Avalanche’s Wedgewood on MacKinnon: ‘You’re gonna have to kill him to get him off the ice’

Never count out the heart of Nate Dog.

In the team’s loss in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night, the Colorado Avalanche seemed to have lost star forward Nathan MacKinnon due to injury. However, the Hart Trophy finalist gutted through the pain to try and help his team rally late.

When speaking to the media after the loss, Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood noted that it would take a lot to take MacKinnon out of a game.

“You might have to kill him to get him off the ice,” Wedgewood said. “Just kind of the person he is, the competitor he is. He obviously proves that every time he’s on the ice. He wants to win more than anybody. Just another example.”

During the second period of the game, MacKinnon went down to block a one-timer from Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore. The puck hit MacKinnon on the outside of his right knee, where there is minimal padding. MacKinnon was clearly in distress and was attended to before gingerly skating off the ice.

The Cole Harbour, N.S. native did return to the ice, taking two shifts before heading down the tunnel for the rest of the middle stanza. While he wasn’t with the team at the beginning of the third, MacKinnon was used sparingly in the final period on Sunday night, playing just four shifts in the third, mostly on the power play and when Colorado pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker.

MacKinnon’s will and determination could not help his team in a crucial game in the series. Despite storming out to a 3-0 lead in enemy territory, the Avalanche squandered an opportunity to close the gap, losing 5-3, and falling to a 3-0 deficit in the series.

MacKinnon ended up logging just over 18 minutes of ice time, picking up an assist on Landeskog’s goal. In 12 games in these playoffs, the 30-year-old has scored seven goals and eight assists, leading the Avs with 15 points.

Game 4 is set for Tuesday night in Sin City, with puck drop scheduled for a little after 9 p.m. ET.