Bednar says Avalanche Colorado defensemen should be ready for Game 1

avalanche colorado head coach Jared Bednar said most, if not all, of four defensemen should be available for Game 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Brent Burns missed practice ahead of the Western Conference finals, while Josh Manson and Sam Malinski were limited on the ice.

Bednar’s group is still dealing with the fallout of a playoff stretch that has already changed the pairings. Cale Makar and Devon Toews finished the regular season with Brett Kulak on the top pair, and the Toews-Makar duo has produced 61.50% of expected goals together this postseason.

Bednar’s defense pairings

Toews leads the Avalanche defense core with eight points. Makar has five points this postseason, including four goals, and Bednar said he only skates in games at this point.

Kulak saw the most time with Malinski through the first seven playoff games. Malinski then became a surprise scratch with an upper-body injury in Game 4 of the Wild series, and Manson was injured first.

Vegas blue line

The Golden Knights bring their own structure to the series. Shea Theodore leads their defense with nine points and four goals and serves as the top power play quarterback, while Brayden McNabb is expected back after a one-game suspension.

Noah Hanifin has six assists and, with Rasmus Andersson, plays well over 20 minutes a night. Dylan Coghlan and Ben Hutton round out the depth, and Jeremy Lauzon has been sidelined since early May after taking a puck to the body.

For Colorado, the immediate read is simple: if Bednar gets those four defensemen back, the Avalanche can keep the Makar-Toews pair from carrying an even heavier load against Vegas’s top defenders.