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Avalanche Practice: Cale Makar is Back, Josh Manson Will Miss ‘Some Time’

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More to come soon on the quiet trade deadline for the Colorado Avalanche, but on Friday, there was good news and bad news on the injury front.

The good news? Cale Makar will be back in the lineup against the Dallas Stars.

After practice, the reigning Norris Trophy winner spoke to the media and declared himself good to go. Jared Bednar later confirmed that he’ll be back in the lineup Saturday.

Makar talked about both of the hits that have caused him to miss most of the last month.

“Looking back, both hits, I’ve never had those in my life,” Makar said. “Just never taken a hit straight to the head before, and then the second one, I’ve never had somebody try and reach over me before, so it was just unfortunate.”

After the second hit, Makar’s initial concern was his nose, as it was bleeding pretty heavily. Outside of that, he felt fine.

“I’m not going to put myself in a position where I can hurt myself more,” Makar said. “I felt good getting back out there.”

It wasn’t until the next day that the symptoms started to show up for him. He came to the rink Sunday with a headache, and the Avalanche sat him. This isn’t abnormal with head injuries.

“Everybody’s different,” Makar said when it comes to head injuries. “For me, the couple that I’ve had in the past, they don’t usually show up until the next day. For me, in both circumstances, I felt good in the room, and then going back out, it was just kind of a feeling where I felt comfortable.”

Makar went out and skated soon after re-entering protocol. That’s all part of the recovery process.

“A lot of it is on you as well, and how you’re feeling,” Makar said. “You’re trying to manage getting your heart rate to certain points. But at the same time, there’s so much research now where once you get that heart rate up, it can really help the recovery process.”

The Avalanche will need Makar back on Saturday. Why? Well, here comes the bad news: Josh Manson will, once again, miss time due to injury.

We asked Jared Bednar how Manson was feeling after he left the game against the Devils early.

“Not great,” he responded. “He’s out. He’s going to miss some time. It’s related to the injury he just had.”

The Avalanche did not have a timeframe on the injury, but when asked it was week-to-week, Bednar said “possibly.”

Valeri Nichushkin also did not skate, but this time it was due to illness. They aren’t sure if he’s going to travel with the team to Dallas.

New goaltender Keith Kinkaid was at practice, but don’t be surprised if Alexandar Georgiev starts both games for the Avalanche this weekend. Georgiev was just named the NHLPA Player of the Week.

The Avalanche will face-off against the Dallas Stars on Saturday. The game starts at 1:30 PM MST.

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