Avalanche approaches one-year anniversary of final pre-COVID game

Not quite halfway through the NHL’s 2021 season, Thursday will mark the one-year anniversary of the Avalanche’s last home game played before fans. On March 11, 2020, the Avs used an overtime goal from J.T. Compher to defeat the New York Rangers 3-2 before a sellout Pepsi Center crowd of 18,025. The next day, the
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Avalanche completes sweep of Coyotes before fans at Gila River Arena

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Playing facing fans for the first time in almost a year, the Avalanche collected two wins and a maximum four points at consecutive-night games at Gila River Arena. Colorado finished the sweep Saturday with a 6-2 triumph against the Arizona Coyotes, who led in the 2 games which comprised limited fans but
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Avalanche’s third-line, J.T. Compher thriving with Coyotes playoff series ahead

Avalanche forward J.T. Compher skates to an opposing goaltender’s crease on a mission to create havoc on the forecheck, and even if it’s ugly, to put in the puck. “That’s how you score goals,” Compher said. “Getting to the net.” Colorado’s third-line center is more than just talk. Remember Saturday? In the Avs’ 4-3 overtime
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Avalanche’s Tyson Jost enters NHL restart with confidence: “I want to be in the lineup”

Avalanche ahead Tyson Jost will restart the NHL season in Edmonton just a brief drive. However, his family was canceled by the coronavirus pandemic. “I’ll be about 15 minutes down the road from them, but I won’t see them for two and a half a year,” Jost said. “That’will be bizarre. It s bothersome. …
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Cale Makar progressing toward return to Avalanche training camp

Cale Makar performed individual on-ice drills Thursday before Avalanche practice in a signal that Colorado’s standout rookie defenseman is nearing a return to training camp. Makar, one of three finalists for NHL rookie of the year, has not skated with the team since Saturday after being listed “unfit” to play; with league policy prohibiting teams
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Cale Makar absence spotlights Avalanche’s defensive depth in training camp

Day 3 of “Cale Makar Watch” concluded at Pepsi Center on Wednesday with still no indication of Colorado’s NHL rookie-of-the-year finalist in Avalanche training camp. The Avs designated Makar as simply “unfit” to play — under a new NHL policy made to safeguard player’s medical privacy amid the coronavirus pandemic — following a Saturday practice
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Conor Timmins making case for Avalanche roster spot in Edmonton NHL bubble

Conor Timmins’ rookie opinion at Avalanche training camp was powerful in 2017 that coach Jared Bednar faced a choice: Jumpstart rsquo & the second-round defenseman;s NHL career? Or ship him back to juniors for evolution? Colorado played it safe but knew his future was bright. “We had discussions about him playing (us),” Bednar said. “That’so
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Avalanche coach Jared Bednar has practice tirade; star rookie Cale Makar skates off early

Jared Bednar was animated as he’s probably ever been in his four decades as Avalanche head coach Saturday, at Day 5 of the training camp 2.0 in Pepsi Center. Bednar stopped an end-to-end 5-on-5 and unleashed an obscenity-laced tirade that included his concern about checking, the restricted practices remaining ahead of the Avs’ Aug. 2
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Avalanche gets taste of what’s to come in scrimmages inside empty Pepsi Center

The Avalanche got a taste on Thursday of what it would feel like next month when the Western Conference playoffs unfold prior to no fans at 18,500-seat Rogers Place in Edmonton. For the first time because NHL training camps started Monday, the Avs maintained a scrimmage in a vacant Pepsi Center. “Obviously, it’so quiet, but
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Finnish forward Joonas Donskoi chose Avalanche in free agency last summer. He’s now having a career year.

A bit more than a year later choosing the Avalanche, Finnish winger Joonas Donskoi can unequivocally say totally free service went well for him. Donskoi, who played in the Western Conference finals last year with the San Jose Sharks, is currently preparing for the play with a group many believe may win the Stanley Cup.
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