Defenseman Samuel Girard, who missed the last several games with a concussion, returned to action in Game 3 on Friday.
Girard played on the team’s second defensive line, alongside Josh Manson. He logged an assist in the third period and fired one shot on goal.
Girard suffered his injury against the Jets earlier in April. He exited the Avs’ 7-0 loss to Winnipeg on April 13 in the first period.
Avs coach Jared Bednar was optimistic that Girard would be able to go after the defenseman participated in morning skate.
“He had a good skate this morning,” Bednar said. “We’ll see about tonight when we get to the rink.”
Nichushkin shines in third period
Winnipeg quieted the crowd in the second period, but Valeri Nichushkin brought the energy back.
The forward scored back-to-back goals early in the third period to give Colorado a 3-2 lead. The second of those came on a power play.
Nichushkin has three goals in the first three games of the series. The right wing logged 28 goals and 53 total points during the regular season.
His presence has been crucial for the Avalanche. Nichushkin played in only the first two games of their first-round series against the Seattle Kraken in 2023, taking a leave of absence for personal reasons before Game 3 of that series.
Ball Arena shows out for Game 3
Avalanche faithful were on full display in Game 3. It was their first postseason contest of the 2023-24 campaign, and the fans made their presence known.
Avs fans were most energetic early in the game. The white pom-poms, used only during the playoffs, were shaken regularly. And fans screamed for Parise’s early goal and chanted “Georgie” several times after goalie Alexandar Georgiev made key saves.
The mood dampened slightly in the second period, when the Jets scored back-to-back goals to take their first lead. Still, the “Georgie” chants continued, and Avs fans rose to their feet often.
It really picked up in the third period, when Nichushkin scored back-to-back goals to give the Avs the lead again. The place roared minutes later when Artturi Lehkonen made it a two-goal game on an odd-man rush. And it continued for the rest of the game until the final buzzer sounded and the Avalanche won 6-2.
In the regular season, the Avalanche went 31-9-1 at Ball Arena. They went 19-6-6 on the road.
Prior to the game, Bednar stressed the importance of the crowd’s energy.
“They’ve helped us all year,” the coach said. “We know that the atmosphere in here will be crazy again tonight, and our guys certainly like playing at home and they’ve shown that throughout the course of the regular season.
“Playoffs are a different animal. It’s a whole new season now, and it’s the same opponent over and over, and we’ll take their support. I know they’ll be excited to be able to watch us play a playoff game here after a long, hard-fought season.”
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