The Colorado Avalanche were back on the ice on Saturday, skating at Family Sports in preparation for the Western Conference Final.
They still have at least two, if not three, more skates before Game 1 on Wednesday night. Which likely means the ones closer to that date will matter more. But for now, things didn’t look all that different regarding some of the injured players.
Cale Makar has not practiced in quite a while, but he’s also appeared in all nine playoff games. That remained the same for now, as he wasn’t an on-ice participant.
Artturi Lehkonen and Sam Malinski both missed the last two games of the Minnesota series with upper-body injuries. Lehkonen was not on the ice for practice, but Malinski took part in a red non-contact sweater. He remained on the ice for some of the drills but not all of them.
Josh Manson was on the ice when practice began, but he also did not remain there for long. Manson left the ice before Malinski.
The last remaining absence was Brent Burns. Like Makar and Lehkonen, he did not take part at all.
It’s not easy to get much information from teams at this time of year. After all, any updates on injuries could often serve as an advantage for the opposition. As for where all of these guys currently stand, Bednar provided a very general update.
“They’re all dealing with stuff, they’re day to day,” he said. “I think some of them will practice in the time we have.”
The Avs know who they’re facing, but haven’t yet begun in-depth drills to prepare for the Golden Knights. Martin Necas said it was a good first skate to allow them to get back in a groove before ramping it up more in the coming days.
Bednar reiterated the importance of breaking down how the Knights deploy their lines and preparing specifically for that. The Golden Knights have the center depth that the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild didn’t. They have Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Tomas Hertl, and Nic Dowd.
The Avs are countering with Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri, and Jack Drury. They also have former Golden Knights center Nic Roy playing the wing, but could be used as a center if adjustments are needed.
Stay tuned for a series preview breakdown in the coming days, including thoughts from Roy, who will be a big piece for the Avalanche against his former team.
Author’s note: I’m booked to go to Vegas for Games 3 and 4 late next week. A large part of why I’ll be able to make this trip, along with the previous ones, is because of the kind donations from many of you. And, from the bottom of my heart, I do appreciate that. The funds raised to date have all been used for this upcoming trip.
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