The Avalanche didn’t have a morning skate again Wednesday, but the players still reported to the Pepsi Center and met, looked at video and did optional aerobic work. That’s going to continue to be the norm for the Avs for the foreseeable future, coach Patrick Roy said.
“It’s something we thought about, and we talked to the leaders of the team,” Roy said. “We sat down with (captain Gabe Landeskog), and we talked about it. We’re part of the top three teams in the league that travel the most, and I think along the way it’s going to pay off. … We want them to come (to the arena). It gives us an opportunity to do all our videos in the morning.”
The Avalanche has its first road trip coming up, with games at Anaheim on Friday and Los Angeles on Sunday. The Avs won’t go to the arenas for the morning meetings and video, doing it instead at the team hotels. In some cities where the team hotel is very close to the arena, the Avalanche might do the morning work at the game site, but that will be the exception rather than the rule.
“Quite honestly, I think it’s something that especially on the road, if we’re far from the rink, we might save an hour of the bus — 30 minutes going, 30 minutes back,” Roy said. “I don’t think we need that. We just need to focus on our game and save our energy and be ready when the puck drops, whatever the time is.”
Soderberg faces ex-teammates
Carl Soderberg didn’t make the move from the Swedish Elite League to the NHL until he was 27, joining the Boston Bruins late in the 2012-13 season.
After he played the next two full seasons with Boston, gained a foothold in North America and was on the verge of unrestricted free agency, the Bruins essentially couldn’t fit him under the salary cap. Boston traded his rights to Colorado and the Avalanche signed him to a five-year, $23.75 million contract.
Soderberg played against Boston for the first time Wednesday. He has been centering the line between rookie Mikko Rantanen and Borna Rendulic and going into Wednesday night, had two assists in two games.
“I’m fitting in pretty good,” he said. “It’s a different game, but I’m fitting in. The Bruins, it’s more defense, here it’s a skill game and faster. It’s different and I can adjust to that.”
