It’s good to be back in the win column.
The Avalanche had a ‘must-win’ of sorts on Sunday evening, facing off against the team just ahead of them in the Western Conference standings to battle it out for the second Wild Card spot.
After an optimistic start to the year, Colorado had been on a steep backslide since the end of October, losing five straight and six of their last seven.
The hockey gods occasionally come along with a gift when you most need it, though, and they sure delivered with the schedule Sunday night. The falling-back-to-earth Edmonton Oilers were brought down by a 4-1 final score to give the Avalanche a two-point lead over their conference rivals and a return to a postseason berth.