CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) 鈥 The Colorado Avalanche trio of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews had an easy excuse for missing Friday's practice.
They needed a break after hoisting hockey's new trophy.聽
MacKinnon, Makar and Toews helped win over the United States in the 4 Nations game on Thursday. But there's for rest as they quickly join the Avalanche in Nashville for a game Saturday.聽
After all, they have another trophy to pursue.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar knows his talented trio will be fighting fatigue this weekend in a back-to-back situation (Nashville on Saturday, St. Louis on Sunday).
鈥淭hey鈥檙e playing for sure. No choice,鈥 explained Bednar, whose team won the Stanley Cup trophy in 2022. "I don鈥檛 love the setup of Thursday (tournament final), Saturday, Sunday afternoon, but I guess that鈥檚 the price you pay.
"I have a little bit of concern for those guys and their energy. But they鈥檙e elite. They're the best of the best. I tend to worry about them a little less.鈥
While in Nashville, Bednar plans to meet with MacKinnon, Makar and Toews to see how everything went at the new tournament. MacKinnon was selected the MVP with four goals in four games.
鈥淲e鈥檒l pick their brain a little bit,鈥 Bednar said. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l share some ideas, talk about their experience. I think it鈥檚 good for us to know some of the things they did, what they experienced, what they liked, what they didn鈥檛 like, what some of the challenges of the tournament were. It鈥檚 good to share information.鈥
Colorado could soon receive an offensive boost with (lower body) participating more and more at practice. The Russian forward 鈥 along with defenseman Josh Manson (lower body) 鈥 won鈥檛 join the squad on their two-game trip but Nichushkin could be available as soon as a home game Wednesday against New Jersey.
Nichushkin hasn鈥檛 played since Dec. 31.
鈥淥bviously, a good sign,鈥 Bednar said. "We鈥檙e building him up to get back.鈥
The 29-year-old Nichushkin missed the opening 17 games after being suspended last May for at least six months and placed in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. He made his season debut on Nov. 15 against Washington. He had 11 goals and six assists in 21 games before getting hurt.
The Avalanche, who've gone 5-4-1 over their last 10 games, are currently in wild-card position inside the Western Conference. They're 13 points behind Winnipeg in the Central Division with 25 games remaining.
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