Game 5 morning skate notebook: Despite last game, change could be in store for Avs

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Hello from the Shark Tank, where Game 5 happens tonight. This is obviously the biggest game the Avs have played in five years, since that unfortunate Game 7 of the first round against Minnesota at the Pepsi Center.

If you’re mulling around downtown Denver tonight, stop in to the BSN watch party at the Blake Street Tavern. We’ll be giving away a ton of stuff, with free tickets to Game 6 tops on that list. RSVP here if you’re going – admission is free.

So, a couple of things from the morning skate today:

• Jared Bednar said there “could be some changes to the lineup” tonight. Hmm, interesting, right? Why change anything after that last game? But, as Bednar said, “nothing is set in stone in this league.” My hunch is that Bednar is thinking about putting Sven Andrighetto back in the lineup for Derick Brassard. Andrighetto was out there doing drills on the second PK unit. Brassard was at times, too, but the fact that both were part of such a group suggests that is the one lineup spot Bednar is thinking about changing. Brassard just hasn’t done a whole lot in this series, in these playoffs. In six games, he has no points and minus-2, with only eight shots on goal. Andrighetto hasn’t done a whole lot either (four games, no points, minus-1). We’ll have to see what Bednar decides at game time. There were/are no discernible injuries to players out there, so it’s unclear why Bednar talked about change in the plural. Could be just a figure of speech.
• Nathan MacKinnon on what the Avs have learned in this series, playing the Sharks: “We’re learning every game about our opponent, and ourselves. We found out the hard way in Game 3 that the way we played wasn’t going to work. The way we had success was being good with the puck and in transition. They have such good D and such good forwards that if you turn it over, they’re going to make us pay, like they did in Game 3. So, I think we’ve very good that way. We know what it takes and we’re going to be patient.”
• So, the lights were dim at the morning skate inside the SAP Center when the Avs took the ice, and they never got any brighter. As I heard it, the maintenance crew had some kind of problem with the lights and couldn’t fix it in time for the Avs’ session. I know what you’re thinking: they did it on purpose, a la Scotty Bowman having the Avs’ locker room repainted right before a game in the 1996 Western finals, with the paint fumes so strong it truly was almost nauseating (didn’t help the Wings, did it?). But know this: the lights have always been an issue in this building. It’s a darker building than other arenas, for some reason. When you watch on TV, you’ll notice it. Supposedly, the lights are brighter than in years past, though.
• Joe Pavelski is skating again with the Sharks, but he won’t play tonight. He’s just skating some on his own, away from the team. I’d be surprised if he played at all this series, but you never know.
• Here’s some video from the morning skate:

A few seconds of #Avs morning skate here in San Jose @BSNDenver pic.twitter.com/bCOUsANpmN

— Adrian Dater (@adater) May 4, 2019