When Game 1 was over and the Avalanche had outlasted Edmonton 8-6 in a thriller that featured four goalies, 84 shots and literally one scoring chance per minute, defenseman Cale Makar perfectly summed up Tuesday night.
“Obviously, there was some chaos,” he said after the teams’ Western Conference Finals opener.
The chaos made for terrific hockey, led by Makar, whose four points tied his career playoff high.
The chaos made for the perfect pace for a player such as Makar, who led the Avs in ice time (27 minutes, 16 seconds).
And the chaos only heightened the anticipation for what the rest of the series can bring in general and what Makar can do in particular. Makar had one goal and three assists to match his production from last year’s Game 1 win over Vegas.
Through 11 playoff games, Makar has four goals and 13 assists; his 17 points are second among defenseman, trailing only the New York Rangers’ Adam Fox (18 points in 14 games).
After the Oilers took a 1-0 lead 5:05 into the game, the Avalanche scored three of the next four goals to cap the first period. The Avs pushed the lead to 2-1 when Makar and Devon Toews assisted on Nathan MacKinnon’s goal. After the Oilers tied it with only 22 seconds left in the frame, Makar struck in a big way.
Gaining possession in the neutral zone, Makar pushed the puck over the blue line just as teammate Valeri Nichushkin was leaving the Oilers’ zone. Makar then powered a shot over the blocker of Oilers goalie Mike Smith.
Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft challenged the play, believing it was offside, but the on-ice ruling stood and the Avalanche made it 4-2 on the ensuing power play for a failed challenge.
What say you, Cale?
“I knew (teammates) were trying to get out of the zone and my instinct was to try and give them as much time as possible,” Makar said. “It didn’t feel great when they snap called the challenge. Maybe (a) lucky (play).”
Maybe just the opposite, though. A player on a one-track mind would have barreled over the blue line unaware his teammates were trying to tag up.
“I saw Cale step up and he was able to smother the play coming out of their zone and then he got the puck and went on the attack,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said.
The Avs were on the attack, building a 7-3 lead less than four minutes into the second period. But the third period was Edmonton’s turn. The Oilers’ third consecutive goal made it 7-6 Avs with 7:24 remaining.
“It’s tough when everything starts to open up like that; we’re getting chances and capitalizing and then obviously they’re doing the same,” Makar said. “We have to be tighter as a group, we know that.”
The defense tightened in the final two minutes. Once Edmonton pulled its goalie, Makar had a 69-second shift in which he was equal parts stuck on the ice under pressure and unable to get off because he was playing the side away from the Avs’ bench.
Unlike Game 5 against St. Louis, in which the Avs allowed an empty-net goal to force overtime, Makar and Co., didn’t allow the equalizer.
“You learn from that experience in the last round,” Makar said. “I feel like we did some things well, but at the end of the day, we gave (the Oilers) a lot of options we weren’t giving up in the past two series.”
