The Avalanche, coming off a 5-3 loss Saturday in Game 1 against the Dallas Stars, promises to be better in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals in Edmonton.
But Colorado will have to do this without two major players and possibly a third.
Goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer, who got a start on the body as a leg on Saturday, will not be available for Game 2 from Monday night. Defender Erik Johnson, who played playfully after leaving Game 1 twice with injuries, is doubtful and forward Matt Calvert, who was “unfit to play” on Saturday, is being described as “day to day.”
“These guys are being evaluated today in some way, so I might have more information tomorrow,” coach Jared Bednar said after an optional practice in Edmonton. “But Grubauer will not be available for tomorrow and I do not expect Erik Erik either, but we will see.”
Pavel Francouz will replace Gruabuer as the outgoing goalkeeper and a handful of extra defenders are candidates to replace Johnson. Kevin Connauton is the likely addition, but Mark Barberio, Conor Timmins and 2019 first-round draft pick Bo Byram are also available.
Bednar also said he may be thinking with his mid-six strikers, who struggled Saturday.
‘We will discuss all our options as coaching staff and management and look at how we would use each man in different scenarios and against whom we will play them and try to find the best solution to win our morning game at night and we go away, “said the coach.” All options certainly on the table. “
Francouz will be supported by trade-deadline purchase Michael Hutchinson for Game 2 and beyond. Bednar said the team is trying to add Hunter Miska to the Edmonton bubble as an available third-tier goalie.
The Avalanche had 17 turnovers and just 11 takeaways in Game 1 and was constantly struggling to move the puck ice out of the defensive zone. The Stars’ advancement and strong neutral zone defense was the primary cause, but Bednar did not like his team’s decision making and league level for most of the game.
“Dallas came to us,” he said. ‘There are definitely some things we can do better on our breakouts, and our defenders help and I said yesterday that our D had a hard night and I will stay there after watching some of the video has got. I know we can be better at making some plays that are there and not look out for our first option. We had a group too complicated about it and we knew we were not really skating. ”
Defender Ian Cole and forward Andre Burakovsky were both minus-3 in Game 1 and probably among “half” of the Avs players that Bednar said “did not show up to play.”
‘They’re coming hard. They read the play well and they load it up really well, “Cole of the Stars said on Sunday. we can and do go to the races …. They are apparently a good team that is confident in their structure and they played like that.
“We just have to find a way to break it.”
Footnote. The Avs will begin skating Monday morning with introduction, as Game 2 is scheduled to begin at 7:45 p.m. At this point, all nine Avalanche playoff games started at noon, noon or 6pm, so the team had no morning skates.
