LAS VEGAS — Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon will play in Game 4, coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday morning.
MacKinnon will play despite getting injured in Game 3. Valeri Nichushkin, who was also injured in a 5-3 loss Saturday night that put the Avs at the brink of elimination, remains a game-time decision.
“I think we’ll be able to use him (normally),” Bednar said. “He’s feeling a lot better today. We’ll see when he gets on the ice tonight and what the game brings, but he’s feeling pretty good today and feels like he’ll be ready to go.”
Mackenzie Blackwood is going to replace Scott Wedgewood in net for Game 4. It will be his first start since being replaced by Wedgewood in the series-clinching Game 5 against Minnesota.
MacKinnon was injured in the second period of Game 3 when he blocked a Shea Theodore shot with the outside of his right knee. He writhed on the ice in pain for nine seconds before the officials stopped play, and then for a bit longer before he was able to gingerly skate off the ice on his own power.
He missed the end of the second period and the start of the third while getting treatment, and was only able to take one 5-on-5 shift after returning from the locker room. MacKinnon still played 4:05 in the third period, but most of it was on the power play or with the goaltender pulled at the end of the game.
Nichushkin did not play the final 22 minutes of Game 3, and took only one short shift in the final 27 minutes. The Avalanche did not have Cale Makar for the first two games of this series because of an upper-body injury. Sam Malinski and Artturi Lehkonen both missed the final two games of the Minnesota series, and while they have played against Vegas, neither has been as typically impactful as they were before the injuries.
Blackwood has only started two games during this 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs run. Wedgewood outplayed him near the end of the season, earned the Game 1 start against Los Angeles and then was fantastic against the Kings in a four-game sweep. Blackwood replaced Wedgewood during Game 3 of the second round and then started Games 4 and 5.
“I think Mackenzie’s the type of guy and goalie that plays better when he’s loose and confident and he’s been doing the work to make sure that he’s ready and prepared,” Bednar said. “Itap not a desperation move. Itap just … you’ve got to make a change and see if something else works for me. We felt confident in both these guys all year long. I felt like (Wedgewood) kind of earned the net in (Games) 1 and 2 and we gave him the shot in (Game) 3 and we didn’t get it done. Itap not on him, either. Itap on our team.
“We’re just looking for (Blackwood) to come in and play to the best of his ability and be loose and have fun. The whole team’s kind of in that mode right now, and I think if you can do that, you might see the best of him.”
