Preseason for the Avalanche officially opens up on Monday as Colorado will host the Dallas Stars at Ball Arena. When the puck drops, expect to see one of Alexandar Georgiev or Justus Annunen in net.

Although Jared Bednar didn’t sound like he was 100% sure on what he wanted to do in preseason just yet.

“That’s a good question,” he said.

I don’t have a lot of those.

“Probably get them into like three games each, but not three full games,” he said. “A couple full ones, maybe another half. Maybe, yeah. Two and a half each would be ideal.”

Although it sounds like he might have made that up on the spot, it’s similar to what has been done in recent years. Probably not good news for the other goalies in camp looking to make an impression in games because they might just get 30 minutes to do so.

Lehkonen Update

Artturi Lehkonen continues to skate on his own with Toby Petersen ahead of the main groups, and appears to be making progress, but the team is going to take it slow. While it doesn’t sound like he’s officially been ruled out for the opening game of the season, Bednar is operating under the assumption that he won’t be ready.

“It could be close,” he said. “I’m planning on him being out until he’s in full contact and doing practices, and then if he’s in, great. We want to give him as much time as possible. The surgery was extensive.”

Odds And Ends From Practice

• Ondrej Pavel also skated before practice in a non-contract jersey, but it’s pretty clear he’s dealing with a left hand/arm issue. He won’t hold his stick with his left hand.
• Today was mostly special teams work, so nothing terribly exciting after everyone got to scrimmage on Saturday. With no Lehkonen, Casey Mittelstadt stepped in on the top powerplay unit, giving it a different look. I imagine Lehkonen will take that spot once he’s back to health.
• While we don’t have a clear idea on what the lineup will look like on Monday, expect to see a lot of younger players. Some veterans that looked like they might be in the lineup on Monday are Erik Brannstrom, Oliver Kylington, Calle Rosen, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and Joel Kiviranta.
• Expect Tuesday to be an off-day for the Avalanche after a lot of work in camp.