DENVER (AP) 鈥� Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche have every right to feel a bit stifled. Known for their speed and prodigious goal production, it hasn’t been on full display so far in the playoffs.
The highest-scoring, fastest-flying team on the ice this season just can’t seem to completely solve the lock-down, muck-up-the-middle approach of the . The top five point producers in the regular season have yet to find the back of the net.
Still, the Avalanche lead the first-round series 2-0 heading to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday. They have won both games in 2-1 fashion, , which highlights their belief that whether a game or a series is low scoring or high scoring, they are built for both.
鈥淵ou definitely can get frustrated during the regular season, but playoffs 鈥� there鈥檚 no time for that,鈥� said MacKinnon, who has an assist through two games after leading the league with 53 goals in the regular season. 鈥淵ou’ve got to be 100% in, team-player positive, and you鈥檝e just got to stick with it. I feel like we鈥檙e doing a lot of good things and we鈥檙e up to it. It’s low-scoring games, but it鈥檚 not about the amount of goals. Just got to get some wins.”
Colorado led the league in goals per game (3.63), shots per game (33.7) and 5-on-5 scoring in the regular season but the Presidents’ Trophy winners also allowed the fewest goals behind their goalie tandem, which currently has Scott Wedgewood starring in the lead role.
鈥淲e鈥檙e comfortable playing these games,鈥� said captain Gabriel Landeskog, who tied Tuesday’s game with 3:35 left in regulation. “If you get a little impatient with it, you start forcing plays. We just kind of kept it going. Kept trusting our forecheck, and finally, we ended up getting rewarded for it.鈥�
The Kings may be in a hole, but trust their process. A grind-it-out, goals-hard-to-come-by series is definitely their kind of series. Especially with Anton Forsberg in net. He’s stop 64 of 68 shots through two games.
鈥淲e鈥檙e playing a brand of hockey that gives us a chance to win,” said Kings interim coach D.J. Smith, who was on the bench in the second period Tuesday after fans pushed the panel in celebration. “Hockey鈥檚 so close and night-to-night, you win by a goal, lose by a goal. We鈥檝e done that all year.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 maybe had some bounces but that鈥檚 the kind of game you can win with,” he said. “That鈥檚 a testament to the guys and how they鈥檙e digging in. Now maybe just have a little more confidence at home with the puck, but you can鈥檛 forget the style of play that we鈥檙e playing.鈥�
They’re bottling up the Avalanche on the power play, with Colorado 0 for 7 in the series. That’s been an area of consternation at times throughout the season.
鈥淚t may look real simple 鈥� it鈥檚 no different than what they鈥檙e doing 鈥� but you鈥檝e got to repeat certain things enough so your odds go up at putting one in the back of the net,鈥� Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. 鈥淚 still think we鈥檝e got another step in our game that we can ramp up to. So we’ve just got to go out and try to better our performances at home and now on the road.鈥�
The Avalanche have shown their defensive grit by notching the second-most blocks in the postseason through Tuesday night. They’ve flashed their offensive firepower, too, with the the second-most total shot attempts.
鈥淲e know we can play different styles,鈥� said Wedgewood, who’s turned back 48 of 50 shots. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be tough going to (their) building. They’re going to have their crowd and their emotions. Go in there and do the same thing, hopefully, take another one or two, and end it or come back here and do it again.鈥�
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