- Cale Makar returned to the Avalanche lineup for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday
- Colorado was down 2-0 in the series with Makar sidelined by an upper-body injury since Round 2
- Read below for the video of the original injury and Bednar’s take on what changes with Makar back
The Avalanche finally have their Norris winner back.
Cale Makar returned to Colorado’s lineup for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena, ending a two-game absence that buried the Avs in a 2-0 hole against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Colorado broke the news the way only the Avs would, posting a single row of lettuce emojis to their account before warmups:
A few minutes later they made it official with the lineup card:
Makar hadn’t suited up since the second round against the Wild. He tangled up with Mats Zuccarello and went down the tunnel in mid-May, and the team has only ever called the issue upper body.
Here’s the moment:
With Makar out, Sam Malinski moved up to the top pair next to Devon Toews and went minus-3 across the two games in Denver.
Jack Ahcan drew in for Game 1 and Nick Blankenburg took his spot in Game 2.
Climbing back from 2-0 in a Conference Final without the best defenseman in the world wasn’t shaping up well, and Bednar said as much before refusing to confirm Makar’s status earlier in the day.
Bednar talked about what changes with Makar back in the room, per NHL.com:
“Obviously, Cale helps in so many different areas. You can’t put in a new guy in the lineup and replace him, but you can make sure you’re focused and prepared to play your best game.”
Across nine playoff games before going down, Makar had four goals and five points, averaging just under 25 minutes a night and finishing plus-5. Colorado had needed those minutes back. Sunday they got them.
