Defenseman Bigras in mix for opening night
A big moment could await Chris Bigras, the young Avalanche defenseman who is expected to make the opening-night roster.
Veteran defenseman Jared Cowen was released from his professional tryout contract Wednesday and Bigras, 22, appears to have separated himself from at least two other young defensemen in the quest to complete Colorado’s seven- or eight-man corps.
In the Avs’ final preseason game Thursday night in Las Vegas, Bigras will be paired with Tyson Barrie against the expansion Golden Knights at the T-Mobile Arena. Typically, the lineup from the last preseason game features the team’s top players, by position, and Bigras is believed to have a leg up on defensemen Duncan Siemens, 24, and Andrei Mironov, 23, who both will be scratched Thursday.
“I’m confident in my game right now. I’m feeling good out there,” Bigras said after practice Wednesday, when he partnered with Barrie and played with others on the power play. “I would love to make the team out of camp. I would love nothing more than that. I’ve worked really hard this summer toward that goal.”
Anton Lindholm, 22, is the fourth young defenseman in the opening-night mix, and he will partner with Erik Johnson in Las Vegas. Colorado’s other pairing will be Nikita Zadorov with David Warsofsky, coach Jared Bednar said, and veteran Mark Barbario will be scratched along with Siemens and Mironov.
The Avs are carrying 28 players and must get down to 23 by Tuesday. Forwards Joe Colborne (back) and A.J. Greer (concussion) and defenseman Sergei Boikov (shoulder) are expected to begin the season on injured reserve.
Bigras, chosen with the 32nd pick in the 2013 draft, is in his fifth Avalanche training camp. He never previously made it to the last preseason game in Las Vegas.
“That was a goal of mine, to play in this game,” Bigras said.
Bednar had this to say about Bigras: “For me, his play has gotten better and better as camp has gone on.”
Barrie, a right-handed shot, enjoys working with the left-handed Bigras, who played 31 games for the Avalanche in 2015-16 before a concussion held him back for long stretches last season.
“Biggie’s been great this camp,” Barrie said. “I know last year he had some injury trouble, which was frustrating for him. The year before that, when he was up with us, I thought he played really well. He’s a great guy and a really hard worker. I think he’s done a great job to get where he is.”
Footnotes.
Goalie Jonathan Bernier (groin) did not practice Wednesday and is day-to-day, Bednar said. Colborne skated briefly with the team but also won’t travel to Las Vegas. … The lines Thursday will feature Nathan MacKinnon centering Sven Andrighetto and Mikko Rantanen; Matt Duchene between Nail Yakupov and Alex Kerfoot; T.J. Compher with Gabe Landeskog and Colin Wilson; and wingers Matt Nieto and Blake Comeau with center Tyson Jost. The healthy scratches at forward will be Gabriel Bourque and Carl Soderberg.