Lineup Changes Could Be Coming For Avalanche in Game 4

Lineup changes could be coming to the Colorado Avalanche for Monday’s pivotal Game 4 in Minnesota. Both in terms of injured players returning and the actual in-game combinations that they’ve used for the last handful of games.

The Avs suffered their first loss of the postseason on Saturday, falling 5-1 to the Minnesota Wild in a game where they were outplayed in basically every situation. This was Colorado’s first loss in nearly a month, ending a nine-game winning streak that stretched back to the conclusion of the regular season.

We saw head coach Jared Bednar make a goalie change in the second period. After giving up three goals on 12 shots, Scott Wedgewood was pulled and replaced by Mackenzie Blackwood, who hadn’t played since April 14. It’s still unclear who Bednar will give the nod to in Game 4, albeit Wedgewood wasn’t necessarily the biggest issue in that loss. He could very well be back between the pipes.

But it sounds like changes could be coming elsewhere. Bednar, who doesn’t disclose his lineups before playoff games, was open and honest about not being complacent. The specifics won’t be shared, but the thought of making a change very much was.

“There’s definitely lots of talk today about how we want to structure our lines for tomorrow,” Bednar said at the team’s hotel following an off-ice meeting with his squad.

Bednar has a lot to consider when making changes. He has a second line, particularly a duo of Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin, that has been among the team’s best shutdown lines. But the offense isn’t quite up to their standard. Nelson and Nichushkin each have one goal through seven playoff games, and both of them scored on empty nets.

There’s no question the team needs more from the two of them, whether they continue to play together or on different lines. Is it time to sacrifice their defensive prowess to switch things up?

“Oftentimes, you have to give up something to get something,” Bednar said. So it’s a matter of what’s most important to us at the time and how we can sort of fill in if we’re missing something a little bit on the defensive side. Who else can go in there and kind of make it look the same and do a good job there, right?”

Along from shifting the lines for the guys who have played in this series, two more players could help fill that void, and both have missed time with injuries. Defenseman Josh Manson was a participant in morning skate and seems really close to returning. Bednar reiterated that he could be an option in Game 4. If so, it’ll put Nick Blankenburg back on the healthy scratch list. Blankenburg played just 7:46 in Game 3.

The other is a more interesting case. Joel Kiviranta played the first two playoff games against the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round. After that, Ross Colton stepped in, and Kiviranta had not played since. It was later determined that Kiviranta was hurt. Bednar confirmed that was still the case in Game 3. But, like Manson, Kiviranta could be an option for Game 4.

It’ll be interesting to see who comes out if he dresses.

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