Tampa. The Colorado Avalanche gained momentum in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
They can, at least, thank captain Gabriel Landskog for that.
He scored two goals and even played two more as the favorites scored their third straight win over Nashville on Saturday night.
“However, it is very difficult to beat teams, so it may be a sad expression, but we only take one game at a time,” the captain told Sportbladet after the 7-3 hit.
Yes, if there is an NHL team that lives up to the brunt in the first playoff round, it is Colorado Avalanche.
Except for parts of Game Two, they rotated the Predators and on Saturday night they did it again – at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The final score 7-3 speaks in its clear language.
– Although Nashville is good today, we had to work hard. You can probably see it as if we got a real reward for our hard work, he says Gabriel Landskog On the phone from the hotel room in Music City an hour and a half after the final signal.
– At the same time, we were efficient, especially in powerplay.
This does not apply at least to “Gabi” himself. He scored two goals, one of which was superior in number, and even played two more goals.
There is certainly no round rust in the captain, although he has just returned after surgery and an absence of nearly two months.
– What a use, then I managed to fool everyone because sometimes I still feel a little rust, he laughs.
– But yeah, it feels good and it’s always fun to contribute. But in the playoffs, individual stats mean nothing, it’s just about winning.
‘It looked bad’
And the avalanche wins — so much so that they have hit position and can decide the entire series in the next game, the night before Tuesday.
We don’t want to give them any energy or any self-confidence, but it’s very difficult to get teams out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, so it might be a sad expression but we only take one game at a time and we don’t. We look far ahead, and the 29-year-old’s kicks from Stockholm are stuck.
It is not yet clear if goalkeeper Darcy Comber can play in the fourth round. He was forced to cancel Saturday’s game after Nashville player Ryan Johansen accidentally got a club paper through his mask, but the incident appeared to be worse than it actually was. The 32-year-old Canadian went blind and according to official information from Avalanche, he did not suffer long-term injuries.
– It looked bad, but I hope he feels fine, I haven’t had time to talk to him yet, says Gabriel.
– At the same time, I think Pavel Francos, who came instead, did a great job. It is our pleasure to know that we have two high class guards.
Matthias Ekholm got help – really cool – for predators.
