Despite off-the-ice drama, the Avalanche find a way to win in Seattle
Apr 23, 2023, 9:21 AM | Updated: 9:29 am
The Avalanche came up with a huge 6-4-win on Saturday night in Seattle, taking a 2-1 series lead over the Kraken. Teams that lead by that margin win a series 67 percent of the time. The odds are now clearly in the Avs favor.
However, in a season riddled with man-games lost due to injuries, the Avs may be without one of their most-valuable players for an indeterminate amount of time. The twist is the issue has nothing to do with a physical problem.
Valeri Nichushkin was a surprise scratch just before the puck dropped. As it turns out, it wasn’t an injury that prevented the Choo Choo train from being on the ice.
“He’s gone for personal reasons,” said coach Jared Bednar. “He is not with the team at this point.”
Bednar said that Nichushkin’s absence was not disciplinary. He also added he didn’t know when he would come back. It seems in doubt exactly where Nichushkin is at all.
What is known is that he was taken to the airport after some sort of incident at the team hotel in Seattle on Saturday afternoon. Denversports.com is following the story and will have more updates as they become available.
Without Nichushkin and Darren Helm, the Avs welcomed back Andrew Cogliano, promoted Matt Nieto to the second line and centered Alex Newhook on the fourth line. Once again, there were significant lineup changes. And once again, the Avs found themselves down a goal early in the game.
What’s amazing is being down 1-0 isn’t a knockout punch for this team. Rather, it’s hockey smelling salts for Colorado.
“Sometimes, we play better when we are down one,” said Nathan MacKinnon. “When we are down one, we play aggressive and play the right way.”
An early deficit serves as a wake-up call of sorts.
“We realize that we can’t be afraid to make plays,” said MacKinnon. “If you mess up you mess up. You need to play with some swagger.”
It was the mental toughness that came through once again for the defending Stanley Cup champs. Leading 3-1, the Avs allowed two Kraken goals in 19 seconds to knot the game at 3-3 headed into the third.
“We had a really good first,” said Mikko Rantanen who had two goals and an assist. “We weathered the storm. Maybe we fell asleep for 15 seconds, but we had a great answer in the third.”
In terms of not losing focus, yet again the Avs used their championship experience in order to avoid folding.
“Mental toughness,” said Cale Makar about what they rely on when things go south. “A lot of guys on this team don’t get affected. It’s a huge key for us.”
It was the the Moose and MacK show that we’ve seen shine so brightly all year that once again dominated in the third. The two 100-plus point scorers dropped three unanswered goals when it meant the most.
MacK was spectacular in his on ice humiliation of his opponent. In a furious series, he stomped on the breaks, felling Ryan Domato like a grand fir from Olympic Park. Spinning through traffic, Nate was at his world-class best, whipping the puck past Kraken goalie Phillip Grubauer to give the Avs a 5-3 lead.
After an empty netter by Mikko, Seattle would throw in a late power-play goal that was virtually meaningless for the final 6-4 tally.
“I think it helps a lot,” said Bednar on his team’s ability to take a hit and come back strong. “We have a confidence in our team. I care about the score at the end of the game and that’s it.”
Bednar seemed perturbed that anybody thinks a 100-point team in the regular season is anything to be taken lightly. MacKinnon also seemed annoyed by the perception that this should be an easy series.
“It’s a really great team,” said MacKinnon about Seattle. “It’s the hardest first round I’ve been in.”
Avalanche fans may have been spoiled by last year. Bednar is repeatedly incredulous when there are insinuations that this process should somehow be easier as he is constantly reminding anybody who cares to listen that this is an entirely different team.
Now, they face another difficult challenge in moving forward without Nichushkin.
“It sucks, but it’s life.” MacKinnon said when asked about missing Big Val. “Worse things are happening, I guess, but we miss him for sure.”
Last year in the St. Louis series, the Avs had to deal with a serious distraction off the ice, as racist death threats aimed at Nazem Kadri created a scary situation. A year later, more off-the-ice drama has surfaced surrounding a key player. Amazingly, it’s another major issue in which they can lean on past experience to overcome.
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