Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov left today’s Game 4 loss to the Avalanche after a Nate Schmidt slapshot hit him in the side of the head in the middle of the third period. He remained on the ice for nearly a minute and was able to skate off with the assistance of trainers, not requiring a stretcher. He’s still been transported to a Denver hospital for evaluation, reports Guerilla Sports’ Jesse Montano. Winnipeg head coach Rick Bowness had no update on Namestnikov’s health postgame other than confirming he was taken to a hospital. The 31-year-old had a goal and a -2 rating in the f ..read more

The Avalanche have added winger Nikolai Kovalenko to their playoff roster ahead of this afternoon’s Game 4 against the Jets, Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal reports. Colorado is carrying only one healthy extra skater, defenseman Caleb Jones, so Kovalenko has a decent chance to make his NHL debut today if there’s an injury or other lineup change to the Avs’ forward group. Pregame line rushes indicate he’s replacing Joel Kiviranta, who has one assist and a +2 rating in the series while averaging 10:14 per game. Kovalenko, 24, only arrived in North America last month. The Russian winge ..read more

The Avalanche welcomed back defenseman Samuel Girard tonight against Winnipeg as NHL.com’s Tracey Myers relayed (Twitter link). The 25-year-old suffered a concussion late in the regular season against the Jets and hadn’t played since then.  Girard had a bit of a down year for Colorado as he was limited to 18 points in 59 games, the lowest output of his career while his ATOI dipped to 19:23, the lowest since his rookie season.  Still, as a top-four blueliner, his return was certainly a welcome one ..read more

The Colorado Avalanche have brought goaltender Arvid Holm back to the NHL lineup after sending him down on Monday (Twitter link). Holm served as the backup to Ivan Prosvetov in the Colorado Eagles first game of the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs – a 4-2 loss against the Abbotsford Canucks. This loss puts the Eagles on the brink of elimination, which could be why the Avalanche are recalling the AHL backup for added depth ahead of their own Game Three. Prosvetov and Holm are two of the six goaltenders who have played games with the Eagles this season. Prosvetov has managed a solid 11 wins, .921 save ..read more

Avalanche blue-liner Sean Walker was limited to 16:48 of ice time in yesterday’s Game 2 win, missing most of the third period. Head coach Jared Bednar confirmed today that he won’t carry an injury designation moving forward, as his absence was due to being pulled from the game by a concussion spotter (via NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding). He’s cleared protocol and will take his normal spot in the lineup in Friday’s Game 3. Walker is without a point in his two playoff appearances with Colorado thus far after being picked up from the Flyers ahead of the trade deadline ..read more

The Avalanche have assigned defenseman Brad Hunt, forward Chris Wagner and goaltender Ivan Prosvetov to AHL Colorado, according to a team announcement. None of the three played in last night’s 5-2 win in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Jets to tie the series. Hunt and Wagner were scratched, while Prosvetov served as the backup to starter Alexandar Georgiev. Rookie Justus Annunen, Georgiev’s backup for much of the last few months, has missed both postseason contests so far due to illness. They’ll provide significant reinforcements to the Eagles, who begin their best-of ..read more

The Colorado Avalanche placed forward Chris Wagner on waivers today (as per CapFriendly) after he was called up from the AHL just three days ago. The 32-year-old played 13 NHL games with Colorado this season as he split time between the Avalanche and the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. Wagner served as Colorado’s healthy scratch for game 1 and will serve in the same capacity for game 2 despite being on waivers. Wagner signed a two-way contract with Colorado on July 1st of last year and proved to be a decent call-up option for the Avalanche filling in during absences and injuries. In 21 AHL games t ..read more

Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis told reporters today (via Sound of Hockey) that he intends to start talking with restricted free agents Matty Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen and fully expects that the sides will be able to come to agreements. Beniers is the reigning Calder Trophy winner but suffered a dramatic drop in his offensive production, posting just 15 goals and 22 assists in 77 games after posting 57 points in 81 games last season. While his play dropped off this season, he should still receive a sizeable raise on his $897,500 cap hit. Tolvanen was acquired off waivers by the Krak ..read more

The Colorado Avalanche have swapped third-string goaltenders, recalling Ivan Prosvetov and assigning Arvid Holm (Twitter link). These moves come after backup Justus Annunen sat out of the team’s Monday morning skate, with head coach Jared Bednar sharing that the goaltender is “still sick”, per DNVR’s Meghan Angley (Twitter link). Annunen wasn’t available for Game One against the Winnipeg Jets yesterday, with Holm stepping in as the backup. Starter Alexandar Georgiev would go on to allow seven goals on 23 shots in the eventual 7-6 loss. Prosvetov was playing in his own game while Holm fill ..read more

Colorado Avalanche defender Samuel Girard has returned full practice, wearing a regular jersey at the team’s Sunday morning skate per Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal (Twitter link). Girard has been battling a concussion that held him out of the team’s final two regular-season contests. They seem to have benefited from taking their time with the defender, who is now possible for Sunday’s Game One – though nothing has been confirmed. Girard has once again provided stout depth for Colorado, scoring 18 points in 59 games and averaging over 19 minutes of ice time ..read more