Bednar said he looks at the way Makar is defending and how many chances he's getting in the home-plate scoring area. He thought Makar was the best player on the ice for either team in Game 4, a 4-0 Colorado win. Makar had no points, but he had five shots on goal and nine shot attempts.

The Colorado Avalanche are facing elimination in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But they are racking up nominations for regular-season awards. Cale Makar has already been nominated for the Norris Trophy and picked up a nomination for the Ted Lindsay Award on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the league announced the finalists for the Norris Trophy, which honors the top defenseman. The three finalists for the prestigious award are Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche), Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets), and Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks).