Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has been underperforming by his high standards in the team’s first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars. The Norris Trophy winner has no goals and just two assists through five games, with no points in his last three outings. Makar is also a -3 on the ice for the series.
Avalanche’s Cale Makar Unfazed by Criticism, Determined To Do Better
The Avalanche defenseman signed a six-year, $54 million contract in 2021. So it stands to reason why Makar’s current slump is one of the reasons Colorado trails 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.
Makar was on the ice for a personal practice session Wednesday morning ahead of Game 6, working through a special routine. Mark Lazerus of The Athletic caught up with him for an interview.
“I’ve got to be a lot better. I think there’s been glimpses where I’ve been pretty good,” Makar said. “For me, it’s not always about the points, it’s about being good on both sides of the ice. There’s a lot of things I can do a lot better. It’s do or die now, so we’ve got to step it up.”
The Avalanche opened the see-saw series with a strong 5-1 win in Game 1. They then dropped the next two games before bouncing back with a 4-0 shutout in Game 4. In Game 5 on Monday, April 28, Colorado suffered a 6-2 loss, giving Dallas the edge heading into Game 6.
One of Colorado’s main issues has been a lack of scoring. Star forward and current Hart Trophy holder Nathan MacKinnon has five goals in the series; the rest of the team has combined for just six.
“Some of the numbers we see with the O-zone possession (are strong), but we’ve got to convert on those chances,” Avalanche forward Jonathan Drouin said via The Athletic. “We have the puck a lot in the O-zone, we’re creating stuff, we’re creating looks, but we’re not burying them.”
In Game 5, Stars forward Wyatt Johnston scored twice and had an assist, while former Avs wing Mikko Rantanen scored a goal and added two assists to help seal the win.
“[Scoring is] one of the things that we as a team, and myself, we haven’t really done yet. Four games we’re still in a 2-2 situation, but we knew as top guys we needed to step up a little bit and play a little bit better defensively and try to get on the score sheet a little bit more,” Rantanen said via NHL.com.
As indicated, the Avalanche face potential elimination in Game 6 on Thursday, May 1.