Comeau, MacKinnon Return To Practice

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--Some familiar faces returned as full participants to the Colorado Avalanche's on-ice session at Family Sports Center on Thursday.
Colorado forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Blake Comeau partook in the team's optional practice before the Avs departed for a one-game trip to the Winnipeg Jets.
Comeau has missed three contests after he suffered a lower-body injury at the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 8, and MacKinnon has been out since Jan. 30 with an upper-body ailment.

"I feel good. It was a nice step to be able to take," said Comeau. "I had no problems today, so hopefully tomorrow goes good and then we will see about tomorrow night in Winnipeg."
If the veteran is able to play, it is likely that he will return to his spot on a line with Carl Soderberg and Matt Nieto, a trio that has been together most of the season.
"It looks like Comeau is probably good to go," Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said. "He went full practice today too, and he is feeling good so he will make the trip to Winnipeg."
The Avalanche has faced the Jets three times this campaign and won the first two matchups. Colorado lost the last time the teams met on Feb. 3 in Winnipeg.

"They play really well at home. They got a lot of skill, they got a lot of big bodies, so we know that we are going to have to bring our best," said Comeau. "It's a tough place to play in, so we got to make sure that we are ready for a good start and managing the puck well. It's going to take a good effort from everyone."
The Jets are second in the NHL on home ice with a 21-5-2 record and, like it has all year, the start will be important for Colorado.
The Avalanche has the third best record in the league when scoring first, with a 27-5-2 record when it tallies before the opposition. However, Winnipeg has also been very successful when it buries the initial puck, as it is ranked sixth in the NHL with a 26-2-6 mark.
"It is well known that they come out hard in their arena, so we got to be able to match that and even better, try to dictate the pace," Comeau said. "That is going to come back to good puck decisions. Staying disciplined and out of the penalty box, they got a good power play, and making sure that everyone is committed to playing good defense."
Although Comeau could possibly play against the Jets, MacKinnon will not make the trip to Winnipeg. After the optional skate, Bednar said that MacKinnon is questionable to return on Sunday when Colorado hosts the Edmonton Oilers.
"He is one of the best players in the game, especially this year," Bednar said. "You look at what he has done for our team, it's a big hole. We have missed him. We have managed to sort of tread water here and carve out some points without him, but certainly adding him back into our lineup changes things significantly for us. So, we are looking forward to that day when that comes."
Getting the team healthy and having some of its veterans back in the lineup will help the Avs as they continue to fight for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
"It's important you are taking care of yourself off the ice, trying to get as much sleep and rest as you can," Comeau said. "I think the coaching staff has done a good job, for example, today was optional, so if guys were feeling a little bit tired they didn't have to skate today.
"We got a busy schedule coming up, a lot of really big games. It's going to be important that everyone has their best, and everyone is making sure that they are managing their rest and taking care of themselves off the ice."

BERNIER STARTING VS. JETS

Bednar said that Jonathan Bernier will be between the pipes for Colorado in Winnipeg and Semyon Varlamov is scheduled to start for the Avalanche against the Oilers on Sunday.
Bernier has a 17-10-2 record with a 2.74 goals-against average this year and posted a nine-game winning streak from Dec. 31 to Jan. 22, the longest run in his career.
Varlamov has gone 14-11-2 and recorded his second shutout of the season on Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens.