He did experience a scary moment 8:13 into his debut versus the Predators, as he was slammed face first into the wall by Austin Watson and went to the club's dressing room to be examined. Watson received a five-minute boarding penalty, a game misconduct and received a two-game suspension from the league on Sunday.
Toninato returned to game action for the start of the second period.
"I was nervous obviously about a concussion. It's never what you want, ever. Especially in your first couple of shifts there," he said of the hit. "Luckily, I went back, passed the protocol and was able to come back."
Bednar said he liked what he saw from the rookie during the two-games-in-two-nights set.
"He takes the hit in game one, and it sets his game back a little bit. It's good to see him come out of there, kind of a scary moment," Bednar said. "Competes hard, skates hard, has good details. A big-body guy that can help you win puck battles. He's a good, defensive-minded guy. As you see, he can make some plays, too. He was in on some offensive scoring chances in both of those games."
Bednar didn't have much of an update on Colorado's other two injured skaters, forward Vladislav Kamenev and defenseman Patrik Nemeth. Kamenev recently had successful surgery to help fix his broken arm and will be out "weeks or months," according to the head coach. On Nemeth, who is out with a lower-body injury, Bednar said there is no timetable since the blueliner hasn't started skating yet.
Colorado begins a busy week on Wednesday at Pepsi Center against the Stars, the first of three games in four days. The Avalanche then travels to Minnesota for a Friday afternoon contest against the Wild before returning home for an 8 p.m. game versus the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
Dallas is playing at home against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday and will travel to Denver after the outing to complete the back-to-back set prior to the American Thanksgiving holiday.
Wednesday marks the third of five meetings between the Avs and Stars this season. Colorado and Dallas have split the first two games of the series, as both squads have picked up wins at home.
The teams will play four of their five contests by Dec. 3, and they have their last matchup set for Jan. 13.