Colorado Avalanche don’t mess with formula as they prepare for four games in California
There were two more defensemen waiting in the wings when the Colorado Avalanche headed out for a four-game road trip through Southern California after practice Monday.
Erik Johnson, who has played for Colorado longer than anyone on the current roster, is back with the team after missing training camp and the first two games because of a positive COVID-19 test. The Avalanche have the luxury of health and depth, and don’t need to rush him back.
After practice Sunday, coach Jared Bednar called Johnson and Bowen Byram the eighth and ninth defensemen. Conor Timmins will retain his spot in the top six for the start of the California swing, at least while the pair get acclimated.
“You’ve got a lot of work to do to catch up to guys who have been grinding for two weeks,” Bednar said of Johnson.
Byram had to quarantine before joining the Avs on Sunday but it isn’t like he hasn’t played high-level hockey in a long while. Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard watched Byram’s progress at the World Junior Championships, where his Canadian team took silver.
“He’s a good defenseman. He’s got good vision,” Girard said.
As the end of his quarantine period neared, Johnson watched Colorado turn in two very different performances. In a sloppy 4-1 opener loss to St. Louis, Johnson said he thought the Avalanche “believed the hype” about themselves. But in the rematch two nights later, the Avs “put the work first.”
“I was happy to see the guys respond the way they did and I’m looking forward to joining them,” Johnson said.
Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon will stay together on the top line for the time being. As well as the Avalanche played Friday in an 8-0 thrashing of the Blues that had an All-Star Game feel at times, Bednar said it didn’t much matter who Landeskog went out with.
Colorado’s first road trip of the season features four games in six nights — two in Los Angeles, two in Anaheim. The team will stay mostly confined to its hotels.
“I kind of enjoy the road trips, just spend time with the boys,” forward Andre Burakovsky said, strange as this one may be.
Historic night for Colorado Avalanche and stars Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen