Inside the Locker Room: Holiday Break Important for Avs

The holidays are among us and the Avalanche are excited to be home. Some players didn’t have time to decorate since they were on the road, while others left it to their families.

Sam Malinski said he loves Christmas but didn’t get a chance to decorate his place. He is looking forward to spending the holiday with his family at their home, which will be festively decorated with a tree and all the bells and whistles.

The Avs have been on the road for 27 of the last 37 days and are happy to be settled back home.

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“It’s for sure, nice to be home. That was a long stretch. I know guys are battling some sicknesses, just probably got started from being on the road and all that travel and whatever,” Malinski said ahead of the matchup with the Kraken. “We’re excited to be home, and we want to perform in front of our crowd.”

It was an entertaining win with a hat trick from Joel Kiviranta, a three-point night from Cale Makar, and two-point games from Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon.

“With us coming off the road, it’s not like we got a ton of rest just getting in yesterday (Dec. 21),” head coach Jared Bednar said after morning skate on Sunday. “We got to finish strong, right? We’re finally getting a break, a well-deserved break.”

Bednar said the illness circulating through the team seems to have run its course. However, some guys have lingering issues, so the rest time will be good for them.

“It’s a needed break. We still have a couple guys with injuries that we want to get back, so to gain a couple days here will be huge for us, and a lot of sickness on the team too,” Makar said after the win over Seattle. “So I think this break comes at a good time for us. Everybody’s got to stay dialed right over the break, but I’ve never been here to have that extra day (not to play) on the 23rd, so it’s nice.”

Makar said he is a “big Christmas guy,” but the time away from home made it harder to get into the festive mood. Hopefully, he managed to decorate his space before Christmas so he could enjoy the season properly with his family.

It will be a beneficial break for the team to rest and recover. With the Christmas holiday break behind them, the Avs need to bring refreshed energy and continue the winning momentum it had before the few days off.

Colorado faces off against the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City on Friday at 7:30 p.m. I am traveling for this matchup and will bring Colorado Hockey Now readers an exclusive look into an Avalanche road game.

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• 10 Observations: Rantanen Feeds Kiviranta the Puck, the Media; Avalanche Win Over Seattle