Avalanche loses again, but players and coach Jared Bednar are upset after ‘risk’ play causes Cale Makar to get injured.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK — The Colorado Avalanche will return from this three-game road trip with back-to-back shutout losses, but a fortuitous diagnosis following a frightening circumstance could be key. Cale Makar exited the game towards the end of the second period Sunday after collapsing awkwardly into the end boards, but he was able to return and play in the third period, and he claimed he should be fine moving forward after the Sabres’ 4-0 loss.
“To be honest, I don’t remember (what happened),” Makar stated of the encounter. “I think a lot of it is on me, going back slowly and with no effort.” I’m not sure if it was my right leg, but I think I tried to stride and I’m not sure if I caught myself or what occurred. I was slipping into the boards before I knew it. When Makar retreated to his own end to recover the puck, the Avs were on a power play. Kyle Okposo trailed him closely and placed his forearm on Makar’s back before the goal line. When Makar hit the end boards, his right leg buckled unnaturally.
While Makar sought to accept some blame for the play after the game, his teammates and coach were not pleased with how it played out. “It’s a penalty in my books,” defenseman Devon Toews said on Altitude TV. “You learn that play in Bantam (hockey), how to get on a guy’s hips and throw him off balance.” When a guy is up against the boards, you’re instructed to do that to throw him off balance and pin him.
“It becomes dangerous when you do it six feet away from the boards at high speed.” That’s a risky move. This league is attempting to protect starters and players. That, in my judgement, is a risky play that needs to be addressed.” When play was called dead, Ross Colton immediately went for Okposo, and it appeared that Josh Manson attempted to speak with Okposo after the game.
“Well, I didn’t love (the hit),” remarked Avalanche coach Jared Bednar. “Every now and then, you see one of those, and it’s in a horrible way. Both men are skating towards the end of the rink. He gets him on his hips (away from) the goal line, in my opinion. “I just don’t think you’ll be able to hit him there.” It does not appeal to me. “I believe it was risky.” After the game, Okposo informed The Buffalo News that he spoke with Makar.
“I obviously wasn’t trying to push him there,” Okposo told The Buffalo News. “I knew he was tired, so I tried to close the gap, and once he left, I honestly just tried to go around him.” Then he falls, and it’s like, oh no. That is something you never want to see.”
The Avalanche had already had a tough afternoon, but a severe injury to Makar would have made an already bad finale to this road trip even worse. The Avs suffered an unusually high number of important player injuries previous season, but have remained relatively healthy to begin the 2023-24 season. Makar came out for warmups late in the third quarter, shaking his right leg a couple times before heading to the bench. During the third period, he left the bench area many times to head down the tunnel towards the locker room, and he stood instead of sitting following shifts a couple of times, although he later explained that he was merely working out some stuff.
He did take six shifts and clocked 6:37 of ice time in the third period, which is a touch less than usual when the Avs are chasing a game, but the outcome felt determined long before the Sabres added an empty-net goal with 3:08 remaining. Nathan MacKinnon also sat out the third period after receiving a two-minute minor penalty for unsportsmanlike behaviour and an additional 10-minute misconduct for arguing with an official regarding Okposo’s hit on Makar.
“There’s frustration out of our team because that wasn’t called, and (Makar) is obviously a key player for us,” Bednar said. “You get frustrated and have a few things to say. I’d just like the officials to have thicker skin that spot. They may have missed one or decided not to call it, whatever it is, but you’ve got to take a little bit of harsh feedback in that situation without throwing out a 10 (minute misconduct). If it carries on and on, then it’s a different story.” Very little went right for the Avs in this game after a pretty good start. The power play generated very little despite six opportunities. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 23 saves, including a couple of great ones in the opening several minutes before Buffalo asserted control.
While the Avalanche is 6-2 so far this season, this is the first time the team has been shut out in consecutive games since Dec. 20 and 22, 2016. —– MediaNews Group, Inc. was founded in 2023. Visit denverpost.com for more information. Tribune Content Agency, LLC is in charge of distribution.
Leave a Reply