CENTENNIAL, COLO. — After the Colorado Avalanche was dominated in Games 3 and 4 on the road by the Wild, coach Patrick Roy pulled aside forward P.A. Parenteau. Roy felt Parenteau wasn't playing well and needed a pep talk.
By his own admission, Parenteau was playing tentatively after missing four weeks with a sprained right medial collateral ligament that cost him 15 games. He returned for the last two regular-season games. but he wasn't himself at the start of the series with the Wild.
That changed in Game 5. After meeting with Roy, Parenteau had six shots on goalie Darcy Kuemper, and scored the game-tying goal with 1:14 left in the third period. The Avalanche soon won 4-3 in overtime.
"That's a talk I needed to have with him. It's tough when you come back from injuries like that," Parenteau said. "He told me he believed in me. It was good to have that chat for sure."
Parenteau led the Avalanche in scoring last season with 18 goals and 43 points, but injuries limited him to 15 games this season. Heading into his first postseason, he seemed to lack the same confidence he possessed a year ago.
Before Game 5, Roy told him he needed to work to get back to being that player.
"If you work hard, confidence is going to get there. You could go to Wal-Mart, [but] you can't buy confidence in the business of hockey because they don't sell confidence at Wal-Mart," Roy said. "He's a smart hockey player, he has a high IQ and he's capable of having an IQ by playing a faster pace. That was a really good game for him."
Parenteau's six shots Saturday were half of what the entire team had in Game 4. He was driving the net and creating opportunities, and he nearly had a goal in the second period.