The seemingly inevitable is upon the Avalanche.
NHL-leading Colorado will clinch the Central Division title and collect the Western Conference’s No. 1 playoff seed by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night at Ball Arena.
The Avs (114 points) can also clinch Saturday with an overtime/shootout loss against the Hurricanes if the Calgary Flames (99 points) and Minnesota Wild (98) don’t collect more than a point in their games against Arizona and St. Louis, respectively.
Regardless of the outcome between the Canes (48-19-8), Colorado (54-14-6) will still have seven remaining games to clinch. Plenty of time for one of the hottest teams in the NHL.