Avs become 1st NHL team to clinch playoff berth, beat Blackhawks - ESPN

CHICAGO — The Colorado Avalanche became the first NHL team to clinch a playoff spot Friday night.

That development had been just a matter of time for a while. But the way they secured the franchise's ninth consecutive postseason appearance was important.

Colorado strengthened its hold on the Western Conference with a sharp performance in Chicago during the opener of a four-game trip. Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin scored in a 4-1 victory over the lowly Blackhawks.

«I think if we just play like that, there isn't many games we're going to lose,» Necas said. «Just a strong overall game.… Just keep it rolling.»

Colorado (45-13-10) had dropped four of five, including a 7-2 home loss to a Pittsburgh team that was playing without Sidney Crosby. But Avalanche coach Jared Bednar was encouraged by how the team played in a 2-1 shootout loss to Dallas on Wednesday night, and the momentum carried over to the win at Chicago — particularly in a dominant first and third periods.

With the victory, the Avalanche moved four points ahead of the Stars and 10 clear of the Minnesota Wild at the top of the Western Conference. Dallas and Minnesota were off Friday.

The Avalanche clinched a playoff spot in fewer than 70 games for the third time in franchise history during an 82-game season. They accomplished the feat in 67 games in 1996-97 and 69 games in 2000-01.

«It's a good start. Yeah, we'll be happy about that,» Bednar said. «We like what we're doing right now. Obviously, there's ebbs and flows to the season, but I think to this point in the season, if you look at it as a whole, we've put ourselves in a good spot here. We feel good about the way we're playing.»

It looked as if Colorado would run away with the