The Avalanche’s morning skate — in advance of its 8 p.m. meeting with the Boston Bruins — was optional, and 13 skaters plus backup goatender Calvin Pickard were on the ice.
“When you’re playing a lot of games, 14 in 26 days, then what we try to do is if we practice the day before, we’ll give an optional,” said Avalanche coach Patrick Roy. “That’s the way we’re going to be. If we have a day off the day before, then we’re going to have a morning skate, making sure everybody touches the ice. That’s the objective.”
The Bruins will be playing their second game in as many nights, after beating the Stars 3-1 at Dallas Tuesday. Colorado is coming off a 1-2-2 road trip that concluded with a on Monday. After the game Wednesday night, the Avalanche will scatter and reconvene following the all-star break for a 2 p.m. Monday practice before traveling to Nashville to face the surprising Predators the next night.
Colorado will go into Wednesday’s game five points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“We’re just going to focus on our start, that’s what we’ve been saying this morning and yesterday, that’s what we’ve been saying to our guys,” Roy said. “The start of the game will be very important for us. The Bruins are playing very good hockey lately and it seems like they are back on the winning track. We are going to have to be ready for them at the start of the game.”
Roy said he hadn’t presented any mandates for what the players — other than Erik Johnson, who is playing in the All-Star Game — do doing their free time on the four-day break.
“No, nothing,” Roy said. “Obviously, they’re professional and I think they all look at the schedule. We have Nashville coming back away and home, and I think it’s going to be important for us to make sure we’re ready when we come back, but no, nothing.”
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or twitter.com/TFrei
