Aarif Deen
With one loss separating the Colorado Avalanche from a playoff exit in the Western Conference Final, head coach Jared Bednar is making a notable lineup change.
He’s giving the nod to goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.
This is just the third start of the postseason for Blackwood, who has mostly played the backup role to Scott Wedgewood since the Olympic break. Blackwood helped the Avs win Game 4 in Minnesota on the road and Bednar is hoping he can do the same on Tuesday night.
It’s similar in that way, but different given where the series is. To put it simply, there is likely a lot of pressure on Blackwood to carry the load of the season on his back. One bad goal, one bad period, one loss would end what was supposed to be a memorable march to the Stanley Cup Final.
But Bednar doesn’t want his goalie to feel that pressure. In the end, it’s not up to Blackwood to save the season. He just needs to go in there and save as many shots as he can.
“That was exactly my message to him, We have nothing to lose, and this series, it’s the first time he’s entering it. It’s not like we’re putting the weight of the series on Mackenzie,” Bednar said.
The conversation he had with his higher-paid goalie is perhaps the most fascinating.
“I think Mackenzie’s the type of guy and goalie that plays better when he’s loose and confident and he’s been doing the work to make sure that he’s ready and prepared,” Bednar said. “So I just told him — I went back and talked to him a little bit about the San Jose days. They were a rebuilding team, we’d go in there and play him and put up 55-60 shots and we’d win 1-0. He’s not going to face 60 shots tonight and I feel like if he’s loose and confident and playing his game, he has the ability to not only win us games but steal us games.”
It’s a really interesting message that Bednar echoed to the veteran netminder. The head coach admitted that most of Monday’s off-ice meetings were centered around overcoming the mental challenges of trailing by three games rather than a more traditional X’s and O’s breakdown. The Avs have arguably the deepest lineup in the NHL. They won 55 regular-season games for a reason.
But the fear and nervousness of losing games in this series has caught up to them surprisingly quick. That’s why Bednar is focusing so hard on this message. Blackwood is seemingly getting that same treatment.
“We’re at 0-3 in the series, so it’s not a desperation move, it’s just you’ve got to make a change and see if something else works,” Bednar said. “We felt confident in both these guys all year long. I felt like Wedge has kind of earned the net in 1 and 2 and we gave him the shot in 3 and we didn’t get it done and it’s not on him, either, it’s on our team. So this is a team game. But we’re just looking for Blacky to come in and play to the best of his ability and be loose and have fun.
“The whole team’s kind of in that mode right now, and I think if he can do that, you might see the best of him.”