Craig Anderson flitted between the Avalanche’s player lounge and dressing room Tuesday, a plate of pasta and salad in his hand, ready to share a meal with several teammates. All that looked pleasant enough, but what didn’t look good was Anderson’s heavily wrapped upper left thigh — and his limp.
Anderson, the goaltending star of the Avalanche’s first two games, missed practice Tuesday with a groin pull. The team said the injury is minor and that there is a good chance he will resume practice today.
Anderson apparently felt a strain after Saturday’s game with Vancouver. If he doesn’t practice today, Peter Budaj likely would be the starter in Colorado’s next game, Thursday at Nashville.
Anderson, 28, has no history of serious groin injuries. He stopped 73-of-75 shots, including 35 in a shutout Saturday, through the first two games.
Hannan upbeat.
What is the motto of this season’s Avalanche, at least to defenseman Scott Hannan?
“I think we all just have something to prove,” Hannan said. “I think we did a good job all coming to camp in good shape, ready to work hard.”
Hannan, in the third year of a four-year, $18 million contract, has found all the new youth on this year’s team refreshing. The Avs have the fourth youngest team in the NHL, at an average of 26.9 years old. Much of the youth is up front, whereas three of the current top six defensemen are 30 or older.
Hannan turned 30 in January but feels the team defense isn’t too old.
“I think there’s a pretty good ratio on the team. Some of our guys have been around awhile, so you want to pass things on to the young guys,” Hannan said. “And from what I’ve seen, our real young guys are pretty smart hockey players. They’re good in their own end and responsible out there, and it’s exciting. We’ve got to just stick to hard work. We’re going to have our ups and downs in the season, but if we stay the course for most of the game, I think we’ll be all right. The young guys are bringing a lot of energy, and as long as we’re there to support each other all the time, I think that’s going to be a big key.”
Hannan was a team-worst minus-21 last season and would like to forget about it.
“Nobody is going to be a plus-30 or anything on a team that finishes last,” he said. “It was just a bad year for all of us. You can say we were done in by injuries, but the fact is, the year happened, and we don’t want to go through that again.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
