DETROIT’S ARENA A REAL BEAUTY

DETROIT» The Avalanche arrived in Detroit around 2 a.m. Sunday after playing Saturday night in Nashville. The Avs, who lost 5-2 at Bridgestone Arena, didn’t have a morning skate and had not much time to tour the new Little Caesars Arena, but by all accounts, the $862.9 million facility is the new standard among American hockey rinks.

“I haven’t seen the whole thing yet, but it’s pretty nice,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said in a pregame interview. “Brand-spanking new.”

Little Caesars Arena opened a year after the Edmonton Oilers moved into their new digs, Rexall Place, which cost approximately $600 million (Canadian).

The Avs were completing a two-game trip, and playing their third game in four nights. “Today’s a swing game,” Bednar said. “You win it, and it’s a good week. If you lose it, it’s a bad week. And if you get a point out of it, it’s just OK and you’re keeping pace.”

Odd-man out. Rookie defenseman Andrei Mironov, despite producing his first career goal and first multi-point game Saturday, was scratched in favor of fellow youngster Chris Bigras. Mironov, 23, has played in seven of Colorado’s 18 games. Bigras 22, has played in 13.

“We have seven D, and some of them are real young,” Bednar said. “So we’ll keep rotating and see if someone can grab a spot and be real consistent at what they do.”