The Colorado Avalanche played the second game of back-to-back preseason matches. It required them to travel to Winnipeg that day to face the Jets. The team from the north iced a veteran team compared to the Avalanche, who skated more AHL players on Monday night. Colorado looked as though they were chasing the game the entire night, eventually losing 3–1 in a game that won’t mean much in the end.

Makar stands out again

Taylor Makar was strong on the forecheck for the Avalanche the entire game. He once again showed the strength in his game as a power forward. He kind of faded away late in the game, but his effort early is what stood out for us. Makar constantly fought for the puck in the corners and came at players with surprising speed for his size. Makar is fighting to be one of several players that the Avs can depend on for call-ups. His development during last season with the Colorado Eagles was clear by the year’s end. He played 12 games for the Avs last season and could add more as part of the youth movement for the Avalanche.

Nabokov looks awesome

Ilya Nabokov came to relieve Scott Wedgewood just over halfway through the game. Nabokov played 26:08 of the game, but the defense struggled in front of him. He showed some great post-to-post movement and held the Jets to no power-play goals in two opportunities. Nabokov allowed two goals, one where he had no chance in the second period. Cole Perfetti had camped out at the backdoor and received a nice backhand pass to throw the puck over Nabokov’s leg. He stood no chance in that one. Everything we have seen from the “rookie” goaltender has been encouraging. He tracks the puck well and is quick.

Stjernberg makes us take notice

Defenseman Gustav Stjernberg has shown some promise over the last couple of weeks. He has laid out several hits that made the other team take notice. And then he can defend himself on top of that. Besides that, Stjernberg has had an eye for the net. He can get the puck on net to cause chaos in front, and some even get through. On Monday he had a shot from the blue line sneak through but called off because of goaltender interference.

Up next

The Avalanche will continue with group training camp on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. at Family Sports Center. They do not play again until Friday night against the Jets.