Avalanche Ready For Regular-Season Finale

For the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues, it all comes down to Game 82 to decide who will claim the final Western Conference playoff berth.
The Avalanche (42-30-9) and is one point behind the Blues (44-31-6) with 93 points and a win in regulation would allow Colorado to advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2014.
"It's an exciting time of the year, it's been exciting for the last month," said Avs veteran Tyson Barrie. "I think every game has been big, and it's kind of crazy how it boils down to this one game. If you were looking two weeks ago maybe you kind of thought it might come down to this, and it does. Got to be proud of the guys for putting ourselves in position where we win one and we are in, so it's going to be a great game tonight and it's going to be a lot of fun."

It is the fifth meeting between the clubs this season and Colorado is 1-3-0 against the Blues this year but won the most recent matchup 4-1 on March 15 at Scottrade Center.
St. Louis will be playing its second game in as many days as it skated to a 4-1 victory at the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night to regain the West's second wild-card position.
"I think back-to-back's haven't been easy this year for any team, so we will want to jump after them early here," said Barrie. "They got just as much on the line as we do, so I am sure they will be ready, but it's going to be an exciting game."
The Avalanche and Blues have been trading places in the standings for the last few weeks but ultimately the only time the standings matter is after tonight's contest.
In the second half of the season, the Avalanche has played nearly every other day and almost every game has had a "biggest of the year" feel to it, which has helped Colorado be ready for tonight's outing.
"Ever since we put together that run in January to get ourselves into position we have had a kind of do-or-die attitude every game," said captain Gabriel Landeskog. "We have been doing it for a long time now, and I think that has definitely helped us prepare for this. Guys have stepped up in different ways, whether its big saves, big blocked shots or big goals or whatever, guys are stepping up, and we are looking to do that same thing tonight."
Tonight's matchup is the first time since 2010 that two teams will meet in their final game of the season while competing for the only remaining Stanley Cup Playoff spot in the conference.
The Philadelphia Flyers hosted the New York Rangers on the final day of the 2009-10 campaign in a winner-take-all showdown. The Flyers won in a shootout and went on to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
"You can't really think it's a normal game because it's not a normal game. It's a hockey game but it has pretty big stakes, but I think we have an advantage," said forward Mikko Rantanen. "We are here at home and our fans are amazing, so we have to take energy from that and just have a good three periods and see what the score is after that."
Colorado is 27-11-2 on home ice this year and 17-4-1 in its last 22 games at Pepsi Center.
This season, the Avs had a franchise record-tying, 10-game home win streak and 13 victories in 16 contests in the Mile High City for the first time in Colorado history. The Avalanche also had its best-ever 20-game home stretch in a single season (16-3-1).
"I just want to make sure we go out and that we are playing with the right intensity right from the start and that we are having fun doing this thing," said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar. "We know what makes us successful, we know what our identity is, and we have to get to that right from the drop of the puck and make sure we stick with it through the 60 minutes. If we do that, we are going to give ourselves a real good chance to win and they are going to enjoy it."
The Avalanche has 45 points more than what it finished the season with last year and is the first team to post a 40-plus point improvement from one season to the next since the Pittsburgh Penguins increased their total by 47 points from 2005-06 to 2006-07.
"I'm really proud of our guys to get to this spot. A lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into this," said Bednar. "You start in the offseason with your training program that everyone buys into. Our work through training camp, developing some of our young guys to be impact players for us, the leadership of the core guys that have come back and their approach to the whole entire season sets them up for this moment. They have given me the confidence to believe that we are going to win tonight because all that they have put into it."

FAN APPRECIATION DAY

The regular-season finale also marks the Avalanche's Fan Appreciation Day, presented by Pepsi.
There will be pregame events in the Coors Meadow, located outside the Grand Atrium on the west side of the arena, starting at 5 p.m. with music and games. There will also be many giveaways during the game as a thank you to the fans.
"The fan support has been awesome all year, I think you guys have seen it. Coming off of last year, we weren't really sure what was going to happen, what it was going to look like on a nightly basis, but it's exceeded all expectations and it's been awesome," said Landeskog. "Looking here tonight, to have a chance to go to the playoffs and knowing that it's going to be sold out and the whole town is cheering us on, it's going to mean a lot to us. Now, it's just a matter of going out there, having fun and playing hockey."
After the contest, the players will participate in a "Jerseys Off Our Backs" ceremony on the ice as they will present autographed, game-worn jerseys to fans who are selected through random seat drawings.
"It's hard to thank [the fans], they have been unbelievable all year. It has really helped us have home-ice advantage, and that's huge in the NHL," said rookie Tyson Jost. "Their support has been tremendous. Tonight, we are playing for them and we are playing for each other and it's going to be really exciting. I know they are going to come out being really loud, and we are going to have to give them a good show."

LINEUP NOTES

Mark Alt will return to the lineup for the Avalanche and is expected to be on the third defensive pairing with Mark Barberio.
"A little bit bigger body, physical guy, right handed shot," Bednar said of Alt. "He has played well for us when he has been in, so he'll get the nod tonight."
Jonathan Bernier did not participate in morning skate, but he will start between the pipes for the fourth consecutive game for the Avs.
Here is the Avalanche's projected lineup.