Defensemen Brad Stuart (head and neck) and Jan Hejda (knee), banged up in the final stages of the Avalanche’s victory over Dallas Saturday, will play Monday night against the Arizona Coyotes at the Pepsi Center.
“They had a good morning skate and they’re ready to go,” Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said.
Roy confirmed that winger Daniel Briere and defenseman Stefan Elliott will be the Colorado healthy scratches in the third game of a four-game homestand.
The inclement weather in the Denver area created troublesome driving conditions for the Avalanche players who live on the south side of the metro area, near the team’s Centennial practice rink. Yes, most of them were raised in locales where the Colorado conditions of Monday are commonplace, but they made two round trips to the Pepsi Center on game day.
But Roy said he didn’t consider calling off the morning skate, or making it optional.
“Because yesterday we stayed in the gym (for off-ice workouts), I thought it was good for us to be on the ice,” Roy said. “But it seems like the guys like to be in the morning skate, to feel the puck. We were there 20 minutes, 30 minutes max, and the guys like that. I try to adapt to what they like in making sure we do whatever we can to let them be prepared for the game.”
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or
