Eurolanche

Avalanche practice report

The Colorado Avalanche hit the ice at 10:30 a.m. local time for their last practice ahead of their first game against the Ottawa Senators as part of the NHL Global Series double-header in Stockholm, Sweden. The practice session started out a little slow, which was later criticized by both Gabriel Landeskog and Jared Bednar during their respective press conferences. The Avs consequently picked up their intensity, with line drills providing a glimpse of the possible lineup for tomorrow’s game. Colorado had a total of 13 forwards, 7 defensemen and 3 goalies on the ice, including Tyson Jost, who practiced in a red non-contact jersey, Colin Wilson and J.T. Compher, both of whom were previously listed as injured, as well as newly-acquired defenseman Samuel Girard. The only player absent was defenseman Patrik Nemeth, who’s still dealing with an undisclosed ailment and will miss tomorrow’s game, leaving Landeskog as the only Swede playing for the Avs in the Swedish capital. Anton Lindholm stayed back in Denver, as he’s nursing a broken jaw, while Carl Soderberg is still waiting for his wife to give birth and will probably miss both games.

The Avalanche’s top two lines remain unchanged – Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the first, and Sven Andrighetto, Alex Kerfoot and Nail Yakupov on the second. The team’s third line consisted of Blake Comeau, Compher and Matt Nieto, with all three donning white practice jerseys. The line could change, as Compher still isn’t sure whether he’ll draw back into the lineup. “I’m not sure yet, but it looks like it could happen tomorrow,” Compher told Eurolanche. “I’m feeling better and it’s great to be back on the ice again for sure.” Four players alternated on the fourth line – Gabriel Bourque, Wilson, A.J. Greer and Rocco Grimaldi all changed up during drills, but it looks like Grimaldi could be the odd man out as he played the least of the quartet. Like Compher, Wilson is confident that he’ll be in the lineup for tomorrow’s game. “It’s good to be back skating with the team, to get acclimated. Feeling good,” said Wilson to Eurolanche.

New acquisition Samuel Girard should to be in the lineup tomorrow, as he was paired with Tyson Barrie on the team’s first power-play unit. Coach Bednar later said that he’s definitely going to be featured in the team’s lineup and could get solid ice-time, even playing with Erik Johnson, but the coaches will also look to lessen Johnson's ice-time, as he's been a workhorse for the Avs, logging north of 27 minutes of TOI during the team’s past four games. Tyson Jost did a few individual drills after practice, but remains unavailable. “I don’t know the exact timeline [of my return], but I’m feeling that I’m getting close. It’s definitely good to be out here on the ice and Sweden. I’m really trying to enjoy my time here and am working that much harder to get back into the lineup and get this injury out of the way,” said Jost.

Michal Hezely, the author of this article, was given media accreditation for the entire NHL Global Series and is reporting directly from Stockholm, Sweden.