Pretty cut-and-dried for the Avalanche in the final week of the NHL regular season: win three of their final four games and they earn a Stanley Cup playoff berth, regardless of how Arizona and Minnesota do the rest of the way.
That would give the Avalanche 91 points, one more than Arizona can accumulate even if the Coyotes win all four of their remaining games, starting Sunday against the Wild, who could finish with 89 by winning out.
Colorado had a three-point lead over Arizona and a four-point lead over Minnesota before leaving for St. Louis and Monday’s game against the Blues.
“Big games coming up,… coach Jared Bednar said after practice Sunday. “I’ve been saying this for what feels like a month already, but now we’re down to a four-game stretch and we’re sitting in a good spot. We got to go win some hockey games. We got to go secure our own place in the playoffs, and that’s going to take some wins.…
It appears they’ll have to do it without Mikko Rantanen. He’s missed the past four games with an upper-body injury and was wearing shorts and tennis shoes Sunday while stickhandling on the ice. Bednar said he didn’t have anything new to report on his prognosis.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog had no ill-effects after playing 22:15 Friday in the Avalanche’s 3-2 shootout win against the Coyotes. He missed the previous nine games with a shoulder injury.
“A little bit of rust there,… Landeskog said. “But like I said before the game, there’s no better way to get back into it than with the most important game of the year. Adrenaline’s pumping and I got into the game right away in the first period and felt good.…
Landeskog set up Nathan MacKinnon for a power-play goal in the second period – he has a career-high 70 points – had two shots on goal, four hits, three blocked shots and won four of seven faceoffs.
“You’re always just a little bit leery to see how a player’s going to play, No. 1, being out that length of time, and then you want to make sure they’re coming out of it healthy and feeling good to go again,… Bednar said. “He checked both boxes, had a great game, came out of it feeling great and he’s ready to go again tomorrow.… *****
The Avalanche will need to wait before they can sign top prospect Cale Makar, the star University of Massachusetts-Amherst defenseman and their first-round pick (No. 4) in the 2017 NHL draft.
UMass advanced to its first Frozen Four April 11-13 in Buffalo by defeating Notre Dame 4-0 on Saturday to win the NCAA Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H.
Makar, 20, would be eligible to join the Avalanche for the playoffs (if they qualify) when the Minutemen conclude their season; the Stanley Cup playoffs begin April 10.
Makar 🚀
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 31, 2019
2nd Period | ND 0 | UMASS 3#NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/kfWmBFhQ5n
“Makar obviously is an elite player,… Bednar said. “I think there’s obviously potential for him to come in and help us. You look at what he’s done there this year, and you look at the way their team’s playing and now going to the Frozen Four or having the chance to win the Hobey Baker (Award as college hockey's best player) … all those experiences will help him, no question.
“And then playing in a national championship tournament, it’s what you want from your prospects. You want them to play important games that mean something, where they have to push and help their team win. That’s exactly what he’s doing right now.…
Is signing Makar when he’s available part of the organization’s plan?
“I don’t know, that’s a management question,… Bednar said. “My focus is more on all the players that we have in our room and what we have to do in our last four games.…