The Colorado Avalanche should be in a good mood. After all, prior to the NHL All-Star break, they were on a 13-3-1 run that catapulted them to the top of the Central Division. On Monday during morning skate, they looked like a loose team.
During some powerplay work, Logan O’Connor took the puck away and cleared it down the ice, ending things for the second powerplay unit. Devon Toews then (jokingly) drove him into the boards. Artturi Lehkonen decided to come join in, and soon, Bowen Byram was giving O’Connor the old face wash. The entire time, O’Connor had a big grin on his face.
They’ve got every right to feel confident right now, given the way they entered break, but until the game starts, it’s hard to tell how they’ll play after so much time off.
“Our goal yesterday (during practice) was to get them engaged physically,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We did lots of grinding drills down low, because I feel like a team that can get back committed to the physical side of the game, and get back committed to defending hard, I think leads to success.”
Andrew Cogliano, a veteran of over 1200 games in the NHL, got away with his family during the break to California, but said that even a week long break can be a little too much in the middle of the season.
“I think the break extends near the end of it and you probably want to get back to playing and get back to the groove,” he told me. “We’re having fun. We’re having fun this year. I think there’s a good feeling in our room in terms of the way we play, and if we play the right way, we’re a really tough team to beat, and this is the best time of year, right? You come back, you have 33 games left to get to the playoffs, and that’s why you play, so it’s exciting.”
The Avalanche will have a fresh face in the lineup on Monday night. Well, not exactly a fresh face. Actually, he’s now the oldest guy on the team.
Zach Parise, signed just before the break, will step right into the lineup. He’ll start with Lehkonen and Ryan Johansen, and play on the penalty kill. During skate, he spent a lot of time right next to Nolan Pratt, learning the ins and outs of what this staff wants their penalty killers to do.
There was no hesitation from the coaching staff to throw him right in the lineup, and Parise is happy about that.
“I’ve been skating a lot back home. To get a practice and a morning skate, it’s helpful, but at this point, you have to play hockey. You have to play the game,” Parise told me. “That’s the only way you’re going to get comfortable with it, get acclimated with everything. I’m excited to hop right into it.”
Parise made life miserable for the Avalanche for a long time. He’s hoping he makes life miserable for their opponents now.
“Hopefully it carries over to scoring with them,” he joked.
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