Jared Bednar and the Avalanche are riding a high entering Thursday’s return to Ball Arena.
Not only have they won four of five games on a season-long road trip — the last three of which were dominant, but they’re also welcoming new starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood. The Avs acquired him early Monday afternoon from the San Jose Sharks in a trade involving four players.
But amid the wins and positive vibes from the new goalies, Bednar provided an update on all of his injured skaters. Mostly, it’s just as expected, but the key part of the message was clear: Don’t expect any of them back anytime soon.
“The reinforcements are still a ways away and we’ve got a lot of games in very few nights here before Christmas,” Bednar told Altitude Sports Radio early Wednesday morning.
READ MORE: 10 Observations: Notable Numbers from Avalanche’s Dominating Win in Pittsburgh (+)
Jonathan Drouin is listed as week to week but is still not consistently on the ice.
“[He’s] just hitting the ice periodically, depends on how he feels,” Bednar said. “The fact that he’s not skating every day, that he’s not with our team skating. We’ll see but when he joins that. And then you’re still a few days away.”
Josh Manson is the closest to returning, according to the coach. But it’s still going to be a bit of time for him, too.
“Manson has been on the ice skating hard trying to get ready. We know that he’s got an upper-body injury so he’s able to be on the ice and do his thing,” he said.
On Miles Wood, who has missed two weeks since it was announced that he’s out month-to-month:
“His timeline is still ways away. He could be six weeks away or more,” Bednar said.
READ MORE: Avalanche Strategically Place Hopes in Blackwood’s On-Ice Potential and Character (+)
Oliver Kylington is not yet skating and per usual, no updates on captain Gabriel Landeskog.
“All of them will be grinding in the gym and rehab doing whatever they can to get ready,” Bednar said.
The plan is for the Avs to have a similar lineup to the one they’ve been using during the road trip. Following the trade with San Jose, recently acquired forward Givani Smith entered the lineup in place of Nikolai Kovalenko and Nikita Prishchepov, who alternated playing time over the last week.
With the Avs back in town for two games, Bednar expects to get further updates on the injured players on Thursday.