Mega Avs Notebook: Martin Kaut called up

Getting to this meaty notebook a bit late, as Mrs. Dater is out of town and my hair has been on fire trying to be Chef Gordon Ramsey and Mr. Goodwrech around here. So, the Avs returned to practice today, and here are all the tidbits:

• Martin Kaut called up to the Avs from the Colorado Eagles. He’s on the trip and may play starting tomorrow night in the city of the Gateway Arch.
• That’s, St. Louis.
• Jared Bednar said he’s gotten a lot of good feedback on “Kauter” from the Eagles, and deserved the callup.
• I’m gonna go ahead and bet Kauter is in the lineup for this game, especially with Mikko Rantanen out.
• The good news on Rants: he didn’t actually test positive for Covid. He was likely just exposed to someone who had it.
• But, if all goes well, Bednar said, Rantanen could return toward the end of this trip.
• Avs had their schedule rejiggered by the NHL today, and basically the next four games are these, barring something else that messes it up: At St. Louis tomorrow, Sat. and Mon. Then, at Vegas on Wednesday.
• That game between Avs and Blues on Monday was supposed to have been an Avs game in Vegas,  but that game has been postponed to May 10.
• I’ll be in Vegas for the game Wednesday. I was going to cover the game Monday there too, but I guess I’ll have to pass the time studying my Bible that night instead. I’m also slated to cover the games in San Jose early next month. Thanks for your Tip Jar donations that help make these things easier. You wanna chip in too? I won’t stop you. I’ll be game-planning travel for the playoffs soon too.
• Bednar strongly indicated that Devan Dubnyk will start tomorrow.
• Bednar said that Philipp Grubauer may still be out of action another 10-14 days. I thought he could come off the Covid list sooner, and may he will, but that’s the time frame the coach said.
• Bednar said Patrik Nemeth will play tomorrow.
• Nemeth said he’s “really excited” to be back with the team, and that because the Avs still have their core group of guys around from when he last played here, he thinks it’ll make for a lot easier transition.
• Bednar said he hopes “George Floyd and his family can now find some peace” after yesterday’s guilty verdict.
• Bednar said Bo Byram is working out, but hasn’t skated with the team yet. He isn’t going on this long road trip either.
• Looking at Nemeth on the Zoom call, he looked like he had noticeably less body fat than when he was last here. Looks like he’s in damn good shape, far as I could tell.
• Bednar said the condition of the ice at Ball Arena for practice today was not good. He seemed to indicate it might have been partially responsible for a less-than-impressive practice.
• Bednar, when asked if he was bothered that his team was now in second place, largely because his team hasn’t been able to play any games lately and Vegas has, said:

Jared Bednar says: "I'll be honest, I don't even look at the standings. I haven't looked at them in months. All I care about are the standings at the end"

— Adrian Dater (@adater) April 21, 2021

• Bednar said he hasn’t fully decided on his 18 skaters for tomorrow.