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COLORADO AVALANCHE

Gabriel Landeskog: Avalanche key deadline additions have ‘fit in seamlessly’

Kadri, Roy and Kulak all had game-winning goals against the Wild; Gabriel Landeskog and Chris MacFarland spoke about the deadline acquisitions

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Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog met with the media on Tuesday ahead of the Western Conference Final.

And while Landeskog has been doing this for a long time, some recent trade deadline additions are a huge reason the Avs are in this position.

Against the Minnesota Wild, three of the four game-winning goal scorers weren’t on the team when the season opened.

Nazem Kadri scored the seventh goal in Game 1, Nicolas Roy the third in Game 2 and Brett Kulak was the OT hero in Game 5.

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Kadri was brought home by Colorado GM Chris MacFarland at the trade deadline buzzer. Roy was acquired just days before and Kulak was a nice defensive depth addition when the Avalanche parted ways with Samuel Girard.

With Game 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights looming on Wednesday, Landeskog was asked about the big moves MacFarland made to hopefully help get this team back over the hump.

“Scoring is just a byproduct of playing the right way, putting yourself in the right spots, but guys have fit in seamlessly and it’s been really good,” Landeskog said.

Through nine playoff games Kadri and Roy both have six points, tied for fifth on the team. Kadri has two goals and four assists while Roy has three goals and three assists. He was also an overtime scorer against the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1.

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Kulak has chipped in five points (one goal, four assists) and been a great addition. His moment against the Wild in Game 5 won’t be forgotten anytime soon in Avalanche history.

MacFarland also took questions, commenting on his moves and saying he understands the expectations for the team he built. They basically start and end with the Stanley Cup.

MacFarland is trusting his process. Acknlowedging that even if the Avs hadn’t made it this far that Kadri, Roy and Kulak are all good hockey players.

He’s up for GM of the year in the NHL, a well-earned finalist spot after overhauling this roster a season ago and making key tweaks in February and March this year.

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Will it lead to a championship parade? That’s what we’re waiting to find out over the next month.

But it’s also hard to ignore how important the newest additions have been in the postseason thus far.

Will Petersen Denver Sports Analyst

Will Petersen is a digital sports analyst for denversports.com and a Colorado native. Will earned a broadcast journalism degree from the University of Missouri in 2012 and has spent the past decade covering Denver sports. Follow Will on Twitter:… Read more

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