Avalanche winger Matt Calvert politely declined to specify the injury that forced him to miss three of the last four games in what turned into a seven-game Western Conference semifinal series against the San Jose Sharks.
But, make no mistake, playing without Calvert cost Colorado dearly in its first second-round appearance since 2008. Calvert is the type of gritty two-way forward a team covets in the playoffs, but he wasn’t himself after he absorbed a violent check from Brent Burns late in Game 2 — on a play that led to Colorado’s game-winning goal and tying the series 1-1.