DENVER – In this battle of attrition, it looks like the Colorado Avalanche is about to catch Andrew Cogliano for Game 2.
Cogliano broke his finger after blocking a shot in the fourth game of the Western Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oilers and was left out of the opening of the Stanley Cup final.
While Avalanche’s head coach Jared Bednar maintained his focus on not announcing lineup decisions, he admitted Cogliano was an option.
During morning skating, Cogliano was working with normal penalty killer teammate Darren Helm, a sign that he tends to return to lineup.
Cogliano is likely to replace Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who had the lowest ice time of all the players in match 1 (6:07).
The Lightning did not skate on Saturday morning, but are not expected to make any changes to their lineup.
Lightning striker Brayden Point returned to the lineup for the first goal and had just under 19 minutes of ice time.
Although Point did not record a shot on goal, there were some signs that he found his legs after the long dismissal.
The Lightning have become accustomed to regrouping after difficult outings and will try to follow that script on Saturday.
“After game 1, you get a better read and a better understanding of the opponent. It’s one thing to watch it on video, but it’s also one thing to be in the game,” Lightning defender Victor Hedman said. “A few tweaks here and there, but nothing major. We believe in what we’re doing. But obviously you see their trends more closely, and that’s what we’re working on video and on ice.”
MAKAR WAS WITHOUT A GOAL SHOT
One of the interesting statistics of game 1 was that the Lightning were able to hold the offensive dynamo Cale Makar without a single shot on goal.
It was the first time he had played in 15 games during the Stanley Cup playoffs, although Makar ended up with nine shooting attempts (six blocked, three missed on the net), so it’s not like he didn’t have one. its appearance.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said facing New York Rangers defender Adam Fox in the Eastern Conference Finals helped prepare his team for the task of trying to control Makar.
“I think he’s going to keep coming and shooting. How many shooting attempts … he’s going to keep, like, shooting and shooting and shooting,” Cooper said. “I said this pre-series, we went against Fox. And so I don’t want to sit here and compare them, but they do have a similar mind and the way they release the record, so we’ve had a bit of practice with them.
“But if you’re thinking he won’t score in the series, you’re wrong. At some point, it will make them pass. We were probably lucky enough to be in the lanes. We had a little patience with him. But again, at least I didn’t go down without explaining myself first. But if we can continue to do that, it will help our game. “
Bednar was not at all worried about development.
“They did the same thing they do against all the other players. Their striker blocks a lot of shots, always,” Bednar said. “We’ve seen it in different situations, sometimes even in the playoffs with Cale. I think there was a game in the Nashville series where they had 14 attempts and only had one or two shots, but they kept shooting. I’ll never tell him not to shoot, I trust him and his instinct and he usually has a great move to be able to load those lanes and sometimes even the last game got him through the first layer and the second blocked him.
“That’s part of it. But just make sure you move and keep your eyes up (when) it shoots and it’s something you do constantly and if you see something you like on the net, I want you to “Send it in. The blocked shots, well, they’re going to block a lot. I don’t mind.”
JOHNSON OFFICIALLY A GRADUATE
Jack Johnson’s story is inspiring.
Not only did he make the Avalanche after attending the training camp with a professional test offer (PTO), but he has become a regular in the lineup after Sam Girard broke his sternum in third game of the second round against the St. Louis Blues.
Johnson, a 16-year NHL veteran, is playing his first Stanley Cup final and his first taste did not disappoint.
“It was all I thought it would be,” Johnson said. “I tried to stay pretty calm, cool and collected, just knowing it’s another hockey game. The adrenaline was going to go up when I went out on the ice with the atmosphere and the fans and everything. It was pretty amazing. “We are enjoying it, keeping up with it. But we have a lot of work to do here.”
During his morning session with reporters, Johnson (who was chosen third overall in 2005) was asked about the benefits of spending another year in college at the University of Michigan instead of becoming a professional. .
Johnson then volunteered to recently graduate from General Studies.
“No. 1 as a kid, I never thought I would be good enough to play in the NHL,” said Johnson, who has played 1,024 NHL games and 38 more during the Stanley Cup playoffs. “My dream was to play college hockey at the University of Michigan. So I wasn’t going to pass up that opportunity at any point. Then, after my freshman year, I just didn’t think I was physically fit enough for the NHL.
“So I wanted to enjoy another year at the University of Michigan and, to be honest, I wasn’t ready to leave a major college to play for minors. But I had the best time of my life there and I don’t regret it. a little bit. In fact, in order not to keep dragging, I just graduated. I’m very proud of that too. “
When Johnson left Michigan after sophomore year, he promised Wolverines head coach Red Berenson that he would graduate.
And although it took him a little longer than he initially thought, it is a success to be celebrated and he called Berenson as soon as he finished the job.
“Let me see. Does this take me 18 years? Most people are at least a doctor at the time, “Johnson joked. I took advantage of part of the time during the pandemic where they offered some online courses for which I would normally have to be on campus. I just graduated this spring. “
What was the hardest course?
“Statistics. With his hands, “Johnson said.” It was a big deal for me, I wanted to do it. As I said as a kid, I grew up dreaming of playing college hockey in Michigan. I wanted to graduate there: the number 1 public school in the country. So it meant a lot to me. “
ALIGNING THEM
Here’s how we expect the two teams to start Saturday night:
Colorado Devessall
Gabe Landeskog-Nathan MacKinnon-Valeri NichushkinAndre Burakovsky-JT Compher-Mikko RantanenArtturi Lehkonen-Darren Helm-Logan O’ConnorAndrew Cogliano-Nico Sturm-Alex Newhook
Devon Toews-Cale MakarJack Johnson-Josh MansonBowen Byram-Erik Johnson
Darcy KuemperPavel French
Lightning from Tampa Bay
Ondrej Palat-Steven Stamkos-Nikita KucherovBrandon Hagel-Anthony Cirelli-Alex KillornNick Paul-Brayden Point-Ross ColtonPat Maroon-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Corey Perry
Victor Hedman-Jan RuutaRyan McDonagh-Erik CernakMikhail Sergachev-Zach Bogosian
Andrei Vasilevskiy Brian Elliott