In a perfect world, the Colorado Avalanche would have loved to give Ilya Solovyov some time to settle into his new surroundings before throwing him in a game. We live in an imperfect world, unfortunately. 

Solovyov was claimed on Oct. 3 from the Calgary Flames but has been dealing with visa issues, so he’s been forced to skate on his own due to NHL rules. On Friday, he was finally cleared to join the team for his first practice, which was a relatively short one. Girard also skated in that practice but was ruled out Saturday morning, thrusting Solovyov into game action during Colorado’s 5-4 shootout loss to the hated Dallas Stars. 

He’s so fresh to the organization that his coach might still be learning his face. 

”I don’t know him well as a player,” Jared Bednar said before Saturday’s game. 

He got a bit of a crash course on who Solovyov is later in the day. 

Solyovov’s night started off great, and his first shift was exactly what the Avalanche wanted to see from their defensemen. He pinched in twice in the offensive zone to keep the play alive for Colorado and finished his shift with a shot attempt. A few shifts later, he broke up a play near the top of the crease to stop a golden scoring chance for the Stars. 

His second was a bit more up and down, as he was caught in no-man’s land for the Stars’ second goal, and in the third period, he didn’t play a whole lot. Overall, he finished with just under 10 minutes of ice-time. 

Some good and some not-so-good. Probably what you’d expect from someone who’s only gotten one practice with the team. For now, he’s happy with some stability. 

“I just was happy that Colorado claimed me off waivers,” Solyovov said. “It’s a little bit hard when your life is changing like that, but I’m truly happy to be here.” 

Saturday night was Brent Burns’ 1,500th NHL game. For Solovyov, it was NHL game number 16. A slight difference, to say the least.  

The two of them spent some time together in the game as a pairing, which must have been a surreal experience for the 25-year-old defenseman. 

“I look at him when I was eight years old and he play against Russia in Quebec at World Championships and right now it’s crazy to share the locker room with these guys,” Solovyov said. 

Avalanche fans (and the coaching staff) got a bit of an idea on how the native of Belarus plays, and it looked like how he described himself. 

“I’m kind of (a) good defensive defenseman. Try to block a lot of shots, try to help my goalie, and try to help the guys win the games,” Solovyov said. 

“(I’m a) pretty simple guy.” 

Stars 5, Avalanche 4 

What happened: A wild 65 minutes of hockey ended in an unsatisfying shootout with Mikko Rantanen scoring the shootout winner. This game probably gave Avalanche fans PTSD because it looked awfully familiar. 

What went right: The Martin Necas/Nathan MacKinnon combination is off to a great start, as they have combined for 12 points through three games. If Necas is betting on himself in a contract year, it looks like he’s made a pretty good bet. 

What went wrong: After stealing the game the other night against Utah, Scott Wedgewood had an off-night and was outplayed by Jake Oettinger, who was really the only reason the game went to a shootout. He made two incredible stops on Necas to keep the game going. This was your classic Avalanche/Stars game where Dallas just takes advantage of the opportunities they get. “I’d be fine if I never saw them again,” Bednar said after the game. The two teams won’t meet again until March. 

Avalanche goal scorers: Necas (3), Brindley (1), Lehkonen (2), MacKinnon (2) 

Stars goal scorers: Harley (1), Bastian (1), Robertson (2), Johnston (2) 

Between the pipes: Scott Wedgewood stopped 18 of 22 shots in the loss. 

What’s next: The Avalanche hit the road for two games, starting in Buffalo on Monday afternoon at 10:30 a.m.