Nichushkin’s Breakthrough was Just What the Avs Needed

Valeri Nichushkin hit his breaking point Thursday night, and that was bad news for the Dallas Stars.

After the Avalanche’s Game 5 loss at American Airlines Center, head coach Jared Bednar said now is not the time for players to have off nights. Nichushkin had one that night and took his frustration out on a stick during the game.

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That frustration carried over to Thursday morning’s skate, with another demolished piece of lumber from the Russian forward. Bednar was not thrilled with this behavior because “it means that he’s not happy with the way he’s playing.”

Through five games, Nichushkin had only one point, so he had reason to be upset. He had seven points in five games against the Winnipeg Jets in last year’s first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series.

“When you’re playing real well, you’re not breaking sticks and stuff. I do know that he holds himself to a very high standard of play …,” Bednar said. “He expects to do well, works extremely hard to do well. And he’s had a couple games in this series that haven’t been great. I just go back to Game 4, he was one of the best players on the ice and I know that he can repeat that, so I relay that to him. It’s just put the work first and the rest of your game will follow.”

Bednar’s pep talk must have motivated Nichushkin, and the hockey gods answered his plea six and a half minutes into Game 6.

The play started with Devon Toews clearing the puck from the defensive zone to Gabriel Landeskog. The captain then shoveled it to Brock Nelson on the rush into the offensive zone. Nelson slid it across to Nichushkin, who ripped it past Jake Oettinger from just inside the right circle.

“He’s a fiery guy. He’s one of the hardest-working guys I’ve ever seen. So we knew he’d be ready,” Nathan MacKinnon said after the 7-4 win.

His second goal was six minutes into the third period off a rebound from Landeskog’s shot. Nelson earned the secondary assist.

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Nichushkin flipped a switch that turned his frustration into determination. And that is a dangerous shift for the Stars. Bednar wants him to channel that to bring to Game 7 in Dallas.

“He did the same thing in Game 4 as well. So I’ll have a conversation with him tomorrow and figure out how we get him to do that again in Dallas,” Bednar said laughing. “He’s been exceptional in the home games and frustrated in the road games. Our whole team has to think about what’s made them successful here, especially in the last couple games, and how do we carry that over to the road?”

Martin Necas, who was held scoreless in the first three games, came alive in the Game 5 loss with two points and another two in the Game 6 do-or-die win. The Czech forward could relate to his teammate’s frustration, although he didn’t break any sticks to show it.

“That’s just the way he is. He always plays his best. And sometimes you have games that you feel your best and puck is bouncing and nothing’s really going your way,” Necas said about Niuchushkin. “He showed up big time today, and it was huge. He got the huge goal in the third and the first, he got us going. I think we’ll see more in Game 7.”

I have tried to talk to Nichushkin several times, only to be turned down every time. While the media swarmed around the captain after the game, I hung out by Nichushkin while he did his ritual at his stall. He evaded me and shook both his goaltenders’ hands on his way out of the locker room. Maybe he’ll be ready to chat in Round 2 … to be determined.