- Makar, Burns, Lehkonen all missing from Saturday’s Avalanche practice
- Bednar groups four players as “day-to-day,” says some will skate this week
- Read below for video of the Game 5 collision and the WCF Game 1 timeline
The Colorado Avalanche have some bumps to sort out before the Western Conference Final.
Cale Makar didn’t skate Saturday. Neither did Brent Burns or Artturi Lehkonen.
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar grouped that trio with defenseman Josh Manson when reporters pressed him on the absences after practice at Ball Arena.
“They’re all dealing with stuff in their day-to-day,” Bednar said, per the Associated Press. He added that he expects some of them to practice during the week before Game 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Beat reporter Evan Rawal had the live look at the skate:
Makar is the name everyone is watching. The Norris Trophy finalist took a hit from Mats Zuccarello late in Game 5 against Minnesota, grabbed his right arm, and headed down the tunnel.
He came back. The 27-year-old logged 25:50 and stayed on the bench as Colorado rallied from a 3-0 hole to win 4-3 in overtime on a Brett Kulak strike.
Watch the Game 5 video, including the late Makar sequence:
The video catches the Zuccarello collision and the comeback that followed.
Burns is on a different track. The 41-year-old has played every game this season and his iron-man streak runs back more than 13 years.
Lehkonen and Sam Malinski both missed the final two games of the second-round series with upper-body injuries. Malinski skated Saturday in a red non-contact jersey.
Bednar’s “day-to-day” tag covers a lot of ground. It can mean a player misses one practice and is back for the next. It can also mean the team has no intention of tipping a hand until warmups.
Colorado banked six full days between the Game 5 OT win and Game 1, which is exactly the buffer the Avs hoped to grab by closing out the Wild in five. Game 1 is Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET from Ball Arena.
