Bo is Back: Byram Will Return to Lineup Tuesday Against Penguins

There’s something about the Pittsburgh Penguins for Bowen Byram.

Last April, Byram returned from his head injury to take on the Penguins. On Tuesday, he will return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup after missing the last three months due to a lower body injury.

“I was just happy it wasn’t my head,” the 21 year old said (with a laugh) after Sunday’s practice. “It was a lot easier to be out when you’re still feeling good and feel like yourself. You know, a limb is kind of ‘whatever’, so yeah, it was nice.”

Jared Bednar knew Byram was getting close before the team went off on their break, but they wanted him to have that extra week to get prepared.

“He’s ready to go,” Bednar said. “He was probably knocking on the door before the break. We just felt like rushing him back to play one game or two games right before the break wasn’t the best idea considering how long he’s been out.”

The original timeline on Byram was “week to week”, but Byram said nothing really went wrong during recovery.

“It’s a finicky injury,” he said. “You don’t really know what the timeline is. It took me two and a half months, and that’s what it is.”

The addition of Byram will be a large boost to the defensive group, and in particular, the top defensive pair who have been forced to play heavy minutes this season.

“Guys like Cale and Toews have been playing 25 plus every night, so it takes a toll on you eventually,” Byram said. “Just come in and hopefully make their job a little easier.”

Byram will not be taking it easy, either.

“I’m 100%, so no reason to ease into it.”

Other News and Notes

• Valeri Nichushkin is also good to go, and will be in the lineup on Tuesday.
• Josh Manson did not skate, but that doesn’t mean he had a setback. “He skated over the break a little bit. He’s making progress. He’ll be back on the ice here in the next couple of days.” He may go on the road trip with the team.
• Gabriel Landeskog is still expected to return to skating soon. “We don’t have a nailed down date on when he’s coming back yet, but it will be fairly soon.”
• Darren Helm skated before practice for a little bit in the first step towards his potential return.