Avalanche Practice: All Skaters Accounted For, Except Cale Makar
· Yahoo Sports
Every member of the Colorado Avalanche was accounted for on Tuesday when the team took the ice for a lengthy practice ahead of Game 1 of the Western Conference Final. Everyone except for Cale Makar, that is.
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Makar has not taken part in any practices or morning skates for a number weeks, but hasn’t missed a game in the postseason. There’s no question he’s battling an injury, likely related to the shoulder he hurt in a game against the Calgary Flames during the regular season.
At the time, Makar missed seven regular-season games before returning to the lineup on April 14. He seemed to regravate the injury after taking a hit from Marcus Foligno in Game 1. It happened again in the later stages of Game 5.
Even if he’s not at 100%, is there anything to be concerned about regarding Makar’s status for Game 1 on Wednesday?
“No, not yet,” Avs head coach Jared Bednar said.
Artturi Lehkonen was on the ice for the first time since Game 3. He missed the last two of the series against the Minnesota Wild and every practice day since. Lehkonen was on a new-look second line, with Brock Nelson and Nic Roy.
That change pushed Ross Colton down to the third line with Valeri Nichushkin and Nazem Kadri, while Logan O’Connor was reunited with Jack Drury and Parker Kelly. Both Joel Kiviranta and Zakhar Bardakov skated as extras. The top line remained unchanged.
The team also had eight defensemen on the ice, which included Brent Burns, who skated for the first time since Game 5 last Wednesday. Burns was joined by regulars Devon Toews, Brett Kulak, Sam Malinski, and Josh Manson as well as Nick Blankenburg, Jack Ahcan, and Alex Gagne.
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