While none of the injured Avalanche players will be available against the Los Angeles Kings at Ball Arena on Friday, defenseman Bowen Byram is the closest to returning.
The 19-year-old rookie, who has missed the past six games with an upper-body injury, was among the walking wounded -- or is it skating wounded? -- to go on the ice Thursday.
Here’s my NHL.com RECAP of Wednesday’s 2-1 overtime win against the Arizona Coyotes. The Avalanche outshot the Coyotes 46-14 – Nathan MacKinnon had 10 shots on goal after missing the three previous games – and Gabriel Landeskog scored with 38 seconds left in OT.
"I think if I was guessing he's probably the next guy coming in, but it's hard to say again," coach Jared Bednar said of Byram, the Avalanche’s first-round pick (No. 4) in the 2019 NHL draft.
“We get different information every morning when we come in and see how they're feeling. He seems to have the best report this morning as far as maybe being able to progress and join the team.…
Defenseman Cale Makar was the lone injured player -- not counting goalie Pavel Francouz and defenseman Erik Johnson, both out long term -- who didn’t skate. Bednar said he goes on the ice if he feels well enough. Makar, who has missed the past seven games with an upper-body injury, was given Thursday off.
“He skated two or three days in a row,… Bednar said. “This is his second day off in a row, and we just evaluate him every morning when he comes in. The medical staff decides if it's a day that he should go out on the ice.…
Byram, forward J.T. Compher and defensemen Dennis Gilbert and Conor Timmins skated on their own before an optional practice.
Gilbert wore a full face shield as he recovers from surgery after getting hurt in a fight on Feb. 16 in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Avalanche recalled defenseman Kyle Burroughs from the Colorado Eagles, adding him to the taxi squad.