Bernier will get the start in net, head coach Jared Bednar said following Sunday's contest in Anaheim. Bernier last played on back-to-back nights on Jan. 22-23 in Toronto and Montreal.
The Kings won the first two matchups of the year against the Avalanche, including 10 days ago in Denver.
This is the Avs' 11th and last back-to-back of the season.