{"id":1083,"date":"2026-05-18T20:03:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1083"},"modified":"2026-05-18T20:03:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:03:47","slug":"avalanche-taking-advantage-of-break-to-heal-as-they-get-set-to-play-knights-in-conference-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1083","title":{"rendered":"Avalanche taking advantage of break to heal as they get set to play Knights in conference finals"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

DENVER<\/strong> | Most of the Colorado Avalanche\u2019s players returned to the ice for practice Saturday after a two-day break.<\/p>\n

Emphasis on most.<\/p>\n

Noticeably missing were defensemen Cale Makar and Brent Burns, along with forward Artturi Lehkonen. There to warm up before heading to the locker room was defenseman Josh Manson, while fellow blueliner Sam Malinski participated in a red, no-contact sweater.<\/p>\n

The Avalanche emerged from their second-round series with Minnesota with their share of bumps and bruises. That\u2019s why this hiatus between series \u2014 six full days of practice\/rest \u2014 was welcome. The Presidents\u2019 Trophy-winning Avalanche don\u2019t kick off the Western Conference final against Vegas until Wednesday night.\n<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all dealing with stuff in their day-to-day,\u201d Avalanche coach Jared Bednar explained of Makar, Burns, Manson and Lehkonen.<\/p>\n

Expected to be back at practice soon?<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Bednar responded. \u201cI think some of them will practice in the time we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lehkonen and Malinski both are dealing with upper-body injuries and didn\u2019t play in the final two games of the Minnesota series. Manson has been dealing with an upper-body ailment, while Makar, a Norris Trophy finalist, left the ice after a collision late in Game 5, only to return as Colorado won 4-3 in overtime. Burns is, well, 41 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good,\u201d Jack Drury said about the break, \u201cfor a couple of guys that are banged up. Given them some extra time. For the rest of us, just kind of mentally get fresh. I think everyone\u2019s really excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Avalanche didn\u2019t spend much time Saturday going over a game plan for Vegas. Instead, it was more of a chance to skate around and squeeze in a few shots on net.<\/p>\n

\u201cA couple days before the game we\u2019ll prepare and do some meetings,\u201d forward Martin Necas said. \u201cUntil then, just all on us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Avalanche and Golden Knights have some recent postseason history, with Vegas eliminating Colorado in the second round in 2021. The Knights fell behind 2-0 \u2014 and trailed in the third period of Game 3 \u2014 before reeling off four straight wins to take the series.<\/p>\n

Vegas has a new coach in John Tortorella but several remaining players from the team that won the Stanley Cup title in 2023. They also have Mitch Marner, who has 18 points in the postseason (seven goals, 11 assists) after being acquired in a deal with Toronto last June that sent Nicolas Roy to the Maple Leafs. Roy, a member of Vegas\u2019 Stanley Cup team, is now with the Avalanche following a trade in March.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an experienced group. You\u2019re not going to rattle them,\u201d Bednar said about Vegas. \u201cThey\u2019re very well-defined in their structure of their game. They\u2019re a stingy defensive team, and they\u2019ve got lots of firepower.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Golden Knights have some ailments, too, most notably captain Mark Stone and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good team. I mean, we\u2019re not looking past this team,\u201d Bednar said. \u201cThese guys are healthy and firing on all cylinders ever since they made the coaching change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vegas went went 7-0-1 to close out the regular season after Tortorella took over for Bruce Cassidy. They beat Utah in the first round and Anaheim in the second, both in six games.<\/p>\n

Colorado relied on defense to dispatch of Los Angeles in a first-round sweep. Against Minnesota, 16 Avalanche players scored in the 4-1 series win.<\/p>\n

Defense or offense, they\u2019re ready for any style.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to dominate the game so they have to adjust to us,\u201d said Necas, whose team had a week break after the first rounds. \u201cIt will be a good challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Zimbabwe\u2019s vivid English first names carry family histories, from Privilege to Shame<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read more MONDAY NEWS IN A RUSH: Top headlines in today\u2019s NewsMinute video<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Most of the Colorado Avalanche’s players returned to the ice for practice Saturday after a two-day break, while noticeably missing were defensemen Cale Makar and Brent Burns, along with forward Artturi Lehkonen as the team prepares to start the Western Conference finals Wednesday against the Las Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[662],"tags":[1470,1471,1222,361,363,1472,1473,1474],"class_list":["post-1083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avalanche","tag-artturi-lehkonen","tag-brent-burns","tag-cale-makar","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-jared-bednar","tag-josh-manson","tag-nhl-playoffs","tag-sam-malinski"],"yoast_head":"\nAvalanche taking advantage of break to heal as they get set to play Knights in conference finals - Denver Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1083\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Avalanche taking advantage of break to heal as they get set to play Knights in conference finals - 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