The Colorado Avalanche are starting to put the pieces together for Sunday’s preseason opener at Ball Arena, and the picture is getting clearer by the day.
Colorado hosts the Utah Mammoth first, then heads to Winnipeg with a different group to face the Jets on Monday. Head coach Jared Bednar said the plan is to use mostly NHL regulars in the two home games while holding some veterans back for the road.
A few names are already locked in for both games. Bednar said goaltender Ilya Nabokov, forwards Nikita Prischepov and Taylor Makar, and defenseman Alex Gagne are all scheduled to play Sunday and Monday. Because of that, all four were given Saturday off and did not take part in the third day of camp.
That scheduling wrinkle has become part of the challenge with the shortened training camp. Under the collective bargaining agreement, each player has to get a day off during the week, and Bednar is working around that by giving the Monday group Sunday off and the Sunday group Monday off.
The four players who are dressing on both nights got their break Saturday. Everyone is back at the rink Tuesday.
Bednar also said roster cuts are coming later Saturday, with another round likely after Monday’s game. It shouldn’t be a major trim, though, because the Avalanche need to keep enough younger players around to cover the second wave of preseason games. The new CBA limits veterans with more than 100 career NHL games to a maximum of two exhibition appearances.
Sunday’s lineup could feature the Brock Nelson and Nazem Kadri combinations in full. That would put Nelson between Jaden Schwartz and rookie T.J. Hughes, while Kadri would skate with Gabe Landeskog and Gavin Brindley.
Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas are also expected to play, though Colorado still hasn’t settled on who will center them. Nathan MacKinnon is likely to sit out, and Bednar’s comments suggest he could be held out of both games.
On the blue line, Josh Manson should be in the lineup Sunday alongside Gagne. The two have been paired since camp opened as the Avalanche have shuffled the defense to work around Cale Makar’s injury situation.
Makar did not take part in on-ice work Saturday. He has remained in a red non-contact jersey since camp began while easing back from an upper-body injury.
Bednar said the day off was tied to his required break under the CBA. The expectation now is that Makar will skate on his own Sunday and Monday.
He will not play in either preseason game this weekend, but Bednar said he wants Makar available Tuesday and Wednesday when the team starts focusing on special teams. Bednar has already said he expects Makar to be ready for the second set of preseason games.
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