Defenseman Sam Malinski and forward Artturi Lehkonen, who each missed the final two games of the five-game victory against the Minnesota Wild in the previous round due to an upper-body injury, practiced and Bednar said they will be ready to play.
Jack Ahcan will replace Makar for Game 1.
Makar hasn't practiced much during these playoffs, but this will be the first time he won't play this postseason. He has five points (four goals, one assist), 22 shots on goal and 18 blocked shots in nine games while averaging 24:59 of ice time, second on the team behind defenseman Devon Toews (25:28).
“That’s a huge piece," Colorado defenseman Josh Manson said. "You don’t replace a guy like that. We need guys to step and fill roles and you just do what you can. We’ve done it in the past with other guys out.”
The Avalanche have dressed eight defensemen in the playoffs, with Ahcan and Nick Blankenburg asked to jump in due to injuries to Manson and Malinski.
That depth is one of the things that has made the Avalanche such a threat, both in winning the Presidents’ Trophy for having the NHL’s best regular-season record (55-16-11) and winning eight of their first nine playoff games against the Los Angeles Kings and the Wild.
Toews pointed to the second round, when Manson missed the first three games with an upper-body injury in addition to Malinski’s absence later in the series, which ended on May 13.
“When we won (last round) we went 7-8 deep,” Toews said. “Sammy was hurt and we had guys step in. That is what we need, is guys to step in. Jack and ‘Blanks’ did that and did a really good job of it.
“Hopefully we get Sammy back in the lineup. He’s such a good part of our offense, creating offense from the back end with his puck moving and his skating ability.”
