The Colorado Avalanche are down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. They’ve suffered some heartbreak, none greater than Sunday’s loss where they surrendered a three-goal lead.
Head coach Jared Bednar spoke with the media on Monday and talked about Nathan MacKinnon and how he went down with an injury when a shot puck hit his knee in the second period.
"I’ve been here ten years. I’ve seen Nate lay on the ice… twice.Avalanche Head coach Jared Bednar
It’s not a great feeling for a team. For him to come back out, get some work done late in the second period and intermission and come back out and even try and help us out on the power play and empty-net situations—if that’s all he can do, we’ll take it. Right? It’s better than anything else, in my opinion, that we can put on the ice. But it just shows his character and leadership and his desire to win."
The good thing about MacKinnon’s status is that he returned to the game. The bad news is that his presence wasn’t enough for the Avalanche to contain the Golden Knights on their way to a comeback victory over Colorado.
Bednar is right about MacKinnon’s presence on the ice being better than anything else. However, if the Avalanche were unable to match the Golden Knights throughout the entire game, what does it matter?
The pressure took a major shift from being on Colorado’s side to being on Vegas’. Giving up a three-goal lead is unacceptable. Bednar also mentioned in his media session that it was just a couple of plays that got the Avalanche in a hole. Mathematically, sure. But it is all accumulated situations. A poor play that doesn’t actually lead to a goal could be a difference between the Golden Knights seeing something and then capitalizing on it later on.
Now, the Avalanche are at a low point mentally, and physically.
We’ll have to wait and see what comes before Game 4. Will MacKinnon be good to go? If so, at what level will he be at? If he is not close to 100 percent, you can probably kiss a win and a chance of life goodbye.
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