The Avalanche will relax its urgency to win by resting dinged-up players during the final seven games of the regular season, coach Jared Bednar said Monday morning.
The Avs, who have clinched the Central Division title and No. 1 Western Conference playoff seed, will play without top-pair defenseman Devon Toews and fourth-line forward Andrew Cogliano in Monday’s game against the visiting Washington Capitals. They will also keep defenseman Erik Johnson and center Nazem Kadri out of the lineup for precautionary reasons.
Kadri, who has missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury, was a full participant in Monday’s morning skate at Ball Arena but the team wants to give him extra time with his conditioning.