"It is a big difference getting that 1-1 split or being down two. After losing Game 1 that is definitely what we wanted, coming back with a split," said Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. "It is sort of similar to what we had against Calgary, it is also just one win. We got to make sure that we duplicate that effort now tomorrow.
"We will come out and establish home-ice advantage and take care of our games here on home ice. It is short memory in the playoffs, we talked about it after Game 1, but it is just as important after Game 2 here after a win. It is a big win, but we got to make sure we come out and do it again."
Colorado found itself down 1-0 after the first period in Game 2 on Sunday afternoon, but the Western Conference wild-card squad scored twice in the second to take a lead that it never relinquished.
Head coach Jared Bednar attributes the success in the middle frame to all five skaters on the ice working cohesively as a group to execute offensively.
"I didn't really like our play through the neutral zone in the first period. I thought our commitment and our competitiveness to defend was fine, and we were getting on some pucks in the forecheck but we didn't get enough pucks in behind their D," said Bednar. "In the second period, we wanted to bring our guys back a little bit further and try to create our attack as a five-man unit--just stay a little bit more connected. I thought we did a really nice job of that in the second period especially.
"In the second, we got more firm with the puck, we put pucks in behind their D and created a forecheck--we came up with some loose pucks. Then we started to find a little bit more room to attack in the neutral zone as well. Our forwards got the puck delivered to them on time from our defense, and it kind of helped our pace and execution as the game went on."
Colorado had an optional practice on Monday with just a few skaters taking the ice ahead of Tuesday's Game 3.
The puck is scheduled to drop at 8 p.m. MT for the third game of the series at Pepsi Center. The Avs won both of the contests in their own barn during the first round and have won their last eight outings at their home rink (including the regular season).
"We are excited for Game 3 at home," said Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer. "The Pepsi Can is going to be loud again, and we are excited for that. You can't look any further than that, so we stay in the moment.
"My first [playoff] game against Calgary at home, that was pure excitement hearing the crowd for 60 minutes. We are looking forward to this one."