Makar wows Avalanche teammates in first-round sweep of Predators

NASHVILLE -- Cale Makar might be more than a Norris Trophy finalist.

"He might be the best player in the League right now," Colorado Avalanche teammate Nathan MacKinnon said Monday, after the Avalanche defeated the Nashville Predators 5-3 and swept them in the Western Conference First Round.
Wait. There's more.
"He might be one of the best [defensemen] to ever play by the end of his career, at this rate," MacKinnon said.
MacKinnon has a good case.
Makar was announced as a finalist for the Norris -- which goes to the best defenseman in the NHL during the regular season, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association -- with Roman Josi of the Predators and Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday morning.
Then he had a goal and two assists Monday night.
He has scored 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in four games. Not only does that lead the Stanley Cup Playoffs, that's the most in NHL history by a defenseman through four games in a postseason.
Paul Coffey of the Pittsburgh Penguins (1989), Denis Potvin of the New York Islanders (1981), Joe Micheletti of the St. Louis Blues (1981) and Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins (1971) each scored nine points through four games of a postseason.
Pretty good company.
But wait. There's more. Again.
Makar has scored 41 points (10 goals, 31 assists) in 39 playoff games in his NHL career. Among NHL defensemen who have played that many playoff games, only Orr (1.24) has averaged more points per game than Makar (1.05).
"The way he dominates from the back end is amazing," MacKinnon said.

This series featured the defensemen widely considered to be the top two contenders for the Norris: Josi, the winner in 2020, and Makar, the runner-up last season.
Josi led NHL defensemen in assists (73) and points (96) this season, and he was second in goals (23). Makar led defensemen in goals (28), and was second in points (86) and tied for fifth in assists (58).
Makar won the individual matchup. Josi scored two points (one goal, one assist).
"It's cool," Makar said. "That's not something that I really thought about. It's just in the background. It's not individuals vs. individuals. For me, as long as I can help the team and contribute, it's not about those individual points. …
"The wins are what matters, and that's all that we care about right now."
The thing is, Makar's individual effort was a major reason the Avalanche swept the series.
In Game 1, he scored three points (one goal, two assists) in a 7-2 win.
In Game 2, he had 12 shots on goal and scored in overtime to give Colorado a 2-1 win.
In Game 3, he had three assists in a 7-3 win.
In Game 4, he executed a spin-o-rama in front of Josi for a shorthanded scoring chance in the first period, scored on a rising wrist shot from the point to put Colorado ahead 2-1 in the second, had a breakaway later in the second, set up Valeri Nichushkin's goal that put Colorado ahead 4-3 in the third and assisted on an empty-net goal by MacKinnon to seal it.
"[Makar's impact] was huge the whole series," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "You look at a few of the plays he made tonight. It was tough generating scoring chances. I felt like he was in on almost all the scoring chances we had. …
"He was everywhere, made an impact both on the defensive side of things and on the offensive side. Hasn't let up. He just keeps getting better and better."

The assist on the Nichushkin goal displayed Makar's strength, skill and smarts.
First, Makar ducked past an opponent on the left-wing wall.
"Whenever someone comes at him like that, he's going to juke them and get around them either way," MacKinnon said.
Then Makar wired a pass from left to right through two defenders to Nichushkin, who found an open spot for a one-timer into an open net.
"Amazing pass," MacKinnon said. "Cale's got amazing vision, sees everything."
But listen to how Makar saw the play, and remember that he had a split-second to process it in the moment.
"Just knowing [the Predators'] system, I knew that there was going to be a guy open," Makar said. "They're mainly man-to-man, so once I beat my guy, something's going to open up, and luckily Val pulled off the back instead of me just driving to the net. It worked out. The guy came to me, and then they left Val wide open."
Makar makes it look and sound easy sometimes, but it's not. Not even close.
Norris finalist?
"Not surprised at all," Avalanche teammate Andre Burakovsky said. "I think he's the most dynamic [defenseman] I've played with and I've seen. The things he does out there, it's hard to believe it. The way he skates, the way he joins the offense, the way he shoots and the way he defends, I mean, obviously I'd be surprised if he didn't win it."