NHL Push for the Playoffs: Avalanche aim to thrive, Kings to survive

Push for the Playoffs will run every morning through the end of the 2021-22 NHL season. We’ll highlight the current playoff picture in both conferences, take a look at what the first-round matchups might look like, see who’s leading the race for the best odds in the draft lottery and more.

In the simplest of terms, you can separate NHL teams into three levels of urgency at this point in the season:

When you get a titan vs. a tanking team, it can be a little dreary. Meanwhile, those rooting against a team on the playoff bubble can really feel some angst watching that team face a squad that’s checked-out (or, you know, just flat-out bad).

Every now and then, you get the two broad flavors of possible playoff teams, though.

On Wednesday night, a rested Avalanche powerhouse team faces a more desperate Kings squad that took care of business against the Blackhawks on Tuesday.

With the Panthers absolutely on fire, the Avalanche are no longer alone in their chase for the Presidents’ Trophy. Colorado’s hot in its own right, having won six in a row. Considering that the Avalanche have dealt with injuries, they probably want to get as close to full speed as possible.

(Granted, those brushes with injuries also should remind them that you don’t necessarily need to throw punches after every whistle.)

No doubt, the Avalanche’s ambitions translate to “champagne problems” from the Kings’ perspective. Overall, the Kings are still very much in a battle for playoff survival, and can’t feel too comfortable with Drew Doughty done for the season.

Lately, there have been plenty of ups and downs. The absolute most recent trend is upward, with the Kings winning, the Oilers losing, and the Golden Knights dropping a crucial contest to the Canucks in