20220329_lindholm_avalanche

ELIAS LINDHOLM ON FACING THE AVS:

ON THE FOCUS FOR TONIGHT:

"If you take away their peeper (powerplay) goals on Saturday, we have a pretty good night. Our PK wasn't as dialled in as it used to be and we need to get that back tonight, because Colorado has a good powerplay. We expect a good game. We've got to bring our A-Game to have a chance and obviously we're playing the best team in the league, so it will be a good game."

ON HIS HOT PLAY OF LATE:

"I've tried to move around a lot and be in different spots where I know it's hard to defend as a defenceman or a centre. Not try to be stale and be in the same spot - it's pretty easy to cover - I try to move around a lot. Obviously, if we have the puck and Johnny or Chucky have ice, it's easier to move around, for sure."

"We have to bring our A-game to have a chance"

SEAN MONAHAN ON GETTING BACK IN:

"I feel good. I'm excited to get back in and I'm looking forward to it. … Obviously you don't want to be scratched - you want to be in the lineup helping the team. Put in the work and like I said, I'm excited to get back in tonight."

ON HIS ROLE THIS YEAR:

"It's different, but you've got to adjust to different situations. I've got to be better and tonight has got to be a good start for me."

"It comes down to competiing and earning a spot"

ASSISTANT COACH CAIL MACLEAN ON MONAHAN:

"I see someone who wants to play and wants to be part of it. But as I mentioned, someone who is also very supportive of their team and knows that the best way they can help their team is by taking advantage of - we'll call it - extra time. Extra time to practice or time if you aren't in the lineup to improve your own skill-set to help the team. And that's what I see from him, that time presented itself and he didn't spend any time doing anything but. He got right to work and as a result, it's going to bode well for him."

ON THE HIGH-POWERED AVALANCHE:

"The one thing we do know is that Colorado is a fast-starting team. We saw that in different detail in both games, so we've got to make sure we're ready for that. In both games, their rush attack is pretty dangerous, so we've got to make sure our coverage is really good from goal line to goal line. But the bottom line is that's a three-game series. It's 1-1. And what we take from it is that we want to win the series."

"Colorado is a fast-starting team"

ON THE TEAM'S TRANSITION GAME:

"It's a connection. Something we talk a lot about is your ability to stay connected when you're defending, or what we call checking. Make sure that due to that connection, we're able to transition because we've got to good support around the puck. It's not something novel. I think that Colorado is a team that wants to do the same thing, so it's about numbers around the puck. If we can have better numbers than they do around the puck, we're going to be in good shape in order to get through their checking - and vice-versa, we've got to be ready for that."