{"id":40104,"date":"2022-06-10T18:31:20","date_gmt":"2022-06-11T00:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/avs-remain-in-holding-pattern-start-early-prep-for-final\/"},"modified":"2022-06-11T00:31:20","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T00:31:20","slug":"avs-remain-in-holding-pattern-start-early-prep-for-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/avs-remain-in-holding-pattern-start-early-prep-for-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Avs remain in holding pattern, start early prep for final"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Colorado
Colorado Avalanche's Artturi Lehkonen (62) gets to the puck ahead of Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) Monday in Edmonton, Alberta. (Amber Bracken\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/span>Amber Bracken<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DENVER \u2013 There were quite a few big names missing from the ice for Colorado’s practice on Thursday: Captain Gabriel Landeskog, defensemen Devon Toews and Josh Manson, forward Andre Burakovsky.<\/p>\n

No need for concern, though. Just a maintenance day for that particular group of Avalanche players as they rest up \u2013 and wait \u2013 to face either the New York Rangers or two-time defending champion Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final.<\/p>\n

Maybe of some concern were two more missing forwards: Nazem Kadri (thumb) and Andrew Cogliano (hand), who both recently underwent surgery. But they haven\u2019t been ruled out from playing in the final, whenever that may be. This time off could be just the window they need to return to health.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to get a little bit of rest,\u201d forward J.T. Compher said of a break that could extend as long as nearly two weeks. \u201cIt\u2019s just keeping your mind in it. You have a little time to relax, but it\u2019s just mentally making sure you\u2019re refreshed and focused on the goal ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Avalanche started their preliminary preparations Thursday even as they remain in a holding pattern. They kept things condensed in front of fans \u2013 and kids attending a summer camp \u2013 during practice at their training facility, which houses laser tag, a climbing wall and arcade games on the other side of the rink.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we come to work, we\u2019re going to work. When we give them rest, we\u2019ll give them rest,\u201d coach Jared Bednar explained. \u201cIf they need anything extra, then it\u2019s up to them to go and get what they need on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was a practice session dedicated to getting back up to speed on the heels of a travel day back from Edmonton \u2013 finishing a sweep of Connor McDavid and the Oilers \u2013 and an off day. They talked some strategy before taking shots on goaltenders Pavel Francouz and Darcy Kuemper. Bednar was mum on which one would be in net for Game 1.<\/p>\n

Kuemper was the starter before exiting the first game against Edmonton with an upper-body injury. Francouz was in net the rest of the series as the Avalanche earned a spot in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tough decision,\u201d Bednar said. \u201cThere will be conversations about it.”<\/p>\n

Kuemper wouldn\u2019t divulge the precise nature of his injury. He did say he was seeing the puck \u201creally good.” In the Nashville series, Kuemper was poked through his mask with a stick that caught him near his eye. He was back for the St. Louis series, which the Avalanche won in six games.<\/p>\n

He applauded Francouz’s performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuper happy for him,” Kuemper said. “It was great for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

A blow to the team would be the potential loss of Kadri and Cogliano. Kadri left Game 3 after taking a cross-check from Evander Kane, who drew a one-game suspension for the hit. Cogliano was hurt after blocking a shot with his right hand in Game 4. Cogliano went through the post-series handshake line extending his left hand.<\/p>\n

Kadri has six goals and eight assist in these playoffs, while Cogliano plays a primary role on the penalty-kill unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see how it goes when they get playing and whatnot,” Bednar said. “We\u2019re hopeful they could be an option for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Colorado
Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon (29) scores on Edmonton Oilers goalie Mike Smith (41) during third period NHL playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, June 6, 2022. (Amber Bracken\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/span>Amber Bracken<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Edmonton
Edmonton Oilers goalie Mike Smith (41) lets in a goal as Colorado Avalanche's Valeri Nichushkin (13), Gabriel Landeskog (92), Nathan MacKinnon (29) and Oilers' Cody Ceci (5) and Ryan McLeod (71) look on during third period NHL playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, June 6, 2022. (Amber Bracken\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/span>Amber Bracken<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colorado Avalanche's Artturi Lehkonen (62) gets to the puck ahead of Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) Monday in Edmonton, Alberta. (Amber Bracken\/The Canadian Press via AP)Amber Bracken DENVER \u2013 There were quite a few big names missing from the ice for Colorado’s practice on Thursday: Captain Gabriel Landeskog, defensemen Devon Toews and Josh Manson, forward […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[2545,4245,346],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-40104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-national-hockey-league-north-american","tag-sports"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40104"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=40104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}