The Colorado Avalanche skated back onto the ice Saturday following a brief break, though the roster still wasn’t fully whole.
Absent from the on-ice session were defensemen Cale Makar and Brent Burns, along with forward Artturi Lehkonen. Defenseman Josh Manson briefly skated before returning to the locker room, while fellow blueliner Sam Malinski took part in a red non-contact jersey.
“They’re all dealing with stuff in their day-to-day,” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar explained.
Expected to be back at practice soon?
“Yeah,” Bednar responded. “I think some of them will practice in the time we have.”
Lehkonen and Malinski both missed the final two games of the Minnesota series due to upper-body injuries, while Manson has also been managing an upper-body issue. Makar, a Norris Trophy finalist, exited after a collision late in Game 5 before returning to help Colorado secure a 4-3 overtime win. Burns, 41, hasn't missed a game in over 13 years.
Vegas Presents A Completely Different Challenge
Colorado leaned heavily on its stars throughout the second round, especially with injuries forcing constant adjustments on the back end. Cale Makar and Devon Toews logged massive minutes, while Nathan MacKinnon continued carrying a huge offensive workload during the Avalanche’s five-game series win over Minnesota.
Now the challenge gets even tougher.
Vegas enters the Western Conference Final with depth throughout the lineup, an aggressive forecheck, and the kind of postseason experience that has repeatedly overwhelmed opponents this time of year. That makes Colorado’s health situation impossible to ignore heading into Game 1.
The Avalanche have spent most of the playoffs proving they can withstand injuries.
Whether they can continue doing it against the Golden Knights may ultimately decide how far this postseason run goes.
How do you guys think the Avalanche will fair against Vegas this time around? Let us know in the comments.
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