Avs prepare for morning skate at the Xcel Energy Center, waiting for the ice to set up — the calm before the storm:
ST. PAUL, MINN. — The Avalanche had a good hop Thursday morning in preparation for the ensuing 8 p.m. local time season opener against the Minnesota Wild. Click for a game-day update focusing on the Tyson Barrie/Avs-Matt Cooke rematch on the same ice Cooke delivered that knee-on-knee hit in Game 3 of the playoffs that ended Barrie’s season and led to Colorado’s demise.
Here’s what Wild coach Mike Yeo had to say after Minnesota’s skate: “You’re starting with a rivalry right off the hop. It’s going to force us to be good. We know they’re going to be good. We have a lot of respect for that team over there … There’s much to do about the fact that we’re playing Colorado (in the season opener) and I have to imagine they’re feeling the same way as us, that his is not Game 8 of the playoffs here. This is Game 1 of the regular season. What happened last year was last year. I think we want to leave it behind just us as much as they want to leave it behind them.”
Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu:
Avalanche end-to-end drills:
