Avalanche search for answers in Game 2, remain confident without Makar

DENVER – Once again, the story heading into Game 2 of the Western Conference Final revolves around who isn’t in the lineup.

For the second game in a row, the Avalanche will be without Cale Makar, and the Golden Knights will play without captain Mark Stone.

Both skated with their teams Friday morning, but still aren’t ready for playoff action (Watch Game 2 on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ with coverage starting at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT).

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar revealed after the skate Makar wouldn’t suit up, and was asked if the absence of the Norris Trophy winner had a mental effect on his team.

“I’m going to say no – it shouldn’t, because you’ve got to concentrate and focus on what you need to do in the moment, what your team needs to do,” said Bednar, who refused to divulge whether Makar would be replaced in the lineup by Jack Akcan or Nick Blankenburg.

“The guys that are in the lineup, our back end, will have to be better than they were the other night. It’s not that they were terrible, I just think all those guys are capable of giving us a little bit more, especially on the execution side of it, helping us create a little more offence, managing the puck and executing with the puck to get us out of our zone through the neutral zone, even in the offensive zone to extend play.

“It hurts when you don’t have Makar, but they don’t have Stone. Stone’s an impact player for them. Minnesota didn’t have Eriksson-Ek and Brodin, and we had guys out. Our goal is to be the best version of ourselves we can be tonight, and that’s without Kale, and so be it. I still think we’re capable of winning the hockey game if we’re better than we were the other night.”

The Knights have a strict policy against commenting on any player’s status, but it’s clear Stone isn’t ready to return from the lower-body injury suffered May 8, as he stayed on the ice late with the other scratches.

“Stoney is a huge part of our team, he’s our captain, he means a lot to us both on and off the ice – there’s no way to fill in his loss,” said Jack Eichel, who did a good job stifling Nathan MacKinnon’s line in his team’s 4-2 win in Game 1.

“But collectively, as a group, everyone has to be better, and I think that’s how you overcome something like that.”

Bednar and his players all believe they can be much better than they were in Game 1, which was won by the Golden Knights because they were more opportunistic and had great goaltending from Carter Hart.

In the last three-and-a-half months, the Avalanche have only lost two games in a row once, setting the table for a bounce back Friday night.

Asked if he looks at Game 2 differently, knowing that his club won the first one, Eichel balked.

“I don’t think you should,” he shrugged.

“I’m trying to approach all the games the same way. Listen, every game you play is your biggest game at this time of year. So, Game 2 is our biggest game, and that’s what we should be focused on.”

The Avalanche had a significant edge in shots and high-danger chances in Game 1, but only 38 of their 80 shot attempts hit the net. A whopping 24 were blocked, and 18 were shot wide, negating all sorts of great scoring chances.

“I think when they are taking lanes away we might have to start looking to the side of the net for some of our forwards’ sticks, and maybe finding ways to change the angle, maybe one extra pass,” said Colorado defenceman Sam Malinski, who had a game-high six shots blocked.

“But, we want to get pucks down there.”

Perhaps the most dangerous player for the Avalanche in Game 1 was fourth-line winger Logan O’Connor, who hit the post, was stopped on a deft Bobby Orr-type diving attempt and was robbed by Carter Hart’s glove.

It was symbolic of just how deep the Avalanche are, as he made the most of his ten minutes of ice time.

“It’s his skating, it’s his relentlessness, his physicality, all those kind of habits that he’s developed in his game,” said Bednar when asked about the winger’s effectiveness, alongside Jack Drury and Parker Kelly.

“He’s quick, he’s strong, he’s tenacious. I think that’s who he is, that’s how he plays, and he’s going to create chances off his hard work. You look at the details that he and his line play with, and the connectivity of the group of three of those guys. They all have the same kind of attitude and mentality, and they know what their line is, and they go out and do the best job they can within the confines of their game. And I think he’s like that, that’s a solid game from those three guys again last night, and they continue to, you know, be pretty consistent with what they’re doing, that game, game by game, they’re making an impact, they might not score easy, but they’re going to be hard to play against.”

Avs Lines
Landeskog – MacKinnon – Necas
Lehkonen – Nelson – Roy
Colton – Kadri – Nichuskin
Kelly – Drury – O’Connor

Toews – Malinski
Burns – Manson
Kulak – Ahcan

Barbashev – Eichel – Dorofeyev
Howden – Karlsson – Marner
Saad – Hertl – Sissons
Smith – Dowd – Kolesar

McNabb – Theodore
Hanifin – Andersson
Korczak– Coghlan