2. Avs’ energy after opening face-off
It would be shocking if the Wild didn’t come out with speed and pace to their game, playing on their toes with energy like they did in Game 3.
They’ve got the home crowd behind them. The building rocked Saturday and should again Monday. The buzz over the Wild is evident walking around the Twin Cities.
The Avalanche have to get their game going in the face of all that. They couldn’t do it Saturday and they were a step behind pretty much all game. And there was no sugarcoating it either.
Bednar said after Game 3 that the video won’t lie. It was all truth when the Avalanche watched it Sunday, proof of a team that, as defenseman Devon Toews said, “got outcompeted,” examples of what can’t happen again at the start of Game 4.
“Inside of a good team, great teams is resiliency, being able to kind of flush it, learn from the mistakes, know that we can be better, clean things up and have to be better, especially at this time of the year,” Colorado center Brock Nelson said. “So, we’re confident in the guys that we have in understanding that, a veteran group that has been around, been in this situation before where we need a response.”
3. Manson’s mission
Bednar wouldn’t confirm Manson will play, saying only that he is available. But all indications are he will be in the lineup for the first time since April 23, which means Colorado will have another big body on defense. Manson (6-foot-3, 218 pounds) can take up space, plays a physical game and has some underrated skill.
In what has already been a physical series, Manson’s potential return gives the Avalanche an edge in that department, especially if he plays his typical physical brand of hockey and is not limited in any capacity.
“You’re looking at a big, strong, bottom six in Minny that protects the puck real well,” Bednar said. “So, the size and physicality and the ability to close plays out and get you in and out of your zone a little quicker is for me probably the most beneficial thing he can bring to us.”
Avalanche projected lines
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton — Nazem Kadri — Nicolas Roy
Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Brett Kulak — Sam Malinski
Josh Manson — Brent Burns
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Scratched: Joel Kiviranta, Nick Blankenburg, Zakhar Bardakov, Isak Posch, Jack Ahcan
Injured: None
Wild projected lines
Marcus Johansson — Danila Yurov — Matt Boldy
Kirill Kaprizov — Ryan Hartman — Mats Zuccarello
Yakov Trenin — Michael McCarron — Vladimir Tarasenko
Marcus Foligno — Nico Sturm — Nick Foligno
Quinn Hughes — Brock Faber
Daemon Hunt — Jared Spurgeon
Jake Middleton — Zach Bogosian
Jesper Wallstedt
Filip Gustavsson
Scratched: Robby Fabbri, Hunter Haight, Matt Kiersted, Bobby Brink, Calvin Petersen, Jeff Petry
Injured: Joel Eriksson Ek (lower body), Jonas Brodin (lower body)
Status report
Makar (maintenance) did not skate but is expected to play. … The Wild are expected to use the same lineup from a 5-1 win in Game 3 on Saturday. … Hynes said that although Eriksson Ek is making significant progress, he will not play.
