Colorado Avalanche's quest for the Stanley Cup (Betting Angle)

[Shame About Ray]

NHL: Avalanche burying opponents

Check the latest odds, place your bets and find out Monday night.

The sirens are sounding in Colorado and the news isn’t good for the rest of the Western Conference.

The Colorado Avalanche are healthy once again and have picked the perfect time of year to get hot as they were a money-making 9-2 in their last 11 games heading into Saturday’s meeting with the New Jersey Devils.

Catch Monday’s pivotal matchup between Colorado and the Minnesota Wild on VERSUS beginning at 7 pm ET. These two teams are locked in a battle for the lead in the Northwest Division with the eventual winner earning home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Colorado’s general manager, Francois Giguere, went back to the future at the NHL trade deadline, signing free agent Peter Forsberg and trading for veteran defenseman Adam Foote. Giguere reunites both players with captain Joe Sakic, but drew criticism from some as it’s been 12 years since the trio led the Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup.

At 34, Forsberg hadn’t played all season before signing with the Avs, while Foote, 36 years-old, is in the twilight of his career.

But, who can argue with success? The Avalanche are 6-0 with Foote in the lineup and Forsberg has two points in the three games he’s played. Both are nursing injuries which have kept them out of the lineup the last few games but they each could play in Monday’s game.

Injuries have been slowing Colorado down all season and it’s safe to say they’d have the Northwest Division locked up if they had been able to stay healthy. Sakic, eighth all-time in NHL scoring with 1,617 points, missed 38 games with a hernia.

Ryan Smyth, a key free agent signing in the offseason, has only played 45 games, missing three games due to a neck injury, 18 games to an ankle fracture and he’s been out since March 1st with a concussion and minor shoulder separation.

That’s not all the injury woes though. Leading scorer Paul Stastny missed 15 games after having his appendix removed while the team’s top goalie, Jose Theodore, missed all of the preseason and the start of the regular season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in the summer.

Theodore, 23-18-2, is just starting to round into form and is once again starting to look like the superstar goaltender that won the Vezina (Top Goalie) and Hart (MVP) trophies back in 2002.

A healthy Avalanche team, especially one that’s getting top-notch goaltending, is one that most teams in the Western Conference would like to avoid come playoff time.

Minnesota can’t avoid the Avalanche though. Heading into the weekend they were two points back of Colorado for the division lead with one game in hand. A win on Monday would give the Wild the upper hand heading into the final few weeks but getting that win won’t be easy.

The Wild have beaten the Avalanche in three of the five games this season, but Colorado was without their top players for several of those losses.

Will the Wild be able to beat an Avalanche team with a healthy Sakic, Stastny and Theodore?