It’s not officially over, but let’s be real. It’s over.

The Avalanche, just a few days after giving up eight goals to the worst team in the NHL, shut down the Dallas Stars, allowing only 17 shots on goal in a 2-0 shutout victory at American Airlines Center on Saturday.

With the win, the magic number for the Avalanche to secure the top seed in the Western Conference is two. That could come in the form of Dallas losing a game or the Avalanche winning one. Either way, it’s all but over in this race.

Here are five takeaways from Colorado’s shutout win:

Jared Bednar was furious after the Canucks game because of how poorly his team defended. They clearly got the message. That entire game was a slugfest with very little room for either side and it almost forced the Avalanche to play the game exactly like the Stars would. Dallas finished with just 17 shots and not a whole lot of them were dangerous. The Avalanche didn’t create much themselves, but they didn’t cheat defensively to get chances and that will be important for them when the playoffs begin.

If the postseason started Sunday, how could it not be Scott Wedgewood in net for Game 1? He didn’t have to do a whole lot in this game, but he did exactly what he needed to do. That shutout sets a new career high for him with three.

Martin Necas passed up a glorious scoring chance in the slot to make an extra pass to Nathan MacKinnon just minutes before scoring that all-important first goal of the game. In a game like that, you must keep it simple, and Necas was rewarded for simply going to the net. That play was made by Artturi Lehkonen, though. Incredible vision and pass by him to hit Necas on the backdoor.

The numbers aren’t what they were a few years ago, but Devon Toews has started to relocate some of the offensive mojo that was missing prior to the Olympics break. He had just 12 points in 42 games prior to the break and has nine in 20 since.

With no Cale Makar, Sam Malinski led the Avalanche with 21 minutes, 52 seconds, played at even strength. He nearly broke the game open early in the third period when he blocked a shot in the defensive zone and outmuscled Colin Blackwell to get to the net for a great look.

Avalanche 2, Stars 0

What happened: The Avalanche did their best Dallas Stars impression to beat the Dallas Stars.

What went right: One thousand career games is crazy enough, but 1,000 straight without missing any is actually insane. Brent Burns accomplished that just by dressing on Saturday and played well, finishing with over 18 minutes of ice time.

What went wrong: The ice is never good in Dallas and it looked awful throughout this game. Players were falling over left and right and sometimes with no one around them. No wonder the Stars like playing at home.

Avalanche goal scorers: Necas (36), MacKinnon (51)

Between the pipes: Scott Wedgewood stopped all 17 shots sent his way.

What’s next: The Avalanche can clinch the top seed Sunday night at Ball Arena when they host the St. Louis Blues at 7:30 p.m.