Monday went differently than how the Colorado Avalanche wanted it to. A pivotal Game 4 can see a series tied at two apiece or lead to a team being down 3-1 and having to mount a comeback. It all started rough for the Avs it was announced that two of their players would not take the ice, and it promptly ended with them losing 5-1 and falling behind 3-1 in the series.
Devon Toews was announced to be dealing with an illness and could be back for Game 5, but Valeri Nichushkin is a different story. It was announced before puck drop that he would be placed in Stage 3 of the Player Assistance Program. Stage 3 means he will leave the team for six months without pay. There is a lot on the Avalanche’s plate here, with Toews dealing with an illness and Nichushkin now out for the series/playoffs.. Here are some key contributors who have to step up their game to come back from this 3-1 deficit to advance to the Western Conference Final.
Mikko Rantanen
In the Stars vs. Avalanche series preview, I stated that Mikko Rantanen needs to be the MVP of this series. Despite having two goals and seven assists for nine points against the Winnipeg Jets in the first round, I said that his game could have been more aggressive, looking to take more shots and drive to the net more, and that couldn’t be more true against the Stars in round two. With just one goal and two assists for three points in four games, Rantanen looks unenthusiastic and passive. His best game of the series so far came in Game 3; he scored a goal by crashing the net and batting in a loose puck to secure his first tally of the round.
Rantanen is also 6-foot-4, 215 pounds. He can throw the body and play physically in front of the net, but when 5-foot-8 Logan Stankoven ran him over in Game 4, you had question what is going on. This is no shot at Stankoven, as he is playing outstandingly in his first playoff run. Rantanen, however, is a minus-five in the series and has looked nothing close to what we have seen before, especially in the playoffs. With eligibility to sign a contract extension on July 1, there will be many questions heading into summer if he can’t find his game this series.
Jonathan Drouin
Jonathan Drouin‘s return was crucial to the team, given how he played before he got injured. He deserved it, especially with all the hard work he put into this regular season and his rehab to…
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