Avalanche's Nazem Kadri to return vs. Kraken

Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri tallied a pair of assists against the San Jose Sharks back on March 31 but hasn't played since, as he picked up an injury in the third period of that 4-2 win. 

According to Andy Eide of the NHL's official website, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar confirmed that Kadri will be back in the lineup for Wednesday's matchup at the Seattle Kraken. In total, Kadri missed eight consecutive games with what was referred to as an upper-body injury.

"We had a discussion, just kind of an interaction to make sure that we're not bringing him back too early," Bednar explained. "We still got a little bit of time here (in the regular season) … just wanted to make sure we can get him in some games, get back up to speed and make sure he's feeling good with his timing and the [game] speed." 

Per ESPN stats, Kadri has fallen to a tie for third among Colorado players with 83 points on the season, but he still shares the team lead with 57 assists tallied across 65 contests. The Avalanche are comfortably atop the Western Conference standings, and Bednar admitted he's "trying to dial back some of our top guys on minutes" ahead of the upcoming postseason tournament. 

"I feel like he'll be able to jump right back in and pick up all the things that he did before," Bednar added about Kadri. 

Following Wednesday's action, Colorado will play at the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night.