Avalanche’s Long Grind Ends With Gas Tank on E

Colorado spent so much time on the ice that the season finally started charging rent. The Avalanche are dealing with the kind of wear and tear that only shows up when a team has been living in high-leverage hockey for months, and the finish line arrives with the legs gone and the margins gone with them. This is the part of the calendar where contenders discover whether all that battle hardened swagger was real or just fumes in a prettier jersey.