A back-to-back on the road is not ideal after a long break but the Avalanche are ready to get back at it.
Tuesday was an optional skate. Wednesday was nearly full participation and Thursday was hard defensive drills. Friday’s practice was upbeat and fun with almost everyone in attendance minus the three Team Canada members.
“For what we’ve done the last three days here … today was probably my favorite practice of the year. The energy, the enthusiasm, you can tell the guys are excited to get ready to go,” head coach Jared Bednar said on Friday. “So it’s a good sign coming into this week, and hopefully we continue to sort of play with that energy and enthusiasm here, going into Nashville.”
The Avalanche won four of their last five before the 4 Nations Face-Off break and look to continue that winning mentality. Ross Colton is not crazy about jumping into a back-to-back on the road but is prepared after a tough few days of practice.
“I think it’s criminal scheduling, if I’m being honest with you, but it is what it is. I guess just jump right into the swing of things, we saw that,” Colton said. “It stinks we’re on the road, would have been nice to be at home coming off the break. The only nice thing is we got a couple practices under our belt to sweat things out and get our legs underneath us.”
Sam Malinski utilized the time off to reset physically and mentally. He did some conditioning while home in Minnesota and feels ready to play after a few days of skating.
“It’s definitely good getting back on the ice and it was nice that we were able to get three, four practices in before playing a game again.
“We have to just make sure we’re ready, get the legs ready for the first game. Just one game at a time,” Malinski said.
The Avs face off against the Nashville Predators on Saturday for an early 4 p.m. MT puck drop, which means no morning skate. The brief time on the ice before hitting the road was imperative for everyone to get back up to speed.
Bednar said Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews are expected to play, even with the short turnaround from the 4 Nations tournament. Valeri Nichushkin practiced with the team on Thursday and Friday but will not travel for the weekend back-to-back. Josh Manson remains out and there is no clear timeline for his return.
Avs Practice, Locker Room Side Notes
Mackenzie Blackwood spent his break in Hawaii and had a rough time getting back into game mode at the first couple of practices. The 28-year-old told me he rode the Peloton bike a few times during his time off and it was much harder than he thought. Even as a professional athlete, that equipment is no joke.
Miles Wood had an unfortunate bout with food poisoning on his break in Florida but said he is all good now. He brought a lot of energy to the practices, which is totally on brand for him.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog made a brief appearance on the bench at the end of Thursday’s practice and spent some time encouraging his team at Friday’s skate.
The team’s progression coming back from break was apparent and Friday’s practice was a fun, upbeat one with lots of stick taps and cheering. The guys were clearly excited to get back into their game.
