Following a disastrous game at Dallas last week in which he took three penalties in just more than 10 minutes, Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov was a healthy scratch for the first time this season in the team’s ensuing game at Minnesota.
Zadorov, 21, took his medicine like a professional and returned to the ice Monday at Columbus, logging a penalty-free 16:21 in Colorado’s overtime win. Given his age, Zadorov realizes his one-game banishment could be deemed beneficial.
“I had good talks with everybody in the organization, all the head guys,” Zadorov said Tuesday during off-ice workouts at the team’s practice facility.