Morning Skate Report: Kamenev Looking To Bring More Speed

BUFFALO, N.Y.--With the Colorado Avalanche in the heat of a playoff race at the end of last season, head coach Jared Bednar didn't make many changes to his lineup on a nightly basis. Every game meant more than the one prior, and it wasn't the time for the Avs to experiment with combinations or give developing players longer leeway.
That lineup consistency resulted in forward Vladislav Kamenev being one of the odd men out for most games in the final weeks of the year.
It was a tough break for a young player who missed 50 contests earlier in the campaign after suffering a freak injury. He only played two games in March after breaking his arm in his first outing with the team on Nov. 16 versus the Washington Capitals.
Though Kamenev, now 22, wasn't playing down the stretch of season or in the team's six contests in its Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Nashville Predators, he was taking notes on what it would take for him to crack the NHL lineup full time this year.

"I was looking at the playoff games, and it is so different than regular-season games," Kamenev said. "It's so fast. That is where I want to be, playing in the playoffs and to play with the same speed as the guys."
Among the areas he worked on in his offseason training was improving his skating and playing with more pace. He'll get a chance to show that tonight as he'll make his season debut for the Avs against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Arena.
Kamenev will replace Sheldon Dries in Colorado's lineup and will likely be one of the wings on a line with J.T. Compher and Matt Calvert.
"I want him to keep building on what we saw during exhibition," Bednar said of the Orsk, Russia, native. "He's a big, strong guy. I think he can skate well. He has good hands. He is smart defensively. I think he can contribute offensively. We're not going to see his best game right out of the gate, but I want him to start building and heading in the right direction for us.
"We've seen some of his practices here lately, he seemed to be more focused and a little more intense. That is what regular season requires, and hopefully he can continue to sort of build in that direction."

Acquired by the Avalanche from the Predators as part of a three-team trade on Nov. 5, Kamenev has offensive ability in his game that can make him successful at the pro level. He recorded 21 goals and 51 points in 70 American Hockey League contests in 2016-17 with the Milwaukee Admirals and registered 16 points (three goals and 13 assists) in just 17 AHL games split between Milwaukee and the San Antonio Rampage last season.
"I think I'm a good two-way player," Kamenev said. "I can play offense and defense good. I just need to play with pace and get faster and everything. Try and score goals."
Kamenev missed the end of Colorado's preseason with a lower-body injury and opened the 2018-19 campaign with the AHL Colorado Eagles, skating in two outings last weekend to help him get back up to game speed. He recorded an assist, three shots and two penalty minutes in the two contests and was recalled by the Avs on Sunday in preparation for the club's first road trip of the year.
"My last game was like a week ago, so I'm excited to play tonight," Kamenev said.
"I had a little injury and I went there to play two games, get my legs going. I feel good now."

VIEW: Avalanche Projected Lineup at Buffalo Sabres

MACK (STARTS) ON FIRE

Nathan MacKinnon has picked up where he left off from his Hart Trophy-runner-up campaign a year ago.
The Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native has tallied in each of the first three games of the season and leads the team in goals (three) and points (four-tied). He also ranks third in the league in shots on goal (19).
MacKinnon is the first player to begin a campaign by scoring in each of the team's first three games since Gabriel Landeskog and John Mitchell opened 2015-16 that way. He is one of only four Avs to accomplish the feat since the franchise moved to Denver in 1995, joining Mitchell, Landeskog and Joe Sakic (2001-02).
Mitchell owns the Avs record for consecutive games scoring to begin a season at four contests, which MacKinnon can tie tonight in Buffalo.

WHO TO WATCH

A few Avalanche players have had some good success in their careers against the Buffalo Sabres.
Gabriel Landeskog registers over a point-per-game pace versus the Sabres, having recorded 11 points (six goals and five assists) in 10 career contests. Nathan MacKinnon is just behind the team captain with eight points (three goals and five assists) in eight games.
Tonight's starting netminder, Semyon Varlamov, also has strong marks against Buffalo. He has a 6-2-1 record, 2.46 goals-against average and .916 save percentage in nine career contests.
As a team, the Avs own a 17-10-4 overall record against the Sabres since moving to Denver in 1995.