Fear not, Avalanche fans. The cavalry should be back before the playoffs begin.

The team practiced Monday absent several key players, including Martin Necas, Josh Manson and Jonathan Drouin. The former two skated in non-contact jerseys prior to the full team hitting the ice, while the latter never touched the ice at all.

Sam Girard, who has missed the last three games, skated with the team for about 25 minutes before calling it an early day.

The good news is there’s a possibility for all of them to play before the regular season ends.

“Still all day-to-day for all of them,” Jared Bednar said after practice. “Hoping to get all of them playing this week at some point. I’d like to get all of them in this week, which I think is a possibility.”

Nathan MacKinnon was the only other regular to not skate, but the team has been managing his workload for a few weeks now.

If none of the injured players are able to get into a game before Sunday’s regular-season finale, there will be plenty of time for them to get ready for the playoffs, which won’t begin until April 19 at the earliest. There’s going to be quite a gap between Colorado taking on Anaheim Sunday and their first playoff game.

“With some of the injuries we have, probably will come in helpful,” Bednar said of the break. “Gives you good time to rest and prepare. You don’t need to pack three meetings into one day getting ready for the series. Team will be prepared, and we’ll have good practice days and we’ll have some rest days in there as well.”

Ovechkin breaks the record

Alexander Ovechkin became the greatest goal scorer in NHL history on Sunday, and everyone was watching.

“Crazy. I mean, unbelievable,” Brock Nelson said. “I had a couple of people text me, ask me if I thought he was going to do it, and I said, ‘Yeah.’ This year’s been incredible for what he’s accomplished at his age. Broken leg, missing games, and then the rate he’s still scoring is pretty remarkable. Pretty special and incredible to watch.”

Nelson has been keeping a close eye on his former team, so of course he was going to watch the game. But he wasn’t alone.

“I thought it was awesome,” Bednar said. “Very well done. I’m glad they paused the game and had the ceremony because I think it’s something that should be celebrated. Incredible career to this point.”