Mile High Sticking
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Colorado Avalanche Hockey Returns in Exhibition Against Wild

By Nadia Archuleta

DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 27: Jonas Brodin #25 of the Minnesota Wild fights for the puck against Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche in the second period at the Pepsi Center on December 27, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 27: Jonas Brodin #25 of the Minnesota Wild fights for the puck against Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche in the second period at the Pepsi Center on December 27, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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Colorado Avalanche hockey returns to the ice courtesy of the bubble in Edmonton. The Avs will face the Minnesota Wild.

The Colorado Avalanche will finally be playing hockey again! No more at-home workouts, informal practices or even training camps. Tomorrow, Colorado plays a real game against a real team.

Well, against the Minnesota Wild, so semi-real team. Nonetheless, it will be good to see some hockey again.

What do you think will happen in the game? Well, there will definitely be some working off of the rust. Did you see the Penguins game when they had essentially two full lines on the ice at the same time. I mean, some things have changed in the COVID playoffs, but not basic rules like the number of players you’re allowed to have on the ice.

Well, let’s look at some things we’d like to see in tomorrow’s exhibition game.

Cale Makar and Sam Girard

We all had a big scare when our superstud rookie Cale Makar missed a handful of training camp practices. Under the new CBA, players have even more privacy, so all we know is he was “unfit to play.”

On the Avalanche Facebook fan page, some fans were making wild speculations about blowups with the coaches, hangovers, and COVID. The first two are utterly preposterous. Makar is a choir boy — he’s not going to stomp off in a huff or show up hung over. And he left a practice, so he wouldn’t have been allowed on the ice if he had  positive COVID result.

He tweaked something. Now, he’s going to be back. Sam Girard missed the practice in Edmonton, but he’s also slated to play tomorrow.

13th Forward and 7th Defenseman

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In this lone exhibition game, the teams are allowed to play both a 13th forward and a seventh defenseman. This fact is likely so that the next man up in the case of injury can get some ice time before the real games begin.

The Avalanche’s lines were essentially set during training camp. So, who’s going to be the 13th forward. Tyson Jost. I’m going to riot if it’s not Tyson Jost. I mean, I’m rioting already that he’s not top-12, but he’s got to be the 13th forward.

So, who will be the seventh defenseman? I mean, I’d love for it to be Conor Timmins. I so want to see that kid play. I’d be up for some Bowen Byram action, too. However, judging by the roster just before the NHL pause, it will be Kevin Connauton.

Nathan MacKinnon

That’s it. I want to see our MVP. He’s been hyped up for the playoffs since this time last summer, so I want to see him in god mode again.

Personal Note

Sorry that I’ve been MIA recently. Just as things are heating up for hockey, they’re heating up for me, too.

Long story short, I’m moving out of my long-time apartment and doing a stint abroad (UAE). I’m going to try to get posting more regularly, but keep up with the content from our great contributors meanwhile!

Next. Journey to the Cup Begins. dark

The Colorado Avalanche will take on the Minnesota Wild Wednesday at 12:30 pm MT.  The game will be televised on NHLN, NHLTV, and ALT.

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