Cale Makar says the Avalanche can’t look at the wins and losses of the final games
Apr 11, 2025, 8:56 AM
The C0lorado Avalanche have reached an interesting part of the season. With the team locked into the No. 3 seed in the Central Division, there is nothing for the team to play for in terms of playoff seeding. A number of players are nursing smaller injuries to regain some strength before the playoffs, Gabe Landskog is up in Loveland with the Colorado Eagles trying to get conditioned, and head coach Jared Bednar is rolling out very different lines than what fans are used to seeing.
The Avalanche dropped Thursday night’s game to the Vancouver Canucks 4-1. Without Nathan MacKinnon out on the ice to lead the offensive attack for Colorado, the team had a tough time getting the puck into the offensive zone and converting on scoring chances when in the zone. Despite the loss, Cale Makar was looking at the positive things the team did on the ice rather than the final score.
“Down the stretch, obviously, you want to feel confident in your game,” Makar said after the loss. “At the same time, you can’t look at the wins and losses like that. We got to look at the positives of tonight, even though there wasn’t very much, we still go to take that and move into the next two games and elevate the other aspects of the game too.”
Makar played a team-high 27 minutes on Thursday and recorded an assist on the team’s only goal of the game, scored by Devon Toews.
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar echoed what Makar said regarding how there weren’t many positives for the burgundy and blue at Ball Arena.
“Just not skating, bad decision making,” Bednar said. “Our breakouts were terrible, just a tough time getting in and out of the zone tonight.”
It’s hard to assess these games, as the team looks much different on the ice than it will come playoff time. Even though a three-goal loss at home to a non-playoff team doesn’t look great on paper, it’s important to find the little things the team did well in lieu of the loss to carry into the postseason.
The Avalanche end the regular season with a back-to-back in Southern California over the weekend before getting a week off to prepare for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Those two games, against the Kings and the Ducks, will be far from normal in terms of lineups and physicality, but will still be a chance for Colorado to find some positive momentum heading into a likely playoff matchup with the Dallas Stars.
