BenFred: Blues’ collective chorus outlasted MacKinnon’s solo in Game 5, and it can again in Game 6

You had to know Nathan MacKinnon wasn’t going to stay quiet forever.

Colorado’s star is one of the most exciting, electrifying, exhilarating — and all of those other words that snap, crackle and pop — hockey players in the game today.

After a quiet start to this second-round series between the Blues and the Avalanche, MacKinnon turned Game 5 into his personal playground.

He scored the first goal. He scored the second. He assisted on the third. And two minutes after the third of three Blues — Vladimir Tarasenko, Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou — combined to tie the game, it was MacKinnon (who else?) whose miraculous individual effort produced what the Avalanche mistakenly assumed to be a game-winner.

When MacKinnon’s mastery is explained years from now, the goal that secured his Game 5 hat trick will be must-see evidence. He did not skate, he galloped on skates. He left Blues in his wake as if they were wearing snowshoes in freshly poured cement. Physics professors should ask their students to determine how MacKinnon flipped that puck up over Ville Husso like that while skating at full speed. Blues coach Craig Berube must ask his players to give MacKinnon less space in Game 6.

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The Blues, not the Avalanche, won Game 5 despite MacKinnon’s heroics, and they did so because they combined to create more little game-winning moments than MacKinnon alone could muster.

MacKinnon was a one-man force. His teammates, in this game, were mostly witnesses after the Blues found their groove. Nazem Kadri had more fist pumps to the crowd than impressive on-ice moments. Gabriel Landeskog balked at an empty-net chance that could have closed the door. Avalanche goalie Darcy Kuemper has started to look more vulnerable than Husso, who is giving the Blues a chance to win after Kadri knocked Jordan Binnington out of the series.

“He (MacKinnon) put us on his back, and he should have won us that game,” Colorado’s Cale Makar told reporters Thursday. “Unfortunately we couldn’t get it. I felt like we let him down.”

As Colorado leaned on its solo act, the Blues became a chorus. The song should sound familiar. What was true about the Blues during their 2019 championship push is true of Berube’s team still today. This team’s biggest strength is its shared strength, and there is no better proof of that than the Blues’ depth coming together in crunch time to collectively overpower MacKinnon’s superhuman display. Not as flashy. But when woven together, potentially more powerful.

Tyler Bozak’s overtime game-winner came after the 36-year-old had nearly rusted to the bench. Trainers probably had to loosen him up with WD-40 before he returned to the ice. This was his first goal of the series. Good timing.

Robert Bortuzzo’s series-saving block of Landeskog’s overtime shot saved Husso from a puck he never saw. It was Bortuzzo’s biggest block since he used his face to stop a puck against Minnesota. Think he wants to win?

Alexei Toropchenko logged the most postseason minutes of his young career, setting the tone on the forecheck when the Blues were on their heels. Nathan Walker’s edge and Marco Scandella’s physicality were difference-makers in their first action of the series.

Tarasenko and Thomas called off the printing of milk cartons inquiring about their disappearances. First goal of the series for Tarasenko, who is finally starting to get some good looks. First multi-goal postseason game of his career for Thomas, who had not scored in the playoffs since 2020. Don’t overlook where Tarasenko’s goal came from. Near the net. Bouncing puck. Ripped through traffic. It’s the grimy, greasy play Berube begs, pleads and prods Tarasenko to make more often. Don’t overlook how Thomas is suddenly skating with the puck with confidence. It’s the key to his game. MacKinnon was not the only difference-maker who broke through in Game 5.

And how about Nick Leddy? He got posterized on MacKinnon’s hat-trick goal and shook it off in time to make a big play in overtime. He was the one who got the puck to Bozak, after dodging a hard-charging Mikko Rantanen. There is some symbolism there, and there was even more playing out on the Blues’ bench as it happened. There, Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly and line mate David Perron were watching. Cameras caught them. Perron jumped up the second Bozak scored. O’Reilly was delayed because he was taking a drink of water. He rushed to join the party. They were, in that moment, just like fans celebrating across the St. Louis region.

O’Reilly and Perron have been so good in this series, but they have needed more help since Binnington went down, and they got so much of it in Game 5 that MacKinnon’s valiant attempt to will his team to victory fell short.

The Blues, together, returned home asking why a team that can erase a three-goal lead in an elimination game can’t claw back a series they once trailed 3-1.

“You can always come back,” Berube said the morning before Game 6.

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