ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson returned from a five-game absence with a costly mistake.
The 12th-year veteran, playing for the first time in the second-round NHL playoff series against Minnesota after recovering from an upper-body injury, took a double minor penalty for hitting Wild center Michael McCarron with the blunt end of his stick during a scrum midway through the first period.
Danila Yurov scored during the
four-minute power play to put the Wild on the board first in Game 4 on Monday, with Manson watching from the box.
In a live interview with ESPN analyst P.K. Subban at the first intermission, McCarron called out Manson.
“You played against Josh. He’s a dirty player. He’s always been,” McCarron said to Subban, the former NHL defenseman who retired after the 2021-22 season. “I’m surprised he only got away with a four-minute. I’m happy he’s still in the game.”
Manson was checked hard into the boards by McCarron, losing his balance and pulling McCarron down to the ice with him. As Manson tried to get loose from McCarron’s bear hug, he sent a slight jab of his stick at the side of McCarron’s face that caused him to recoil in apparent pain.
Manson threw his hands up in disbelief after the review for a major penalty was announced, and after a longer-than-usual evaluation the call came for the double minor that went in the books for "butt-ending."
The Avalanche made their first significant lineup changes of the postseason before Game 4, putting Manson and rookie Jack Ahcan on the blue line for Nick Blankenburg and Sam Malinski, who was scratched for the first time this postseason because of an upper-body injury. Manson was hurt in Game 3 of Colorado's first-round sweep of Los Angeles.
Manson, a 12th-year veteran, posted a career-best plus-42 rating during the regular season. He also had a career-most 91 penalty minutes.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar also gave goalie Mackenzie Blackwood his first start in nearly a month after he relieved Scott Wedgewood during the 5-1 loss in Game 3 to the Wild.
First line left wing Artturi Lehkonen also had his first absence due to an upper-body injury, so captain Gabriel Landeskog moved up to skate with star center Nathan MacKinnon.
Valeri Nichushkin moved down to the third line centered by Nazem Kadri, with Logan O'Connor moving up to take the other wing. Ross Colton and Nicolas Roy moved up to the second line to flank center Brock Nelson. Joel Kiviranta returned from a five-game injury absence to take O'Connor's previous place on the fourth line centered by Jack Drury.
Wedgewood and Blackwood split the net during the regular season and shared the William M. Jennings Trophy as the Avalanche had the NHL's best goals against average. Wedgewood, a career backup who had a breakout season, went 6-0 in the playoffs before giving up three goals in Game 3 and being pulled early in the second period. Blackwood played the entire first-round series last year against the Dallas Stars.
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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
