Jack Drury of the Avalanche excited for playoffs, still kind of "in awe" of new teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar

Avalanche forward Jack Drury says he's excited for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Colorado is getting set to play the Dallas Stars in the first round, and the team has a period of rest for about a week that Drury says will be helpful.

"It's huge. I think from a travel perspective, you're on the plane a lot, especially towards the end of the year and getting a little bit of a break from that is nice," he said on Xfinity Monday Live. "And then probably the biggest thing, we've got a couple of guys who are a little banged up, dealing with some injuries. So, to get them a few days to rest and get as healthy as possible before the playoffs start, that's very big for us."

Drury joined the Avs in late January. The 25-year-old was acquired in the trade that brought his Carolina Hurricanes teammate Martin Necas to the team and sent Mikko Rantanen to Carolina. After the trade, Drury heard from his uncle Chris Drury who also played professional hockey and was a Calder Memorial Trophy winner with the Colorado Avalanche.

"He sent me a nice text and obviously had really great things to say about Colorado and thought it was a great fit for me," said Drury, whose father Ted also had a successful pro hockey career.

While Drury is an NHL veteran who has seen plenty of top-level talent, he says he's been surprised by watching his new teammates Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon and superstar defenseman Cale Makar up close on a night-by-night basis so far this year.

"I will say with those two, Nate and Cale, there are times still for me that I am just kind of in awe when I'm watching during a game. And I'm like 'Omigod, I can't believe they can do that,'" he said. "Where I think the guys that have been here longer are a little more adjusted to that."

Drury says facing the Stars is a big challenge, but it will be "awesome."

"I think it's kind of the Round 1 marquee matchup that everyone's going to be looking at and watching, and you want to thrive under that spotlight," Drury said. "The challenge is going to be great, so I think we're all excited for it."

The schedule for the first round, seven-game series has yet to be released. Games 1 and 2 will be in Texas, and Games 3 and 4 will be in Denver at Ball Arena.