Avalanche Embracing Challenge After Being Pushed to Brink of Elimination

It's time to find a way.
After being pushed to the brink of elimination, the reigning Stanley Cup champions in the Colorado Avalanche are facing in their words, 'the biggest game of the season' on Friday night as they look to keep their 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs run alive in Game 6 at Climate Pledge Arena against the Seattle Kraken, who lead the First Round series 3-2.

"We've got to find a way to get it back and build it back," Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said following Colorado's 3-2 loss at Ball Arena on Wednesday night. "It starts with [our] attitude going into the game and our mindset going into the game. We have to build [our] confidence back as the game goes on."
"There's nothing to lose now, right?" Bednar continued. "If you don't win, you go home. It's a mental thing. It's not just the team. Each individual needs to get his mind in the right place in order to be able to play this game the right way."
For the Avalanche, who entered the matchup having been crowned the champions of the Central Division for the third-straight year, facing adversity is certainly not in this team's DNA as something to shy away from or back down from. But the 2022-23 season in particular has featured an abundance of it which has carried into the postseason with continued injuries ailing the lineup. And while it's no excuse, it's been a taxing grind physically and mentally for the group all year long and into their First Round matchup.
But even so, the Avalanche are looking forward to the challenge of going to Seattle on Friday and hopefully, being able to force a Game 7 that would take place back on home ice on Sunday night.

"You push to get to this point," Devon Toews said. "You get renewed energy. These games are meaningful. It's what you're striving for at the end of it. We feel like we have the energy to do it. Obviously, it's not easy with that short summer, but we earned that one. Now, we're going to go earn another one."
And while the Kraken are in their infancy as an organization and in just their second season and this is their first-ever appearance in the postseason, the Avalanche have not held back on giving credit where credit is due. Seattle has managed to score the opening goal in all five games of the series, held the Avalanche's lethal power play to an 8.3% conversion rate (1-for-12), outhit Colorado 209-188, held a 92-87 edge in shots blocked and stifled Colorado's secondary scoring from the team's bottom-six forward group.
"They're a good team, they keep coming," Toews said. "We're struggling to break the puck out at times and make plays and get through. There's times where we're breaking pucks out easy and getting on our forecheck, but we're struggling. It's just the consistency right now has been tough."
Despite having fell short in Game 5, Colorado showed some tenacity in the final period as they fought to pull themselves within one goal with just four minutes left in the game. And while - according to Bednar - the effort hasn't been, "anywhere near" the type of game the Avalanche need to play in order to have success, the team is looking at the positives as they approach their must-win Game 6.
Fortunately, the Avalanche know the games in this series have come down to a razor-thin margin (Seattle has outscored Colorado just 15-14 through five games), which includes the last two games being decided by just one goal. In net, Alexandar Georgiev's play has been sharp as the 27-year-old has carried over his extraordinary effort that won him (tied with Boston's Linus Ullmark) a league-high of 40 wins in the regular season, into this series. The team's blueline will receive a crucial boost as Cale Makar (who was suspended for Game 5 due to a hit in Game 4 against Jared McCann) will return to the lineup on Friday. Lastly, there's a belief among the group in each other and their abilities, that - despite the adversity they've faced all season long - they have a shared belief in themselves and what it takes to win.

Now, it's just about hitting that reset and going out on Friday night and executing to keep their season alive.
"We just have to reset and relax a little bit. We're just a little bit tight," Mikko Rantanen said. "It's not easy in the playoffs [to reset and relax] when the other team is coming at you and you're feeling the pressure. Obviously, we know the next game is the biggest game of the year. You're going to need some mental strength to be poised and make the plays that are out there and not force anything, but it's not easy."