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Nathan MacKinnon ailing as Avs face must-win Game 4 vs. Knights
With his Presidents’ Trophy-winning team on the brink of elimination following a 5-3 loss on Sunday night, Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar stated the obvious heading into Tuesday night’s must-win Game 4 of their best-of-seven Western Conference finals with the Vegas Golden Knights in Las Vegas.
“The hill to climb is definitely a tough one, right?” Bednar said. “It just doesn’t happen very often.”
Try never.
Teams that fall behind 3-0 in the best-of-seven conference finals or league semifinals are 0-49 all-time. That’s not a hill, that’s Mt. Everest … on steroids.
Colorado will try to take the first step of winning four in a row on Tuesday, and will try to do it with Rocket Richard Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon (league-leading 53 goals) and power forward Valeri Nichushkin (28 career playoff goals) both hampered by injuries.
MacKinnon, who has seven goals and eight assists in 12 playoff games this season, crumbled to the ice after blocking a Shea Theodore shot on the outside of his right knee with 7:54 left in the second period. He tried to take a couple shifts later in the period but quickly skated back to the bench. He returned for just 4:05 in the third period but was noticeably compromised by the injury.
Nichushkin, meanwhile, didn’t play the final 22 minutes with a lower-body injury.
“Everyone’s seen the play, the shot hits him in the knee and that can be traumatizing, especially early on,” Bednar said of MacKinnon. “There’s things that the trainers can do to try and get that feeling better and loosen up and get him to a spot where he can play unencumbered.”
McKinnon did not participate in Tuesday morning’s optional skate, but Bednar said the 30-year-old was feeling a lot better after taking a full day off and would suit up for Game 4. Nichushkin also took off the morning skate and is considered a game-time decision.
The Avs will have a new face in net for the first time in these conference finals as Mackenzie Blackwood will get the start over Scott Wedgewood, who is 0-3 with a 3.16 goals against average and .877 save percentage in the first three games.
Blackwood is 1-0 with a 3.20 GAA and .872 save percentage in two starts this postseason. He last played on May 13, when he gave up three goals on 13 shots in the first period of a Game 5 win over the Minnesota Wild in the second round.
“We have nothing to lose, and this series is the first time he’s entering it, and it’s not like we’re putting the weight of the series on Mackenzie,” Bednar said. “I think that Mackenzie is the type of guy and goalie that plays better when he’s loose and confident and he’s been doing the work to make sure he’s ready and prepared.”
The Avalanche gave up five consecutive goals after taking a 3-0 lead in the first period Sunday. It marked the first time in franchise history that the Golden Knights came back from a three-goal deficit to win a playoff game.
Colorado has lost all three games in the series in regulation. The Avalanche, who led the NHL with 121 points, lost just twice in regulation in their first 40 regular-season games while blazing to a 31-2-7 start. Twice the team had 10-game winning streaks during the stretch.
“We’ve had lots of stretches that we won four in a row, so we just focus on the next game and we take it home (for Game 5), and then anything can happen,” forward Martin Necas said.
“I think it kind of boils down to not letting the disappointment overcome you,” Bednar said. “It’s all about pride and character at this point.”
With a third trip in nine seasons to the Stanley Cup Final just a win away, head coach John Tortorella was asked what his message to his team heading into Game 4 would be.
“We’re going to play another hockey game tomorrow,” said Tortorella, who has led the Golden Knights to a 18-4-1 record since replacing Bruce Cassidy as head coach late in the regular season. “Today is a work day. We did our tape. They have an optional skate. … We’re playing another game, and we’re going to need to be better. That’s how we approach it.”
“I think the fourth win is always the hardest to get, whether it’s the first round, the second round or conference final,” Theodore said. “We’re going to expect their best. Obviously, for them it’s win or go home, so we have to match that intensity from the start.”
–Field Level Media
