LAS VEGAS — The Colorado Avalanche are counting on the Return of the Mack(s) to keep their season alive.
Jared Bednar announced Tuesday morning Nathan MacKinnon will play and Mackenzie Blackwood will start in net for Game 4 Tuesday (8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+) with hopes they can stave off elimination at the hands of the Golden Knights.
“Yeah, he’ll play,” said Bednar, uttering words Denver hockey fans prayed they’d hear after MacKinnon was hobbled by a Shea Theodore slapshot in Game 3 that caught the Avs star on the kneecap.
“He's feeling a lot better today. We'll see when he gets on the ice tonight and what the game brings, but he's feeling pretty good today and feels ready to go.”
Bednar said he didn’t think MacKinnon would be limited in his use when the Avalanche try to stage a monumental comeback from being down 3-0 in the Western Conference Final.
MacKinnon’s injury occurred with eight minutes left in the second period, leaving him crumpled on the ice, writhing in pain following the blocked shot.
He managed to hobble back to the bench and play two short shifts before leaving for treatment. He returned for limited play in the third, but was clearly labouring during a painful-looking power play in which he was wholly ineffective.
“I’ve been here 10 years and I’ve seen Nate lay on the ice twice,” said Bednar.
“It’s not a great feeling for our team. 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… It just shows his character and leadership and desire to win.”
MacKinnon led the NHL with 53 goals this season but has yet to score in this series, held without a goal in 40:16 of 5-on-5 play.
The Avs are banking on his return being an emotional boost for a club on the brink.
Bednar said “we’ll see on Val,” when asked about the status of Valeri Nichuskin, who left with a lower-body injury in the second period of Game 3.
Net gains
As expected, Bednar will make the switch from Scott Wedgewood to Blackwood as his starter.
“I feel like if he's loose and confident and playing his game he has the ability to not only win us games, but steal games,” said Bednar.
“We felt confident with both these guys all year long, and I felt like Wedge kind of earned the net in (Games 1 and 2) and we gave him the shot in Game 3 and we didn't get it done. It's not on him either, it's on our team.
“We're at 0-3 in the series, so it's not a desperation move, it's, 'you've got to make a change and see if something else works.' We have nothing to lose. It's the first time he's entering (the series). It's not like we're putting the weight of the series on Mackenzie.”
Blackwood hasn’t played since May 13 against Minnesota, when he was pulled after allowing three goals in the first period, only to see his team score four straight to win 4-3 in overtime.
No controversy here
Vegas forward Pavel Dorofeyev, on whether he was surprised his goal was waved off with seven minutes left in first period of Game 3: “No, not really,” he smiled sheepishly, well aware the lengthy video review of the play showed the puck caught a piece of his glove as he batted it in.
“I haven’t won a single challenge yet, so I wasn’t surprised there.”
Dorofeyev, a restricted free agent this summer, is tied for the playoff goal scoring lead with teammate Brett Howden at 10.
Meeting time
Bednar and several Avalanche players spoke of a team meeting they had Monday night to exchange thoughts and try to get the lads focused on the task at hand.
“At the end of the day, this series is far from over in our minds,” said Cale Makar, who returned from injury in Game 3 to log more minutes than any other player.
“Every team’s trying to win four games in a series and we’re still trying to do that. Our process this series has been day by day and now it’s even more evident. We’ve got to chip away and see where the chips may fall. For us, it starts tonight and making sure we feel good with our game and continuing how we started that first period and being more consistent. They’re playing with a lot of confidence and we have no reason to not do the same.”
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Tidbits
Teams that take a 3-0 series lead in a best-of-seven series in the round before the Stanley Cup Final have an all-time series record of 49-0. The Golden Knights became the 10th team in NHL history to take a 3-0 series lead against the NHL’s No. 1 seed.
Brock Nelson has no points and is minus-6 in the series, recording just one shot (and one crossbar) since Game 1. Martin Necas has just one assist against Vegas.
Theodore on how tough it will be to put the final spike in the Avs:
“I think the fourth win is always the hardest to get, whether it's a first round, second round or conference final,” said the Vegas defender.
“We’re going to expect their best. For them, it’s win or go home. We have to match that intensity from the start. I think we can have a better start than we did in Game 3 and just build our game.”
