Here are three things to watch in Game 2:<\/p>\n
1. Defense first<\/p>\n
That’s what each team is preaching, anyway, coming into Game 2 after the crazy-offense filled Game 1. But saying it and doing it are two different things.<\/p>\n
“This team, good skaters and good rush in the offensive zone. We just need to play a better skating game and stay on top these guys,” Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov<\/a>\u00a0said of the Avalanche. “Sometimes you need more bumps and help you deal and stuff like this, like small details. Just don’t give like (the) easy skating play.”<\/p>\n Could Game 2 get crazy? Sure, anything’s possible, especially in the playoffs, but it’s unlikely. Could you imagine a full series of that type of game?<\/p>\n “I don’t think that’s sustainable. I think if teams are playing that type of defense, it’s going to be a wild series that the coaches are going to hate,” Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor<\/a>\u00a0said. “I’m sure both teams are looking to correct the same type of things: limit those chances, try to keep things out of the net-front area. I’m sure you’re going to see a much different game tonight.”<\/p>\n 2. Landeskog thriving<\/p>\n Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog<\/a>\u00a0has looked great this postseason, with five points (two goals, three assists) in five games. It’s not just the scoring and leadership the veteran provides but also the versatility to move around the lineup.<\/p>\n “Obviously one of the top players in the League, and the way he plays is, like, it’s a very pronounced identity, I guess you’d say,” Bednar said. “What he provides to one line, he provides the exact same thing to the next line. And there’s a heaviness and a stoutness to his game that he’s able to like, win puck battles, hang on to pucks in traffic, still make plays with great vision and the ability to create chances for himself and his linemates.\u00a0<\/p>\n “So, if we need something on a line, and I can move him around a little bit to help some lines, then I’ll do it on occasion. (Sunday) was one opportunity, left side face-off, he wins it, we end up getting a goal from (Nathan) MacKinnon to Makar out of it. He has a lot of tools in his toolbox, and his really trusted guy, so we’ll try to, not just him, but all of our guys, move him around a little bit to try and help our team win and but he’s certainly a guy that we’ve been able to do that with recently.”<\/p>\n 3. Makar vs. Hughes, Round 2<\/p>\n The two most recent Norris Trophy winners (Cale Makar<\/a> last season and Quinn Hughes<\/a> with the Vancouver Canucks in 2023-24) awarded annually to the League’s best defenseman, were fantastic in Game 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hughes had a goal and two assists and played a game-high 28:57. Makar, who returned in the second period after being hit by Wild forward Marcus Foligno<\/a>\u00a0early in the first, had two goals and an assist in 17:11.<\/p>\n Makar can become the sixth defenseman in playoff history to have a four-game goal streak, joining Paul Coffey<\/a> (five games in 1983), Victor Hedman<\/a> (four in 2020), Ed Jovanovski<\/a> (four in 2003), Mike Ramsey<\/a> (four in 1983) and Bobby Orr<\/a>\u00a0(four in 1970).<\/p>\n