Darcy Kuemper “good to go”

Positive news out of Avalanche practice today: Darcy Kuemper is back, and Jared Bednar said he is “good to go” in resuming his playoff game action.

If the St. Louis Blues eliminate the Minnesota Wild tonight in Game 6 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, they will play the Avs in the second round. We still don’t know when Game 1 will start. While Saturday would have seemed the logical day, if the Blues win tonight, there are whispers that the series might not start until Monday, regardless of what happens tonight.

If the Wild win tonight (and it’ll be Cam Talbot in goal for Minnesota, not Marc-Andre Fleury), it would be highly probable Round 2 would start Monday.

Kuemper was not made available to the media, but Bednar said all the encouraging things you’d hope for in discussing his health.

“Everything looks good,” Bednar said.

Bednar said the only issue Darcy Kuemper had with his right eye was the swelling around it. There is nothing wrong with the cornea, etc.

Kemps making a save pic.twitter.com/a5zKsDSaH0

— Adrian Dater (@adater) May 12, 2022

“I liked our practice today. Short and sweet. Tomorrow, we’ll probably go a little harder and heavier,” Bednar. “We’re eager to figure out who we’re playing.”

Bednar said he mostly did yard work the last couple days. He said it was a “good mental break” for him and the team, but now it’s back to business.

The Avs had a fully healthy lineup on the ice today. Nobody is on the injured list. Bednar said he “has a pretty good idea” of who will play in Game 1. But, in keeping with his new policy, he’s not divulging the lineup to the media.