NIKITA ZADOROV SCRATCHED ON OPENING NIGHT
YORK» Avalanche defenseman NEW Nikita Zadorov was originally pegged to play with Erik Johnson on the top pairing. But instead he didn’t play at all Thursday night in the season opener against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Zadorov, a healthy scratch, missed a week of training camp after finally signing his two-year contract extension Sept. 15, a day after veterans reported. The Russian was delayed because of immigration papers and didn’t join the team until Sept. 22.
But at that time, coach Jared Bednar said he expected Zadorov and Johnson to make up Colorado’s top pairing.
After the Avs’ morning skate, Bednar said about scratching Zadorov, 22: “It’s just based on what we’ve seen through training camp. He came in a little late and has some catching up to do, and we’ve liked what some of those other guys have done. So that’s the lineup we decided on.”
That lineup could be the worst in the NHL from a defensive standpoint. Mark Barberio, claimed off waivers from Montreal last season, partnered with Johnson. And Patrik Nemeth, who was claimed off waivers Tuesday from Dallas, played with Tyson Barrie on the second pairing.
The third twosome featured Chris Bigras, 22, who has played in just 31 NHL games, and rookie Andrei Mironov, 23, a Russian who had never played in North America.
“You know our D-corp is young,” Bednar said when asked if has concerns regarding inexperience. “So we’re going to have young guys in every night. Is it a concern? I think the guys are going to prove they can get the job done.”
Harvard linemates.
Secondyear Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey played three years at Harvard on a line with Avalanche rookie Alex Kerfoot, who made his NHL debut. Vesey was the Crimson’s captain in 2015-16 and Kerfoot wore the C last season.
Vesey and Kerfoot had dinner in Manhattan on Wednesday night.
“It’s obviously cool,” Kerfoot said of playing against Vesey. “And I can’t think of a better place to play my first game than at Madison Square Garden. I went to dinner with (Vesey) last night and tried to catch up a little bit. He had a great year last year, established himself now. I’m trying to do the same.”
Footnotes.
Along with Zadorov, forwards Carl Soderberg and Joe Colborne were healthy scratches for the Avalanche. Colborne cleared waivers Thursday morning but was assigned to San Antonio of the American Hockey League. Combined, the Avalanche had $9.4 million in scratched salary from Soderberg ($4.75 million), Colborne ($2.5 million) and Zadorov ($2.15 million). … Former Avalanche defenseman Nick Holden was a healthy scratch for the Rangers. Former Avs forward Paul Carey played on New York’s fourth line. And former Colorado defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk made his debut with New York.