Avalanche notebook: Byram practices; Murray odd man out on defense
Defenseman Bowen Byram, a major contributor in the Avalanche’s first 10 games, left the first period of Thursday’s 7-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks and did not return. Vancouver captain Bo Horvat caught Byram’s head with his elbow.
Byram, who has already dealt with the effects of a concussion in his short NHL career, wore a contact jersey in Friday’s practice and stayed until the end. Coach Jared Bednar said the rookie would be checked out afterward.
“Early indication says that he’s a player for us tomorrow,” Bednar said, against the San Jose Sharks.
Bednar added he’s “always nervous about it” when a player leaves a game.
“In this scenario, I think he was probably a little nervous about it too because of his history,” Bednar said. “But he woke up this morning feeling great, worked out, wanted to try it on the ice and made it through the whole practice. So I would say that’s a real positive sign.”
Canuck suspended
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced Vancouver defenseman Tucker Poolman was suspended two games for his stick swing at the head of Colorado’s Kiefer Sherwood late in Thursday’s game. Poolman was handed a match penalty.
Sherwood had just checked Poolman into the boards at 10:19 of the third period. The Avalanche (5-5-1) were leading 6-1 at that point.
Sherwood seemed to anticipate what was about to happen and turned his head toward the boards before the stick met his helmet. He appeared uninjured and spoke with officials.
In an NHL.com video describing the ruling, it was noted that Poolman turned away from the advancing play to swing his stick at Sherwood and that he wasn’t off-balance. It was called “an intentional and retaliatory stick swing.”
Options on defense
With the return of Cale Makar, the Avalanche defense was at full strength Thursday for the first time this season. At the start of the game, Makar was paired with Devon Toews, Samuel Girard with Byram and Erik Johnson with Jack Johnson, who was signed just before the regular season following a professional tryout.
That Kurtis MacDermid, who has appeared in five games this season, was scratched wasn’t surprising. Ryan Murray, who hadn’t missed a game so far, joined him.
“I really like the way Jack’s played,” Bednar said. “I think he brings a heaviness to his game that I like in our lineup. He’s been really good on the penalty kill.
“I’ve been happy with (Murray) too, but now we’re a deep group out here with eight guys and getting healthy. We’ll just evaluate it on a day-to-day basis.”
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