from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

Were the Colorado Avalanche written off by some too early?

Thursday night's 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators continued a potentially season-turning sequence for the Avs, who have now gone 8-3-2 since starting the season 9-13-6. Combined with Winnipeg's loss at Arizona, the Avalanche moved to within five points of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. If the Jets (47 points), a marvelous story this season, fade even just a bit, it's going to open up that last playoff spot for quite a second-half race along with Calgary (45 points), Dallas (43 points), Colorado (42 points) and Minnesota (41 points).

more topics including Burnside on the Rangers and Custance on the Blues...