LAS VEGAS (AP) — Right when Colorado welcomed back their reigning Norris Trophy recipient Cale Makar, the Avalanche may now be facing the loss of Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon.
At minimum, they’ll have a severely restricted MacKinnon, which described his condition after a puck struck his right knee during Sunday evening’s 5-3 defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights.
This series has been challenging for the Avalanche, with the Presidents’ Trophy champions now trailing 3-0 in the Western Conference Final. Facing potential elimination on Tuesday evening, coach Jared Bednar expressed willingness to utilize MacKinnon however possible.
“For him to be able to come back out, get some work done late in the second period and intermission and be able to come out and even help us on the power play and empty-net situations, if that’s all he can do, we’ll take it,” Bednar said. “It’s better than anything else, in my opinion, we can put on the ice.”
While that statement might draw considerable discussion within the Avalanche dressing room, the Golden Knights currently command Colorado’s complete attention.
Although the Avalanche may have entered the series as favorites — the league’s top regular season team facing one so eager to reach the playoffs they dismissed their coach with eight contests left — circumstances have changed dramatically.
The statistical reality is overwhelming.
This marks the 50th occasion in conference finals or league semifinals where a series has reached 3-0. Every one of the previous 49 teams holding that lead advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, with 47 completing the series within six games.
Just four teams have overcome 3-0 series deficits in any playoff round. Los Angeles in 2014 became the latest team to achieve this feat when they eliminated San Jose in their opening-round matchup.
Additionally, there’s the notorious Presidents’ Trophy curse. Chicago in 2013 represented the last franchise to capture both that award and the Stanley Cup during the same campaign. Colorado already experienced the challenge of achieving this double, earning the Presidents’ Trophy during the 2021 COVID-shortened season before falling in six games during the second round… to the Golden Knights.
“There’s going to be a sense of urgency, but it’s got to be smart urgency,” defenseman Josh Manson said. “It’s got to be desperation. It’s got to be our best style of play the whole night. You’ve got to maintain that sense of do or die, while playing up to the edge. That’s what makes it so difficult.
“The margin of error is so thin now, and you’ve got to be able to balance that for at least 12 periods.”
Colorado needs exactly that many periods minimum to achieve something no other team has managed this late in playoff competition. They must perform like the squad that appeared to be the NHL’s finest for six months and during the initial two playoff rounds when they posted an 8-1 record.
“We know where we’re at,” wing Martin Necas said. “We know it doesn’t happen very often, but we still feel confident in this group. It’s not like we’ve been outplayed every game and their team is better than ours. We had a lot of stretches this season where we won four in a row. So we just focus on the next game and take it home and anything can happen.”
Bringing the series back to Denver for Game 5 would represent progress.
“Our team’s played with more intensity and more desperation as the series (has) gone on,” Bednar said. “Hasn’t worked out for us yet. I think with the hill to climb, it’s definitely a tough one. It just doesn’t happen very often, and we’re certainly understanding of that, but I think we have a lot of pride and a lot of character in our room that displayed that time over time throughout the course of the year,
“This will be our most difficult challenge, but I believe that we will show up and we will be ready to play.”
