Center Nathan MacKinnon slammed his stick against the glass so hard the magic shattered, and the thrill of being the defending Stanley Cup champs was gone. These Avs — frustrated, hurting, weary and one lousy loss from elimination in the NHL playoffs — have come unglued.
But don’t the defending champs deserve better than being done dirty by inept officiating? MacKinnon gets dragged down for all the hockey world to see and a referee turns a blind eye? What the …
“Itap not 1975. I think thatap a trip,” MacKinnon groused late Wednesday, unable to comprehend how he could be the victim of a takedown worthy of Roddy Piper without a penalty being whistled.
Instead of winning, the defending champs are whining. And that’s not only a problem, but an indicator of how deep in the dumpster the Avalanche’s confidence now resides. But in this case, MacKinnon had a legitimate gripe.
The key moment Wednesday in a 3-2 loss to Seattle that put the defending champs on the brink began with a horrendously blown call. With the score tied near the middle of the second period, MacKinnon gyrated with the puck glued to his stick along the boards in the attack zone, only to be cynically dragged down from behind by Kraken defenseman Will Borgen.
“I spin, I get five feet on a guy and he takes my feet out,” MacKinnon said. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
As MacKinnon vented his frustration by trying to slam his stick through the glass, the Kraken raced up the ice on a quick-strike counter, catching the Avs on their heels, allowing 21-year-old Tye Kartye to score his first NHL goal at 9:59 of the second period and give Seattle a 2-1 lead the Kraken would not surrender.
What happened out there, refs? Did MacKinnon suddenly get clumsy on his skates?
“He doesn’t really fall that often like that on his stomach,” Avs teammate Mikko Rantanen sarcastically observed. “I don’t know whatap going on there. Itap a really tough one. We just tied it up, would’ve got a power play and a chance to take the lead. But they go the other way. We make a mistake. They score.”
We like to complain that NBA superstars enjoy a way too favorable whistle in the basketball playoffs. So let me ask: Wouldn’t you rather see that than a star of MacKinnon’s stature get no respect?
But here’s the deal, my griping Avalanche friends. The NHL playoffs allow no time for self-pity. Had MacKinnon responded with a backcheck instead of losing his mind, maybe Seattle doesn’t score at that crucial moment of Game 5, where history reminds us that the winner in a best-of-seven series tied 2-2 survives and advances nearly 80% of the time.
“I’ve got to keep my cool there better. I can’t get upset,” MacKinnon said.
Itap bad hockey, not wretched officiating, that will send the Avs home from the playoffs early, possibly as early as Friday, when Colorado plays Game 6 in Seattle.
For five straight games, the Avs have surrendered the first goal and committed the first penalty. Thatap playing hockey like chumps, not champs.
“We seem to be getting frustrated,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.
What has been Bednar’s only response from the bench? Ordering MacKinnon to jump off the bench and over the boards more often. The Avalanche’s superstar center logged 27 minutes and one second of ice time, more than any defenseman on either team in Game 5.
“We classified this as a must-win game at home,” said Bednar, explaining why he was committed to doing whatever it took, even if it meant working MacKinnon until his skates fell off. “Is there a point where he runs out of gas? Maybe. But we’re facing elimination. So if we’ve got to play him 30 (minutes), we’ll do it.”
Thatap not good coaching. Itap desperation.
Without broken captain Gabe Landeskog, suspended defenseman Cale Makar and wayward son Val Nichkuskin, the defending champs didn’t have enough oomph to wrassle the Kraken into submission in Ball Arena.
“We’ve got to relax a little bit. We’re kind of tight,” Rantanen said. “Itap not easy in the playoffs when the other team is coming hard at you and you’re feeling the pressure.”
Without the benefit of the stacked roster that gave Colorado an aura of invincibility a year ago and feeling the strain to repeat, the defending NHL champs look too weary to die hard.
Hoist the Cup? Again? Forget that noise. Better find somebody else, maybe Edmonton’s Connor McDavid or Brad Marchand of Boston.
The trophy appears too heavy, too difficult, too much to ask of these Avs.
The Avs have been reduced to MacKinnon and a bunch of guys who look ready for a long summer nap.
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