Girard Could Play In Game 4

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard could return to the lineup Wednesday night for Game 4 of the team's Stanley Cup Playoff first-round series against the Nashville Predators.
Girard missed his second game in a row on Monday due to an upper-body injury, but he was on the ice for the Avs' optional practice in a red, non-contact jersey on Tuesday afternoon. The 19-year-old, along with handful of other Colorado players, did drills with the club's assistant coaches at Pepsi Center.
"Positive sign," said head coach Jared Bednar of Girard. "He's still day-to-day, so we'll know more again tomorrow. We'll see how he is tomorrow morning and make some decisions from there."

A native of Roberval, Quebec, Girard played in each of Colorado's 68 games after being acquired from Nashville in a three-team trade on Nov. 5. He finished the regular season with 20 points (three goals and 17 assists) with the Avs (and 23 points overall), while averaging 17:42 of ice time with Colorado. Girard skated more than 20 minutes in each of squad's final five games of the season and played 22:07 in Game 1 of the series on Thursday.
Defenseman Duncan Siemens has played in the last two contests during Girard's absence.
"Dunc is a home-grown guy that's paid his dues in the minors, been a great team guy, fills a specific role, good penalty-killer," Bednar said of Siemens. "Adds some toughness and some grit to the lineup and is a physical guy. You like to see guys like that succeed as well.
"It's been a long road for him, comes up late in the season, he's a call-up and plays real well for us. He finds himself in and out and then gets injected in the lineup in the playoffs and steps up and elevates his game."

The Avalanche took advantage of home ice on Monday, defeating the Predators 5-2 at Pepsi Center to cut its best-of-seven series deficit to 2-1. The win was sweet in front of the capacity home crowd, but the Avs don't have much time to enjoy it.
"It's time to reset and get ready for another work day here today and watch some video and things we can get better at and move on for tomorrow," said captain Gabriel Landeskog. "Last night doesn't mean much if we don't win tomorrow. It's a big one again."

Colorado can even the first-round matchup with another home victory in Game 4 on Wednesday before the series shifts back to Nashville.
"Every guy in this room wants to bring their 'A' game, that's the big part," said defenseman Nikita Zadorov. "We got our secondary goals from all the lines, all the lines were rolling, our D pairs were rolling, everything. Our goalie was great yesterday, so that's what we're looking to bring next game."

Each contest of the series has been tighter and tighter, though the score may not have always indicated that. Every outing has seen the winning team score five goals.
The Avalanche is looking to bring the same type of intensity it has had in the first three games on Wednesday and match that of the Predators, who will likely be revved up following the loss.
"I was glad to see our guys get rewarded for their effort last night because losing three, playing well--you know, playing well is one thing but you got to get the results, especially this time of the year," Bednar said. "We do that last night and now we got to move on and make sure we're winning tomorrow night, guarantees us another game in our building if we do that. It's an important game for us because we know how tough it is going into Nashville and win."