ST. PAUL, Minn. — After the Colorado Avalanche’s 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild in Game 3, Jared Bednar said that, aside from when Nathan MacKinnon’s line was on the ice, his roster wasn’t generating much offensively. For a team with Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin on the second line, that’s an issue. If the team is going to feel comfortable about its chances to win the second-round series, which it leads 2-1, that line needs to get going.

“We have to find ways to be more possessive with the puck, sustain a little bit more in the O-zone, and generate a few more chances,” Nelson said. “I feel like we’re confident in the ability that we have. Some nights might be a little bit different depending on the matchup or how the game’s running with special teams. Defensively, I think we’ve been pretty solid, but offensively there’s more.”

Nelson, the line’s center, has 2 points in seven games these playoffs and only 1 — a secondary assist in Game 2 — this series. His lone goal came on an empty net. Nichushkin has 3 points in seven games and has scored only on an empty net.

Bednar started Gabriel Landeskog as Nelson’s left wing Saturday. He moved the captain to MacKinnon’s line in the second period, bumping Artturi Lehkonen down with Nelson. Minnesota outattempted the Lehkonen-Nelson-Nichushkin trio to the tune of nine shots to three during their 5:16 together at five-on-five. Colorado had 7.15 percent of the expected goal share with the line on the ice, per Natural Stat Trick. Bednar called it “one line that struggled to get anything going offensively.”

“As a group of three, they have to be more connected, closer to the puck,” Bednar said. “Every team is going to try to close you quick, come up with a quick battle, get the puck and get out of the zone. In order to counteract that, you have to have numbers around the puck and you have to be physical and competitive in there to come up with some pucks so you can play in O-zone play. To me, that line was a little slow to get there, not connected enough as a group of three to come up with enough pucks to spend more time in O-zone play.”

The Avalanche earned only 23.27 percent of the expected goal share with Nelson on the ice at five-on-five in Game 3, per Natural Stat Trick. They had only 34.91 percent with Nichushkin out there.

There’s reason to believe the line can turn it around. Nelson finished the regular season with 33 goals, won an Olympic gold with Team USA and earned a nod as a Selke Trophy finalist. He had a strong 8.5 Net Rating, per colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s model. Nichushkin’s scoring was down this year, but he still finished with 17 goals and 49 points in 72 games. His underlying numbers were still above average. Whether it’s Landeskog or Lehkonen, those two will play with a hard-forechecking, responsible forward. That line should be a major advantage for Colorado, especially considering the Wild have been without Joel Eriksson Ek all series.

So far it hasn’t been. Nelson and Nichushkin are Colorado’s only two forwards with a sub-40 percent expected goal rate this series, per Natural Stat Trick. Some of that is because Bednar trusts them to handle difficult matchups, so they’ve had to play against Minnesota’s best forwards. Wild standout Matt Boldy, for example, has played more five-on-five minutes against Nelson and Nichushkin than any other Avalanche forwards this series. Colorado has kept him to only one goal this series, and that was an empty-netter to close out Game 3.

“Tough player to play against,” Nelson said of Boldy. “He can beat you in a number of different ways. He’s good on both sides of the puck, too, so makes it tough playing against him.”

Nichushkin showed signs of frustration in Game 3, which Bednar said he noticed. At one point, the winger beat his stick against the ice, wanting Sam Malinski to pass him the puck.

“It’s a frustrating time of year, playoffs,” Bednar said. “Guys who want to produce, it’s hard to produce. I think it’s something you’ve got to work through.”

The coach can’t take away the frustration, but he can show his players clips on what is leading to it. He believes his fourth line (Parker Kelly, Jack Drury and Logan O’Connor) can offer an example of how to play connected hockey.

“If (a) group does a little bit more of what that (fourth-line) group did, you’re going to spend more time and get to play in O-zone play,” the coach said. “It’s nothing more complicated than that. It’s just trying to paint a picture on how you can spend some more time (in the offensive zone).”

The Avalanche acquired Nelson last deadline for Calum Ritchie and a first-round pick; a hefty price, but a worthwhile one if Nelson was going to solve their issues at second-line center. They extended him on a three-year, $7.5 million average annual value deal. He delivered a strong regular season, but now the Avalanche need him — as well as his linemates — to perform their best when the games matter most. MacKinnon and Cale Makar can carry a significant chunk of the offense, but they need at least some reinforcements.