Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog supervised his daughter’s soccer practices. Head coach Jared Bednar has been doing some work around his house. Dynamic forward Nathan MacKinnon has scheduled time with his dogs.
It was simply a matter of taking a week off before facing their pet peeve: the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Avalanche, the top-ranked team in the Western Conference, have been eliminated in this segment of the playoffs for the past three seasons. It became a kind of mental block to overcome. This time, he will have to try to get through the rough and experienced St. Louis Blues, who have a habit of making life difficult for talented teams like the Avalanche.
This version of the Avalanche, however, was built with more bite and sturdiness than in recent years. It is no longer based solely on speed. This new facet was illustrated when the Avalanche swept the Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs and responded to the physical play of their rivals.
“Teams want to physically intimate us,” Bednar said. We are not a small team. We are not scared. »
Bednar’s men will be visited by the Blues on Tuesday in the series opener.
Last season, the Avalanche swept the Blues in the first round. The St. Louis club had to do without David Perron (who was on COVID-19 protocol) and defenseman Justin Faulk who left the series after a blow to the head of Nazem Kadri in Game 2.
Kadri got an eight-game suspension for the hit. He’s missed the last two games against the Blues and all six of the series the Avalanche lost to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Avalanche members insisted they don’t fuss too much with second-round outings — against the San Jose Sharks (in seven games in 2018-19), against the Dallas Stars (in seven games in 2019-20) and last year against the Golden Knights.
“We don’t really talk about it,” Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen said. Everyone knows what happened and we don’t need to think about what happened in the past. »
And you have to, because when you’re up against a team like the Blues who don’t allow much space or time with the puck, it’s tough. The Blues got the better of the Minnesota Wild — which shares many style similarities with the Avalanche — in six games.
“When you look at the way the Avalanche score their goals, the way they play, there are a lot of fast counterattacks and overruns where he makes you look bad,” analyzed the head coach. of the Blues, Craig Berube.
“At the end of the day we have to make sure we do the right thing, put the pressure on and when we have the puck, do something with it,” he added.
And when it comes to last season’s sweep, Berube doesn’t think he will need much motivation.
“Look, you’re in the playoffs and trying to win,” Berube said. What more motivation do you need? »