Defensemen Cale Makar and Bowen Byram will return to the lineup Thursday when the Avalanche open a two-game set against the Minnesota Wild at Ball Arena.
They are coming off upper-body injuries. Makar has missed 10 games since getting hurt Feb. 26 against the Arizona Coyotes. Byram has missed nine games since getting hurt Feb. 27 against the Coyotes.
Here are the GAME NOTES.
“Both those guys are good to go,… coach Jared Bednar said after the morning skate. “We obviously feel with Cale coming back … I mean, he’s a superstar and we’ve got to get him back in the lineup playing here. He’s healthy and we know what he can do and how he can help us.
“Bo is a young guy coming in and for the most part he’s been real good for us, a little bit inconsistent as you’d expect from any young player coming in, especially a D-man, but I think that we’ve got to get him playing, get him up to speed and we’ll start watching his growth and see if we can get him in an area where he’s a real impact player for us here down the stretch run.…
Makar has one goal and 13 assists in 15 games. Byram has two assists in 15 games.
“I’m super excited, obviously,… Byram said. "Being out for a couple weeks sucked, it felt like forever. Got a big game tonight against Minnesota, so just trying to stay focused on that. The past is gone now, so just excited to be back.…
Dan Renouf and Greg Pateryn, who’ve played pretty well with Makar and Byram out, will likely be assigned to the taxi squad. Renouf cleared waivers.
“It’s huge,… Brandon Saad of the return of Makar and Byram. “Those are two important guys on our team. I think we’ve done a good job doing next-man-up attitude, playing well, but those are tough guys to replace and we’re definitely happy to have them back.…
Center J.T. Compher has been medically cleared but will be a healthy scratch so he can get in more conditioning; he will miss his seventh game after sustaining an upper-body injury March 5 against the Anaheim Ducks.
Wild coach Dean Evason said Cam Talbot will start in goal.
The Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen Brandon Saad -- Nazem Kadri -- Andre Burakovsky Valeri Nichushkin -- Tyson Jost -- Joonas Donskoi Matt Calvert -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Logan O’Connor
DEFENSE Devon Toews -- Cale Makar Samuel Girard -- Ryan Graves Bowen Byram -- Jacob MacDonald
GOALIES Philipp Grubauer Hunter Miska
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Kroenke Sports & Entertainment announced Thursday that the Colorado Department of Health and Environment has approved allowing 4,050 fans to Avalanche games beginning April 2 when they play the St. Louis Blues. That’s approximately 22 percent of capacity.
The Avalanche last played with fans in Denver March 11 last year against the New York Rangers.
“Well, it’s really exciting,… Bednar said. “It’s hard even to remember the last time we played in front of fans. They just add that level of excitement and energy, especially here at Ball Arena and we’re looking forward to it. We’ve played in some buildings already this year where there’s been some fans and it just brings a whole other element to the game. That’s why these guys play, they love to perform, and to do it in front of our fans is going to be awesome and we’re really looking forward to that.…
Frontline staff, health care providers and first responders will be in attendance for the Nuggets game on March 30 and the Avalanche game on March 31.
“We are indebted to the immeasurable dedication of frontline workers throughout the pandemic to keep our community safe,… owner Stan Kroenke said in a release. “We look forward to hosting several of them and honoring their heroic efforts during our first games back with fans.…
First access to tickets will be given to Avalanche and Nuggets ticket plan holders and partners through a series of presales. A very limited number of seats will be available to the general public.
Ticket sales information for games with fans starting April 2 will be sent to ticket plan holders through email in the coming days. This information will also be updated on ColoradoAvalanche.com and DenverNuggets.com.
Visit ballarena.com for the most up-to-date information regarding the facility policies and procedures before entering the arena for a game.