Samuel Girard’s broken sternum put a damper on Colorado’s Game 3 win. The defenseman is out for the rest of the playoffs and went to a local hospital immediately after the injury, which came after an Ivan Barbashev check along the boards.
The injury is a massive disappointment for Girard, who had found his game this postseason after an up-and-down regular season.
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“I feel bad,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “You don’t want to see any players get injured. You’re here to compete and ideally, you’re playing best on best and may the best team win.”
“It’s unfortunate G is hurt,” added Devon Toews, who said he talked with Girard a bit after the game. “We’re hoping he’s fine and in good spirits.”
The Avalanche have to push forward after losing the defenseman, who averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time a game. If they are going to make a deep playoff run, they’ll need other players to step up.
Bednar said he had an idea of who would slot in for Girard but didn’t shed any light on who it might be. Jack Johnson, Kurtis MacDermid and Ryan Murray are the three defensemen who have been healthy scratches.
Judging by games played, Johnson is the most likely of the trio to get the nod. The 35-year-old, who signed a professional tryout offer ahead of training camp and earned a roster spot, had a goal and eight assists in 74 games this season. And though he is far from an analytics darling — he had a -.97 Game Score Value Added in 2021-22 — he was a consistent presence in Colorado’s lineup, and Bednar praised him throughout the year for his sturdiness. He also has 30 games of playoff experience, compared to 20 for Murray and zero for MacDermid.
“Jack has just been such a good steady presence for us back there,” Toews said earlier this season. “It’s not like he’s trying to reinvent the wheel coming here this year and playing for us. He’s just doing what he does and having a lot of success doing it. He’s such a calm presence for us.”
Murray had a slow start to the season, but he started to pick his game up midway through the year. Bednar noted in February that he looked more comfortable than he had earlier in the season. Unfortunately for the defenseman, he suffered a fracture blocking a shot, likely to the hand or arm. He hasn’t played in a game since March and appeared in only 37 all year.
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MacDermid, meanwhile, is as physical a presence as there is in the NHL, but he brings less hockey-wise than either Johnson or Murray. Considering the importance of games this time of year, he’ll likely have a hard time cracking the lineup, but he did play in 58 contests this season.
“Whoever fills that spot is going to be ready,” Toews said. “Most of those guys were regulars for us at certain times of the year. Whoever steps in is going to be ready.”
The rest of the Avalanche defensemen will also take on greater responsibility with Girard out. Bowen Byram has looked comfortable in his first playoffs, and he helped with a successful penalty kill following Girard’s injury. He also joined the rush during a two-on-one with Artturi Lehkonen, forcing a defender to give Lehkonen more space to shoot and ultimately score. Like Girard, he brings an offensive flair when he’s on the ice.
“Bo has been playing really well,” Cale Makar said. “If he gets more minutes, I’m excited to see what he does with them.”
Byram is a left shot, so he theoretically could move from the third pair to Girard’s second pairing spot alongside Josh Manson. Or Bednar could move Byram and Erik Johnson, who has had a great postseason, up to the second pair and put Manson with the newcomer on the third pair. Manson would still play his share of minutes because of his role on the penalty kill.
So far, defensive depth has been a strength of Colorado this postseason. Now that depth will face its most formidable challenge yet.
Other series observations
• The Nazem Kadri–Calle Rosen–Jordan Binnington collision has dominated conversation around Game 3, but when asked about Barbashev’s hit on Girard, the Avalanche haven’t all felt positively about it.
“I took a look at it after,” Makar said. “It’s a pretty vulnerable position for a guy. The guy is coming from behind him. And obviously G is a smaller guy so he’s hitting his head basically on the dasher or the boards. At the end of the day you’ve got to be aware in those situations, but it’s tough.”
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Bednar said he thought the Barbashev play was technically clean but added that he still “didn’t love the hit.”
• On the topic of Binnington: Blues coach Craig Berube said he’s out for at least the rest of the second round. And here’s the more detailed report from Jeremy Rutherford, The Athletic’s Blues writer:
Nothing definitive, but hearing from good sources that the Blues' fear tonight is they could lose Jordan Binnington for multiple weeks with a possible knee sprain. @TheAthletic
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) May 22, 2022
That means Colorado will see Ville Husso, who was the best Blues goalie for most of the regular season.
• Toews, Makar and Bednar declined to say much on the Binnington water bottle incident after Game 3.
“I don’t really have anything to say on it,” Toews said. “We’re here to play hockey and win games. Who cares about what happens in those situations?”
Added Makar: “Who cares? Whatever.”
• Makar talked about not having his legs the first two games. Well, he found them for Game 3, finishing the game with an assist and a plus-two rating in more than 28 minutes of ice time.
“Cale doesn’t need his legs,” Kadri joked Saturday. “He’s got his head and he’s got his hands. Obviously, he’s a miraculous skater, and him skating at 50 percent is probably better than most. … It doesn’t matter if he’s feeling it or not. He’s going to get the job done.”
• Did Saturday feel like the first game in St. Louis in a while? That feeling was warranted. Before Game 3, Colorado hadn’t played in St. Louis since October. That Avalanche lineup featured Jacob MacDonald, Jayson Megna, Martin Kaut and Sampo Ranta.
(Photo: Joe Puetz / NHLI via Getty Images)