Colorado Avalanche want the Stanley Cup for Zach Parise | NHL Insider

Denver Gazette beat writer Kyle Fredrickson takes you around the NHL and inside the Colorado Avalanche:

WHAT I’M HEARING

“I've read things online. Everyone's like: ‘Well, the Avs got to adjust. They've got to pack it in.’ … We're not going to adjust our entire game plan based on if (Alexandar Georgiev) is playing well or not well. He has a job to do. We have a job to do. We're not changing. We'll tweak things based on what the Jets are doing and what we feel is important. … This isn't a time —when you play 82 games all year and you've had success and you've won 50 games — to all of a sudden just change what you do because of one player, right? People that say that online or whatever … it's not realistic. And we know he can do it.”

—Avalanche coach Jared Bednar on not changing their identity after a Game 1 loss to Winnipeg.

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WHAT I’M THINKING

—Bednar is bringing the heat lately. Calling out armchair GMs who think the Avs should blow up their game plan to protect a struggling goalie. Colorado didn’t waiver from its identity in Game 2 and Georgiev stepped up with his biggest performance of the year. Give credit where it’s due. Bednar was right.

—Motivation in professional sports comes from a variety of sources. It seems the Avalanche lean into proving the skeptics wrong. On Tuesday, before Game 1 in Winnipeg, Bednar said that “we’ve heard all the critics and what they think our weaknesses are. But when we’re playing well, those weaknesses don’t show up.”

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WHAT I’M READING

—The opposing narrative from the Jets dressing room after their Game 2 loss? Winnipeg Sun columnist Paul Friesen writes that the Jets “plopped their heads on the proverbial pillow and curled up into a ball” during the second period. Winnipeg will be motivated to rebound. 

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WHAT’S HAPPENING

—The party is coming to Ball Arena. It starts Friday night (8 p.m.) for Game 3 and continues Sunday afternoon (2:30 p.m.) for Game 4. TNT will handle the national TV broadcast. The Avalanche went 31-9-1 at home during the regular season.

—It’s not a cheap ticket for Game 3. On Ticketmaster, as of Wednesday afternoon, the lowest entry point was $127/seat (before fees) in section 312. Sitting behind the glass in section 124 runs up to $1,500 per ticket. Ball Arena will be buzzing for playoff hockey.

—The Avs reassigned defenseman Brad Hunt, forward Chris Wagner and goaltender Ivan Prosvetov on Wednesday to the Colorado Eagles (AHL). The Avalanche are hopeful that defenseman Sam Girard (concussion protocol) and backup goalie Justus Annunen (illness) are nearing returns to the lineup.

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NHL INSIDER

The respected NHL veteran is making one last push for a Stanley Cup.

Will the Colorado Avalanche win it all for Zach Parise?

The 39-year-old winger scored his first goal of the playoffs — cleaning up a second period rebound in Game 2 — and teammates predictably mobbed Parise on the ice at Canada Life Centre.

“This is a guy that's come out of retirement, that had multiple options on teams where he could go, and he decided to come to us. We'd love to win for (Parise),” coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday following a 5-2 victory. “He plays the game the right way. He's committed on both sides of the puck. … Our guys are always excited for their teammates when they have success, or score make big plays defensively. But for a guy like Zach, I think it's even a little bit more so because we know he's an aging player. And he's a guy that is taking one of his last kicks at the can to try and raise the Stanley Cup.”

He’s willing to do whatever it takes.

Parise slotted on the top line beside Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen in Winnipeg due to Jonathan Drouin’s injury absence (lower body). But line combinations are fluid. Parise shared the ice with fourth-liners Yakov Trenin and Andrew Cogliano on his gritty goal.

“Some things are a little different," Parise said. "You’ll bounce from left wing to right wing, but when you play with Nate, it’s a different game. There’s a lot of good rush chances. … Sometimes it’s chip-and-chase and forecheck. You just do whatever’s asked. It doesn’t really matter."

Parise, signed to a one-year deal in January, appeared in 1,254 career regular season games with 434 goals scored. He still reacted with the joy of a minor player when scoring in Game 2. Is this why Parise chose Colorado for what is expected to be his final NHL season?

“Yeah. This is fun. This is what it’s all about,” Parise said. “We did what we needed to do. You come on the road, and we won a game. Now it should be a fun atmosphere in our rink, and I look forward to Game 3.”

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THE LIST

Avalanche points leaders after two games of a first-round playoff series against Winnipeg.

Cale Makar — 5 (one goal, four assists)

Artturi Lehkonen — 4 (two goals, two assists)

Nathan MacKinnon — 3 (one goal, two assists)

Mikko Rantanen — 3 (three assists)

Ross Colton — 2 (two assists)

Miles Wood — 2 (two goals)

Valeri Nichushkin — 2 (two goals)

Josh Manson — 2 (one goal, one assist)