LAB #60: The Playoffs Return to Ball Arena (PLAYOFF EDITION)

The 60th installment of the Mile High Hockey Lab is available on your preferred Podcast platform! The Stanley Cup playoffs are rolling right along, and the Colorado Avalanche have secured a 3-1 series lead heading back to Winnipeg for Game 5 against the Jets. We previewed games three and four while recapping the pair of road contests Colorado also endured. Let’s take a look at this week’s topics of discussion.

Founded Confidence

Our panel of writers got into their confidence level heading into game three, and we all agreed that things were looking good. The question is whether we owe Alexandar Georgiev an apology after his game two performance hit the table. Jackie mentioned that those who took inappropriate liberties absolutely should but that it is fair for fans to critique his performance.

Connor Hellebuyck has struggled extensively in this series against Colorado, giving up 19 goals in his first four postseason starts. The most valid tipping point came last night in game four when we saw backup netminder Laurent Brossoit starting period number three. We discussed not counting on Hellebuyck to continue his struggles based on his Vezina acumen. So far, he hasn’t turned it around.

Sam Girard’s return and Kovalenko’s debut

Adrian was confident about Sam Girard’s return based on an interview Jared Bednar gave to Altitude Sports Radio. He did, in fact, hit the ice, and his ability to retrieve and break immediately paid off, as he had an assist and was +3 in game three.

We also saw Nicolaj Kovalenko's NHL debut in game four, which Adrian also discussed. The other panel members weren’t entirely convinced that the transactional movement involving AHLers really pointed to his debut. Pleasant surprise!

A look around the bracket

We ended our discussion by examining the rest of the bracket and Stanley Cup Playoff matchups. We all agreed that the Rangers and Capitals series would most likely end in a sweep. That has since become our reality, with New York being the first club to secure a second-round playoff matchup.

Bold Predictions (RECORDED 4/25/24):

JACKIE KAY — Georgiev starts every game in this series. ✅

ADRIAN HERNANDEZ — Mikko Rantanen’s 2-goal performance in one of the following two games. ❌

EVAN LIU — Nathan MacKinnon will register 5 points in the next two games. ❌

EZRA PARTER — The Avalanche will win games three and four. ✅

What we didn’t talk about

Can we talk about Cale Makar's coast-to-coast goal? My goodness, that was likely the most impressive hockey play I’ve ever seen live. It’s been a while since Cale has gone full ‘Leroy Jenkins’ like that, and it’s an excellent display of his generational talent.

Let’s not forget about Arturri Lehkonen and Val Nichushkin forming Colorado’s playoff identity. Lehky is a playoff monster, and Val is Colorado’s X-factor. I wore a lovely hat yesterday, but I sent mine flying when Val secured his first career hat trick.

Casey Mittelstadt has also been lights out in this series, with his matchup with Mark Scheifele becoming a thorn in Winnipeg's side. Bowness was counting on Mark winning that matchup, so far that hasn’t been the case.

Will it be more of the same? Can Colorado seal the deal and eliminate the Jets the next time out? We shall see.

Be sure to share your #BoldPredictions on X and in the comments here! We will discuss them on our show and give you any dings you might earn!

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Go Avs!