With Makar and Nichushkin out of the lineup, the Colorado Avalanche are focused on getting to their game right at the start and playing a full 60 minutes.
The Colorado Avalanche need to get off to a better start in Game 5 against the Seattle Kraken Wednesday night, and they know that. They also need to do it without key players in the lineup.
The Avs have won games without Cale Makar this season. They’ve won regular season games and a playoff game without Valeri Nichushkin. While the losses are not ideal, they’re just another chapter in the team’s story this season.
How have they overcome these issues? With the injuries, they have kept the “next man up” mentality. And they are doing the same with this off-ice drama.
“It’s not ideal not having the best D in the league, obviously. But you know we’re focused on just this one singular game and I think even without him, we can still beat these guys just tonight, and that’s all our focus is on,” Nathan MacKinnon said Wednesday after morning skate.
Head coach Jared Bednar, once again, commended his squad for its perseverance through the trials and tribulations this season. The team is not letting Makar's suspension and Nichushkin's absence affect its focus.
“Every win is an emotional win in the playoffs and every loss is an emotional loss. I feel like our team has sort of done a nice job just kind of blocking out what’s happened in the past and just kind of focusing on what’s directly in front of us, which is tonight’s game,” Bednar said. “We’ve done that all year regardless of adversity, wins, losses, it doesn’t matter. I feel like our guys are pretty good at getting refocused at what we have to accomplish the next game.”
Mikko Rantanen echoed MacKinnon’s thoughts on the game without Makar. He’s glad it’s just one game and they have to see what they can do with the lineup they have.
“Everybody just has to step up a little bit. It’s like whenever anybody exits the lineup, takes all guys to kind of fill that spot, especially with a guy like Cale,” Josh Manson said.
Bednar did not have an update on a timeline for Nichuskin's return but did say it's not a legal matter and the team has been in contact with him.
Coming out of the gate quicker, better
About those first-period woes. The Kraken have scored the first goal in every playoff game so far. The Avalanche have had to play from behind from the get-go.
Bednar said Tuesday that there is no exact reason why the team has struggled in the first period all series, but he did have some thoughts on what needs to be done to battle it.
“Early movement, shooting it quick, making sure our eyes are up and shooting it fast, the first layer especially, and making sure there’s guys going to the net to kind of front their D men so they can’t just keep stepping in front of pucks,” Bednar said.
The players know they need to come out with energy and intensity. In front of the home crowd at Ball Arena, that energy shouldn’t be hard to build up.
“I think we’re always ready to play,” Bowen Byram said. “I think we just come out ready to go. We got to get pucks to Grubauer right away … we got to get bodies to the net, get pucks there and try to keep up with their forecheck, you know that’s been a big part of their game.”
Rantanen and MacKinnon said the team has been mentally ready to start the games. Toews said they’re getting to their game, just not quick enough.
“I think we’re ready to go mentally, it’s just they’ve had good starts,” MacKinnon said. “You know I think we’re really a structured team and maybe we’ve just been playing a little too into that and not just aggressive enough.”
Rantanen said that the team needs to be more physical at the start of the game. Get to the body as soon as they hit the ice and play a more simplified first period.
“They were physical against us but we’re ready for that,” Rantanen said. “We like that game too. We like to get physical too, to take hits and give hits. That’s what playoff hockey is. I think it’s better that way, you know, physically it gets you going right away.”
Game 5 is crucial for the Avalanche. If the team remains mentally focused and gets to its game from the start, there's a good chance they'll go back to Seattle up in the series.