Today the Avalanche hosted a standard practice. Nazem Kadri skated again, with a stick, just before. Andrew Cogliano was a full participant and reportedly looked like a viable option for Game 2 tomorrow. Gabriel Landeskog was briefly in attendance but presumably took a maintenance day alongside Andre Burakovsky – both have routinely taken maintenance days, so it is not a surprise.
Jared Bednar addressed the media following practice as well as Cale Makar and Devon Toews.
Kadri and Cogliano Updates
Bednar, who is usually tight-lipped about lineups and injuries, shared a little bit about the status of Kadri and Cogliano.
“Naz [was] skating again today. He’s added the stick to it,” he started. “For the last couple days he’s getting better, but I don’t have an update on him besides that. Cogliano is progressing the same way as well. He felt good enough to join the group today. We’ll see what it brings tomorrow.”
In addition to Bednar’s insight, Cogliano appeared no worse for wear in practice and it’s speculated that he will be available for Game 2.
Who’s Starting in Net?
Darcy Kuemper, whose 2022 playoff bid has been interrupted with injury, was given the start in Game 1 after missing the Edmonton series. The prolonged break in between the start of one series to the next was especially long for Kuemper who had been out of action since May 31st.
He made 20 of 23 saves in Game 1, but goaltending is an unavoidable topic of conversation when the man opposite of him in net, Andrei Vasilevskiy, has an impressive 0.926 SV% through the playoffs.
“It’s the situation we’re in. I thought he did a nice job for us,” Bednar said. “On the goals we gave up, he had major breakdowns in front of him. Could he have come up with one? Maybe. He’s looked sharp in practice. We got a lot of confidence in what he can do for us.”
Though we won’t know for sure until tomorrow, expect Darcy Kuemper to start Game 2.
Five Minutes At A Time
Bednar described his process of helping the team to focus on specific elements of the game by breaking it down into five-minute increments. This was a pervasive topic in today’s media availability and both Bednar and Toews weighed in.
“You do it all the time when you hit a penalty kill or a power play, you’re trying to win the two-minute game,” Bednar explained. “We find [it helpful to look] at the game as a whole, breaking it down and focusing on what we have to do and our process that we need to see for success so we can break it down. If we have a good five minutes then we’re moving on to the next. It helps guys stay focused and in the moment, committed to what you’re trying to do.”
“In those five-minute segments, every period, you try to create momentum for your team,” Devon Toews added. “They’re going to have a push and you try to limit it to as infrequently as possible. If you feel like you can build off those five-minute segments continuously and consistently, then you have a good chance to win the game.”
The mantra of unfinished business persists even after getting one win. The Avalanche are not completely satisfied with Game 1’s performance.
Momentum is a Myth…
At least it is in the playoffs according to Makar and Bednar.
“It’s the Stanley Cup Finals. We know that we’re going to see Tampa’s best game. They’ll be better than they were in Game 1,” Bednar started. “There’s a lot of areas for me that we can be a lot better than we were in Game 1. We approach it the same way with Game 1. I expect our guys to be energized, ready to go. It’s an extra day’s rest. They’ll be the same way. It’ll be about the detail in our game and how hard we can compete. The last part of that is the execution.”
“Momentum in the playoffs: it’s tough to carry that game to game. You have to take advantage of when you have the home ice,” said Makar. “For us, it’s all about that fast start. We touched on it in a previous question, [but it’s] about focusing on five minutes and then we’ll worry about the next five and so on. It’s making sure that right off the bat we know that they’re going to have a good start and come out hot. We have to match that and continue the game that way.”
Nobody expects Tampa to offer the same weaknesses as Game 1, but Colorado is hoping to bring renewed strengths as well as a prevailing belief in their identity.
“We want to stay on our game plan,” Makar added. “At the end of the day, Tampa is a great team and they’re so good at playing different styles: whether it’s shutting it down or being optimistic in some aspects of the game. We had a few mental lapses in the second and they took advantage. It’s staying mentally locked in, doing those little things right, and not giving those chances up. We’re two teams here for a reason. You try not to give those chances in the regular season and in the playoffs. As long as we play our systems we trust everything else.”
Credit Where It’s Due
It’s clear no one is underestimating Tampa Bay. Bednar, Makar, and Toews acknowledged in different ways that they expect Game 2 to be challenging and different from Game 1. But in all of this, there were a lot of complimentary moments. Here are the highlights:
Artturi Lehkonen: Makar, when asked about the powerplay, credited the addition of Lehkonen, particularly in the absence of Kadri: “Lehky has been doing a great job for us puck retrieving, little tips, and being an option for everybody.”
Nathan MacKinnon: “He’s such a driven guy,” said Makar. “You see him, he’s on the ice every single day. [He’s] one of the first guys, [and] doing individual work or doing work with the boys. It’s not always all about himself and the individual work. He’s always working with someone else whether it’s teaching or giving little pointers. He’s so driven and motivated, and that’s what makes him great.”
Val Nichushkin: “Like Cale said about Nate, Val is such a driven player,” Toews added. “He works so hard off the ice to prepare himself for games and get ready. To play 82 games a year and then in the playoffs, he’s such a strong, big body and he plays the game so hard [that] he’s going to get his opportunities. For a big guy, he skates so well. That’s a little bit of a lost art. You don’t see a guy his size with his ability to move and protect pucks. He’s finding himself in great scoring areas and playing really well for us.”
Jack Johnson (and company): “The veteran guys we have on the back, Jack and EJ, they’ve been so good for us. Jack being really consistent for us in the regular season and then taking the role of the next man up in the playoffs: he’s been so good for us shutting-down wise and everything,” said Makar. “Jack and Manson have been playing really well together, same with EJ and Bo, so it’s been great.”
Devon Toews: “If you look at Toews’ on ice specifically, [it’s] the consistency that he plays with in each zone,” Makar explained. “When you have guy that you can trust like that and play consistently in all zones, your game can be brought to the next level. He’s done a lot of that for the both of us this year.”
Cale Makar: Jared Bednar was asked about Makar’s offense from Game 1. He didn’t register a shot on net, but he did have several shot attempts. “They did the same thing they do against every other player. They’re fronting a lot of shots and blocking a lot of shots, always. We’ve seen that in different situations in the playoffs with Cale. There was a game in the Nashville series: he had 14 attempts and he had only 1 or 2 shots, and he kept shooting it. He got it back in overtime and got us a game-winner. I’m never going to tell him not to shoot. I trust him and his instincts. Usually, he has great movement to be able to create those lanes and sometimes, even last game, he got it by the first player and the second guy blocked it. It’s part of it. It’s making sure that you’re moving and have eyes up shooting and something he does on a consistent basis. If he sees something he likes at the net, I want him to send it there. The blocked shots: they’re going to block a lot. It doesn’t bother me.”
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The Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning will play Game 2 on Saturday, June 18 at Ball Arena at 6 P.M. MST.
