Down the Stretch - Just six games left

I am going to defer to the AHL's playoff primer for the rest of the season as THE place to check on the playoff race. With just six games left, it has ALL remaining games, and you can see things like magic numbers, rankings and games left.

The Aeros have lost six straight and have slipped from 4th to 7th in that time frame. I don't know what to say about the team other than what Torchetti has told us. And basically he's preaching that the team just isn't playing very smart. As far as I can tell, there has not been one stretch of about more than four games this season where the coaches hasn't said something to that effect.

So basically, the Aeros aren't very smart, I guess and they should just be lucky to sneak in to the playoff dance.

What is particularly troublesome to me is that the Aeros shot totals  and legitimate scoring chances are way, way down, recently, and they are losing a ton of games in which they have scored first or had the lead after 20 minutes. Those used to be money-points-in-the-bag for this team, and that just simply is not happening any more.

And before I close off this post with a string of positive comments, I just want to say that I think the Aeros main problem is that they don't have enough skillful vets to overcome a bunch of young players that have not been in this situation before. Players like Genoway, Fontaine, Foucault, and others have not yet had to be the go-to or lean on guys like they are this year ... and that is catching up with the team now. I think that is why the Aeros are losing these games that are close late and got getting that third goal when they really need to get it.

I heard a rumor that Jon DiSalvatore was either close to or had already signed to play in Europe next season. I asked him about it, and he quickly quashed that notion. Sometime veteran players have to sign early to get in on the big bucks over there, and there are some teams that have suffered down the stretch because of those transactions. And sometimes it doesn't matter at all; the 2003 Aeros best offensive players Hnat Domenichelli and Jean-Guy Trudel both secured overseas deals rather early, and the Aeros ended up winning the Calder Cup .

Now for the good news. Time is running out for the teams that are directly behind the Aeros. With six games left, if the Aeros go just 3-3 the rest of the way, the Rochester Amerks would have to go 5-2 to surpass them in the standings. I think the Amerks are the team in the best position to catch the Aeros. Their set against Abbotsford will be huge. If the Aeros continue their slide, they'll be hoping for a Heat sweep. If they Aeros can get hot again, they'll want Rochester to win so they'll have a shot at their goal of home ice advantage in the first round.

I like the Aeros chances because they are still getting points when they play like crap. I like the way DiSalvatore,Taffe, Bagnall and Hackett seem to be getting things turned around after that really bad weekend in the Midwest two weeks ago.

If you had told me in September that the Aeros and Wild would have all the injury problems they've had, I would have guessed no playoffs by a long shot. Torchetti and Jim Mill have done a magnificent job of keeping this thing together long enough to give the Aeros a shot.

Their playoff chances are going to go down to the last weekend, and what more could you want out of a team that has just been hit with torpedo after torpedo after torpedo?

Something tells me the Aeros will clinch with a win or an OT point against the San Antonio Rampage next Saturday. That would be good, too, because it would give Torchetti a chance to rest some players on Sunday against Texas and get people ready for the first round.

I just can't see the Aeros not in the playoffs this year. They've overcome too much now to just let it all fall apart in the last month.