The Avs (74 points) currently sit four points behind the Arizona Coyotes (78 points), who hold the eighth seed in the West. The Stars are in the first wild-card spot with 80 points, while the Wild is ninth in the conference with 77 points but has played one more game than the teams around it.
Before heading to the airport to begin the trip, Colorado hosted an optional practice at Family Sports Center on Monday. Eight players participated in the on-ice activities, utilizing the opportunity to get some extra fine-tuning in before traveling to Minnesota.
One of the players who partook in the session was rookie defenseman Ryan Graves. He played on Sunday against the Devils after being a healthy scratch in the three previous games. Part of the reason why he returned to the lineup was because head coach Jared Bednar used a non-traditional game roster of 11 forwards and seven rear guards in the contest.
"One of the reasons why I wanted to go seven D yesterday is that I just kind of felt that we have some forwards that can give us more and wanted a little bit more opportunity," said Bednar. "This is the time of the year where we have to lean on guys that we feel that can get it done. So, it's more opportunity for [Tyson] Jost, [Alexander] Kerfoot, Mikko [Rantanen].
"It's also if you look at the game last night, everyone probably played with everyone at some point. You know, we had our lines set with [Derick] Brassard, [Nathan] MacKinnon, [J.T.] Compher and [Carl Sodberg's] line, same thing. They played some time together, but they also played with everyone else in the lineup. There's something about that that just kind of takes you out of your routine--you're playing center sometimes, wing at other times. It becomes difficult, but it helps you stay focused and I think it can give them a little juice too as a lineup because you're playing with someone new every shift."
Following Monday's optional practice, the Avalanche announced that forward A.J. Greer was recalled from the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League. Greer has generated two points (one goal, one assist) in 15 contests with the Avs this season. He ranks second on AHL Colorado with 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 46 outings this year.
