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“We have high expectations”: Colorado Avalanche HC reflects on pressure & confidence ahead of high-stake game vs Dallas Stars
The Colorado Avalanche head into game 6 of their second-round series with the Dallas Stars, looking to force a game 7.
But the savvy and experienced Avalanche are not fazed by the pressure. If anything, they understand that such pressure comes with the territory.
Colorado head coach Jared Bednar was quoted on NHL.com, stating:
"We have high expectations. I feel like we’ve earned those. I think the pressure comes along with it."
The pressure Bednar refers to is the expectation to win following the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2022. Now, fans expect the Colorado Avalanche to make a deep postseason run every year.
With a core including Hart Trophy finalist Nathan MacKinnon, such expectations are warranted. As Bednar stated:
"We didn’t handle it great in the beginning of the series at times and (Wednesday) we did, and I think it should give us confidence going into Game 6 that we’re able to go play a really good hockey game, even though it’s high stakes."
The stakes are indeed high. If the Colorado Avalanche lose game 6, they go home. If they win, they live to fight another day.
Game 6 is scheduled for Friday night at the Ball Arena. The Avalanche will have home-ice advantage, though the Stars took games 3 and 4 on the Colorado Avalanche’s home ice. The Avs expect a good showing, building momentum for a potential game 7.
The Colorado Avalanche won’t go down easily
The Dallas Stars missed an opportunity to close out the series on Wednesday, dropping Game 5 5-3 on home ice.
The loss set up Friday night’s game 6 matchup. But the situation is no surprise to Dallas players. Stars’ forward Matt Duchene stated the following per NHL.com:
"We’re not surprised we’re in this position, because they’re that good a team. And who knows? Hopefully, we close them out (in Game 6). It might take two games."
The Stars hope they can eliminate the Colorado Avalanche without needing a game 7.
But Dallas has a tough task ahead of them. The club needs to shut down stars like MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar. Dallas head coach Peter DeBoer acknowledged the difficulty of such a task:
"You knew they were going to respond after the previous three games and the three losses." DeBoer would go on to state, "I think the message in there is, if we can contain them – or make sure one of them’s really good, not all three on the same night – we’ll give ourselves a chance."
In Game 5, it was Cale Makar who drove the dagger into the Stars’ hearts. DeBoer and company will hope it doesn't happen again.
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