Scott MacDonald
The journey to eternal glory starts tonight for the Avs.
The regular season was a 56-game warmup to get to this point. The Avs managed 39 wins and a Presidents’ Trophy during the regular season, but none of those wins—or regular-season accomplishments—matter more than winning the 16 playoff games that it takes to hoist Lord Stanley’s prized possession.
“Guys feel good; they’re excited to play,” Avs head coach Jared Bednar said Monday afternoon. “It’s that time of year where it’s the most fun time to be playing hockey. They’ve put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes over the last few days, lots of meetings, getting prepared, and I think they’re anxious to get out and go play.”
“Everyone’s waited so long for the playoff to start. We have a good team and everyone want to go far as we can,” Val Nichushkin said. “I think we’re ready and everyone’s so excited to start tonight.”
“Everyone’s excited. Everyone’s itching to get the playoffs started,” Brandon Saad added. “Everyone’s getting ready to play, everyone’s excited about where we’re at as a team. We’re just looking forward on going for a run here.”
Other news and notes:
- Val Nichushkin sat down with the media for the first time ever this afternoon. Questions were recited through a translator.
- Val’s English is pretty good.
- He admitted he started a little slow this season because he had “a little surgery” during the offseason. He says he’s gotten more comfortable and physical as the season moved along.
- Nichushkin on his Masterton Trophy nomination: “I think it’s good, yeah. I will try to prove it.”
- Dubnyk just got on the ice yesterday for the first time since coming off the COVID list. So for now, coach Bednar says Jonas Johansson will be backing up Philipp Grubauer.
- Conor Timmins “feels great,” according to coach Bednar. He’ll play tonight.
- Saad says he feels good, too. He was very impressed with his teammates while he missed the last few weeks with an injury.
- Brandon Saad said “it’s tough to compare” the Avs to his Cup-winning teams in Chicago. Colorado has “all the ingredients”, adding that the “pure, raw talent on the team” and the club’s confidence is comparable to the Blackhawks dynasty of 2012-2015.
- There were a lot of questions regrading Alex Newhook, who will make his first NHL postseason appearance, slotting in for the veteran Carl Soderberg. The general consensus between the coaching staff and Newhook’s peers in the locker room is this: The kid is good; he deserves to play.
- Coach Bednar: “He’s competed hard for us, he’s shown flashes of his skill and ability to make plays, he’s a hard-working guy and he’s good defensively—I don’t see many weaknesses there. I’m hoping he can continue to elevate his game, continue to get better and develop here in a short time. So he’s getting in tonight; I’ve just liked the way he’s played…I want to take a look at him with that line tonight.”
- Brandon Saad: “He looks good. Obviously stepping in and getting the chance to play tonight is an exciting moment for him. Obviously the coaching staff and organization thinks he can bring something to the table…He has tremendous talent; he plays with a lot of confidence. He definitely has a bright future.”
- Coach Bednar says his team will be ready for how physical the Blues will be.
- St. Louis will be without David Perron, its leading scorer, tonight, as he remains in COVID protocol. Vince Dunn will also be out. The Blues will get Vladimir Tarasenko back, however.
- BONUS: If you’re wondering what Shane Bowers has been up to, give this a read.
Puck drop on Game 1 starts tonight at 8 p.m. MST.