To much hype and expectation about Landeskog. He may come back as a top-9 player but probably not his first game. There are a lot of guys playing their hearts out like Nicushkin, Coyle, Kelly, O’Connor, the Finns and more. Coming out of Dallas 1-1 is a great outcome, Dallas is a deep team and with focus the Av’s can take them in 6.
Hopefully the team is not distracted by the Landy Returns hype and focus on the game plan rather than the circus. It is not Landy who will win them a cup or even get them past Dallas. It would be great to see him return as a dominant game-changer, but this team could make it even if he had retired, as long as they stay focussed and play their game.

Also, Landy has to play as Bedsy’s Wood gambit was a bust. 4th line is eating DAL alive. If COL can get the 2 line going and the 3 firing on all cylinders this series is in the bag.

100% he was bad. Manson was worse along with Necas. Go look at HockeyStatCards.com if you doubt. I get their stat cards are limited and do not cover intangibles like hits, back checking, etc., but they always help to confirm what they eye is seeing.

Wood said he & the rest of the team knew about the roster on Sunday so I don’t think there’s any need to worry about the team being blindsided. Sounded like it was more just Landy getting back in the swing so he’s less emotional when he does actually return.

Drou needed to be on his horse backchecking there tho. Watch the vid, he comes into the play, points at the puck to be like “there it is, go get it” while he should have been going HARD to get there and poke, imo to the point of diving at that.

Take the Split, get to Ball and win two.

Scumbag

Conversely, I thought the whole 3rd line was a bit off all night. It can’t all be blamed on Wood, though obviously he was a step back from what Colton had been providing on that line. It just seemed that every time the 3rd line was on the ice, Dallas had their best scoring chances. Maybe it was because the Stars had their best line out against them, but who knows? Inserting Landeskog – or getting Colton back in the lineup – should help that line, but this was an overall game the 3rd group would like to forget. However, Coyle was once again outstanding on the PK, as you mentioned.

I think it’s also time to put Malinski in for EJ. His partnership with Lindgren in the final month of the season was fantastic, and they each allowed the other to create offense from the blueline. Johnson looked a little slow last night. He was hitting well, but was clearly our weak link among our d-corps in this game. So I say let Sam have a chance to prove he can thrive in playoff hockey – and I think he will – and let his D partner handle the big hitting (similar to the Girard – Manson duo). The Lindgren – Johnson/Manson duos just don’t create enough offense to make teams respect them. Realistically, EJ and Manson should be paired with Girard when they’re in, and I think rotating them with each other could keep both guys fresh.

I see your point and I also get Wood feeling bad but games aren’t lost on 1 or even 2 plays. The Avs finished regulation and started OT on the PP. That’s just one example of a missed opportunity to close the game