The Colorado Avalanche are in a state of purgatory. The team has 18 meaningless games left to play. That would be bad enough except they’ve been playing “meaningless” hockey since the midpoint of the season when GM Joe Sakic declared the Avs weren’t making the playoffs. That wasn’t exactly a newsflash, but it’s hard to find your heart when your own general manager has declared the season a wash.
Well, I don’t know if the players can find their heart. The further along this season goes, the player with the biggest heart — Matt Duchene — seems to be getting more broken and battered in spirit.