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Sunday’s practice and Monday’s morning skate were optional for Colorado Avalanche players and not many players hit the ice. That’s not to say those who weren’t on skates weren’t doing anything — some were in the gym or working on other areas of their game, and some may have taken the time to rest. For those who were on the ice, it helped them prepare for the matchup against the New York Islanders Monday night.
“I think it goes both ways (mental and physical). I’m pretty inconsistent if I go out or not, just depends on how you’re feeling that day,” Avs second-line center Casey Mittelstadt said. “It’s been nice. I think having an option is good and guys can get what they need.”
Why some #GoAvsGo players hit the ice for an optional morning skate pic.twitter.com/GIPk5KfEFY
— Colleen Flynn (@CHNFlynn) October 14, 2024
Nikolai Kovalenko said he is focused on getting a win after he skated for a bit at the morning skate. He will likely play with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen again on the top line but may also shift around as head coach Jared Bednar did with his lines in the 6-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
“I just want to skate for couple minutes, like five, 10 minutes,” Kovalenko said. “Just feeling my body, feeling my skates, sticks, arms so to shoot.”
What’s The Reason For Optionals?
Optional practices and morning skates were not very frequent last season but Bednar said some players are developing new routines with this schedule.
“Some of our guys want to skate, so we’re giving them the option to go on, and some guys are implementing other morning routines. Alexi (Pianosi) has a lot to do with that, our strength coach. Some guys can get some quality lifts in in the morning, and there’s science behind it, and there’s things that he wants to accomplish with guys throughout the course of the year.
“Training camp’s a long time, lots of practice, especially for our top guys that don’t play a lot of games through exhibition, and I think it’s good for them to just kind of relax and focus on the task at hand tonight,” Bednar said.
