The Colorado Avalanche struggled in Game 5 and head coach Jared Bednar said his team showed a lack of confidence and a high level of frustration.
Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said there was a lack of confidence and that it didn’t look like his team wanted the puck as much as the Seattle Kraken did.
“Right now, in this series, I’d say confidence is low and we’ve got to find a way to get it back and build it back,” Bednar said after the 3-2 loss Wednesday night. “But it starts with our attitude going into the game and our mindset going into the game and we’ll have to build our confidence back as the game goes on.”
There isn’t any one thing the team can put its finger on to say this is the problem, and here’s how we fix it. Instead, they’re trying to learn from what they’re lacking, and where they’re making mistakes.
“I think we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. I know it’s cliché to say, but I think there’s plays to be made out there and we’re just not making them for whatever reason right now,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “It’s not a matter of work or competitiveness or anything like that. I don’t know. I don’t know what, exactly, what’s been going on, but we still have a chance to turn it around here.”
The team played the majority of the game with a lackluster flow. The Kraken, as it has in every game this series, scored first.
MacKinnon tied it up at 7:55 into the second by stuffing a flying puck off of a Mikko Rantanen shot behind Philipp Grubauer.
Then 21-year-old Kraken rookie Tye Kartye scored his first NHL goal ever at 9:59 in the second to put Seattle up by one.
Kraken forward Yanni Gourde scored early into the third. The Avalanche made a last-ditch effort after Evan Rodrigues brought it within one, but it wasn’t enough and time ran out.
“We just got to reset right away. Can’t put our heads down. It’s far from over so just got to look forward to the next game, try to learn, just keep plugging away.
“Got to just do it one more time, force a Game 7. We know they’re going to come hard and try to close it out. We got to have some desperation a little bit more and find a way,” Rantanen said.
Devon Toews doesn’t believe it’s so much a desperate situation as it is about getting focused and committed. And Rodrigues isn’t so quick to say the team’s confidence is missing.
“I think there’s still a confidence in this room. You know everyone believes that we can get it done. … Yeah, hit that reset button immediately and start focusing on Game 6,” Rodrigues said.
Avs showed frustration, what needs to change
Bednar acknowledged a level of frustration from his players and said the team needs to work on puck support in all three zones.
“I still feel like we haven’t played anywhere near our best. And give them credit. Give Seattle credit. You have to give them a lot of credit,” Bednar said. “But at the end of the day, I just want to see our guys play to the best of their ability for one game and see what happens. That’s the sort of attitude we have to have.”
Game 6 is back in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena on Friday. The Avalanche will be in a must-win situation, but Cale Makar will be back on the ice. His return could be a spark the team needs to get its confidence back.