Avs Practice Before Next Preseason Outing

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--The preseason is a chance for teams to work on their systems, for veteran players to get back into game form and for prospects to see what it is like to play NHL hockey.
The Colorado Avalanche got back to work on Sunday at Family Sports Center after it fell 7-0 at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday in the team's second exhibition contest of its six-game slate. The team was split into two groups at practice, the first unit practicing for an hour and a half. The second bunch was on the ice for an hour, as it was the group that played at Minnesota.

All but two of players on Colorado's roster were playing their first game of the preseason against the Wild, and Martin Kaut and Igor Shvyrev dressed in their first-ever NHL contest. Dissimilarly, Minnesota dressed a lineup similar to what they might use on opening night of the 2018-19 season.
"It's never fun losing 7-0, especially against a rival like that," said Tyson Jost. "I mean we had some new faces in the lineup and it is preseason, so there is a lot that we can learn from it. Tighten up our system and do some video this morning, just learn from it and take it a step at the time. Like I said, its preseason so that's the beauty of it, we just have to be better."
Although the result was not what Colorado wanted, the experience will be valuable for the young lineup and will help the club moving forward.
"Some of the kids, I think it is good to see them against NHL talent," said head coach Jared Bednar. "Last night, obviously there is a pretty tough lineup. [The Wild] were coming into their fourth game and lots of [our] guys are playing their first game, so it was difficult circumstances but you are kind of looking to see who can make some plays and who is going to the right areas and the right spots."

BACK ON THE ICE

After missing the last couple of practice sessions as a precaution with a nagging muscle strain, forward Mikko Rantanen was back on the ice for practice on Saturday.
He skated with the group that played in Minnesota on Saturday and alternated into drills with different lines.
Defenseman Sergei Boikov was also back, practicing as a full participant during the session. He wore a red, non-contact jersey on Friday in his first practice with the team.

LINEUP NOTES FOR VEGAS

The Avalanche is set to play the third game of its preseason slate on Monday at the Vegas Golden Knights.
"Mostly kids [will be playing] again, but we got the (Carl) Soderberg line going in, (J.T.) Compher is going back in, (Alexander) Kerfoot will be back in," Bednar said. "We are starting to mix, if we have healthy bodies we are starting to try to get them in the lineup. I'd like to see all our veteran guys play three (games) but right now I don't know that that will be possible just because of some of the time off that they need with some nagging injuries."
Since training camp began, Soderberg has been centering a line with wingers Matt Nieto and Gabriel Bourque. Compher has been on a line with Matt Calvert and Logan O'Connor, while Kerfoot has been in a trio with Jost and Martin Kaut.

UPCOMING REASSIGNMENTS

The Avalanche roster currently sits at 45 players and will need to get down to 23 before opening night on Oct. 4.
"We will narrow it down after Game 4. Our plan is to get to one group, it might be an extended group there so we can keep some guys around and mix them in, but we are definitely going to try and cut them down," Bednar said after practice. "They are starting American League camp tomorrow, and for now we have to stay with two groups with the next two games and then we will get down to it. We will have a good chunk of time that we can work before the first regular-season game."

QUOTABLES

Center Tyson Jost on the benefit of preseason games: "I think you can make a lot of strides as a team in preseason. Really fine tune your systems and all that stuff and get used to each other again--kind of get used to playing that regular season/playoff hockey. Everyone throughout the league goes through the same thing, and I mean yesterday you kind of saw that we weren't in regular-season form but we still got four games to touch everything up and get in full stride here."

Defenseman Ian Cole on being in Denver:"I think it's been great. It's been very beneficial in the long run, definitely got dehydrated at first. I was drinking about 18 gallons of water a day, just always thirsty all the time but now it's starting to even out. Certainly starting to feel better on the ice, especially in those battle situations. Definitely moving in the right direction."

Head Coach Jared Bednar on Vladislav Kamenev: "I liked his last practice and then last night he did some good things out there. And todays practice again, I thought he did a nice job. He looks like he is starting to feel a little bit more comfortable, a little bit quicker. Just try to keep pushing him out of his comfort zone so he gets a little more aggressive and a little more sandpaper to his game."