EDMONTON, Alberta - Maybe it's a coincidence the Avalanche's stirring run for a playoff position began a few hours after general manager Francois Giguere chose not to make a major deal before the NHL's Feb. 27 trading deadline.

Giguere, who said at the time he still believed in the team, made only two minor trades, acquiring Scott Parker from San Jose for a sixth-round draft pick and sending Brad May to Anaheim for minor league goalie Michael Wall.

Giguere said he never tempted was to part with any of his young players, saying they would play a major role in the Avalanche's rebuilding effort.

Little could anyone have imagined the endeavor would start that night with a 3-2 home win against Columbus.

That small start has mushroomed into a 9-0-1 run heading into tonight's game against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place (7, Altitude).

The Avalanche still has plenty of work to do in the remaining nine regular-season games, but at least its postseason hopes no longer can be discounted as a far-fetched fantasy.

"He gave us a chance, stuck with this group," captain Joe Sakic said of Giguere after practice Thursday. "Francois' philosophy was, if he was going to do anything at the deadline, it was going to be to help this team, not only this year, but next year and beyond.

"We didn't need a rental player. The confidence he showed in the hockey club is a big thing. The guys started to play relaxed and win games, and we really believe in one another now."

The Avalanche was coming off a three-game losing streak at deadline time, including what appeared to be a crushing 6-5 shootout loss against Los Angeles; the Avalanche blew a 5-3 lead in the third period, giving up the tying goal with 3.9 seconds left in regulation.

With five losses in a six-game stretch and looking at a 10-point deficit for a playoff spot with 19 games to play, Giguere easily could have unfurled the white flag.

"I do believe these guys have been working hard all year," Giguere said. "We were close to getting on a run; it just took a little longer than we expected. You're always surprised when you go on such a long run, but we're playing really well, sound defensively. I was surprised that we didn't get on a longer run earlier because I thought we were playing pretty well.

"The goal has always been to get to the playoffs and to try to do a run. Now you're getting to the point where at least you're in the running. Early on, you were a little further away, so it was tougher to feel great about your chances.

"But now the guys, with this run, now they're in the race and it should make these last nine games really fun to follow the team."

The Calgary Flames have a six-point lead against the Avalanche after beating Nashville 3-2 in overtime Thursday night.

This has been a new experience for the Avalanche, which hasn't missed the playoffs since the team arrived in Denver from Quebec for the 1995-96 season.

Sakic hasn't been on a nonplayoff team since 1993-94 with the Nordiques.

"To be honest, we haven't been in this situation where we had to chase somebody for the final spot," he said. "All you can do is work hard and try to win the hockey games. We know what's at stake, so there's not much to really say.

"Obviously we're watching what Calgary is doing and we're paying attention to what we have to do, and that's to just win games. Guys look at the standings and we know we're in a race. We're back in this thing, and the excitement gets brought up to another level."

Coach Joel Quenneville said it probably meant a lot to the players when Giguere continued to express his faith in their ability to turn the season around.

"I don't think anybody anticipated that we'd go on a run like this," Quenneville said. "I think we were just hoping that we'd get something going like this, knowing we had to do it because (getting into the playoff picture) was definitely an extreme long shot.

"We've had a good group of guys all year along. The frustration that we had, I think everything was repairable internally."

Avalanche at Oilers

• When: 7 tonight.

• Where: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta.

• TV/radio: Altitude; KEPN-AM (1600).

• Leading scorers

Colorado (38-29-6) G A P

C Joe Sakic 30 57 87

RW Andrew Brunette 25 48 73

C Paul Stastny 25 44 69

RW Milan Hejduk 30 30 60

LW Wojtek Wolski 20 25 45

Coach: Joel Quenneville

Edmonton (30-37-7) G A P

RW Petr Sykora 20 30 50

RW Ales Hemsky 9 40 49

C Shawn Horcoff 16 31 47

LW Raffi Torres 14 19 33

RW Joffrey Lupul 15 11 26

RW Fernando Pisani 14 12 26

Coach: Craig MacTavish

• Injuries: Colorado - D Patrice Brisebois (back), D Jordan Leopold (wrist) and C Pierre Turgeon (calf) are on injured reserve; D Karlis Skrastins (knee) is out. Edmonton - LW Ethan Moreau (right shoulder), C Petr Nedved (knee), C Jarret Stoll (concussion) and D Daniel Tjarnqvist (inflamed pubic bone) are on injured reserve; D Steve Staios (knee) is out; D Tom Gilbert (concussion), D Jan Hejda (shoulder), Hemsky (shoulder), C Marty Reasoner (shoulder) and D Matthew Roy (concussion) are day to day.

• Sidelight: The Avalanche is 4-3 against the Oilers, winning all three games in Edmonton by a combined 19-10. Edmonton won three of four games at the Pepsi Center, where each team scored 10 goals.

• Notes: Skrastins took part in some contact drills for the first time Thursday since injuring a knee in a game Feb. 24 at Los Angeles, and it's possible he could play Sunday in Vancouver. "I'm feeling better," Skrastins said. "Finally, I feel it's moving in the right direction. The knee is getting stronger. I think I need a couple more practices to make sure." Quenneville said he thought Skrastins looked "not bad" and will wait to see how he progresses during the next two days before making a decision for the game Sunday.

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