Three key forwards skip a.m. skate
Avalanche forwards Nathan Mackinnon, Nazem Kadri and Gabe Landeskog did not participate in Friday’s morning skate ahead of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
But Avs coach Jared Bednar said they were each taking maintenance — meaning they were just preparing in other ways for a chance to close out the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Landeskog has skipped morning skates throughout the postseason. Kadri was likely recovering from Game 4 in which he returned from a fourgame injury absence and scored the winning overtime goal. It was the first morning skate Mackinnon missed this postseason.
The rest of the Avs who will be in the lineup got onto the ice before the official 9:30 a.m. slot and got off by 9:50.
Avs defenseman Bo Byram, 21, was born four days after the Avalanche won its previous Stanley Cup on June 9, 2021.
“You try to treat it like another day,” Byram said from the podium after the skate. “But you’re going to have thoughts of different things that haven’t been there all year. But you’ve just got to stick to your routine, do what you’ve done every other day you’ve come to the rink. Just make sure that you prepare to play your best tonight.”
Winning it at home. The Avalanche hasn’t closed out a playoff series in Denver since 2008. It has won six series since then but each on the road.
“The fans have been unbelievable all year, especially in the playoffs, and I don’t think that we’re focused on where we close it out,” Compher said. “Just focused on playing hockey right now, and the rest will take care of itself.”
That OT goal in Tampa. Byram was among the first Avs players to realize they had won Game 4 in overtime on Wednesday at Amalie Arena to take a 3-1 series lead. Kadri’s winning shot was roofed and buried between the inside goal frame and the net. But Byram could see it go in from afar.
“As soon Naz got a shot off, I (saw the) net flex so I knew it was in the net. And then when I was skating, I could see the bulge of the puck above the (rear) crossbar. So I didn’t really realize that. We didn’t know if it went in or not. It’s kind of a blur now, but, yeah, I feel like I knew the whole time. I’d seen it go in.”
Point sits again. The Lightning were without center Brayden Point (lower body) for the third consecutive game. He missed all of the Florida and New York Rangers series and returned to play in Games 1-2 against the Avalanche. Tampa Bay did have defenseman Erik Cernak (lower body) and center Anthony Cirelli (upper body) in the lineup after they were injured in Game 4.