Blackwood Eyes Start as Avalanche Face Wild in Game 4 — Colorado Vs Minnesota
Colorado vs Minnesota turns to Game 4 on Monday with the Avalanche expected to switch to Mackenzie Blackwood in goal after Minnesota’s 5-1 win in Game 3 cut Colorado’s series lead to 2-1. The loss ended Colorado’s six-game winning streak to open the playoffs and sent the Western Conference Second Round back to Grand Casino Arena with the pressure on the team holding the edge.
Jared Bednar said the Avalanche need to respond after Saturday’s loss and described the mood bluntly: “I think after (Saturday) night, it's crank-up mode,” he said ahead of Game 4. He added, “They cranked it up and went to a different level for Game 3 in somewhat of a must win. And that's where the level is going to go to now for the rest of the series, and we've got to get there. So, to me, it's dial-it-up time.”
Blackwood at Monday skate
Blackwood was the first goalie off the ice at Monday morning skate and is expected to make his first start of the playoffs. Bednar said, “I really liked his practices and the time that he spent on the ice with (goalie coach) Jussi (Parkkila),” and added, “We're getting good reports. Like I said at the start of the playoffs, we're probably going to need both guys. It's how we ran all year. We have confidence in both guys, and I think Mackenzie is ready to play. He wants the net.”
Scott Wedgewood started the first seven games before Blackwood replaced him in relief in Game 3. Blackwood stopped 12 of 13 shots in that relief role, while Wedgewood was pulled after allowing three goals on 12 shots. That move gives Colorado a fresh look in a series where the opener, a 5-1 Minnesota loss, already showed how sharply the goaltending can swing from one game to the next.
Wallstedt holds Minnesota
Jesper Wallstedt answered with 35 saves in Game 3 after giving up eight goals on 42 shots in Game 1. John Hynes said of the Minnesota goalie, “When he and I sat down and talked about what we were thinking and the decision we were going to make (in Game 2), his feedback and input to me was very mature,” and added, “Then the way he went about and handled it -- he took a little bit of rest and recovery, he worked, practiced, came back and had a good game. He continually shows improvement like that.”
Minnesota will again be without Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin because of lower-body injuries, with Eriksson Ek missing his fourth straight game and Brodin his fifth. Colorado may have reinforcements available, with Josh Manson and Joel Kiviranta able to return after missing four and five games, respectively, because of upper-body injuries. Those lineup shifts sit beside a series number that keeps the stakes sharp: teams that take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-7 series have won 247 of 275 series, and teams that take a 3-1 lead on the road have won 151 of 165.
For Colorado, the immediate task is simple: avoid letting a 2-1 lead vanish in one night and leave Game 5 carrying the weight of a split series. Blackwood’s first playoff start, if it comes, gives the Avalanche a direct answer to the change that followed Game 3.
