CENTENNIAL, Colo. — It was a short but sweet morning skate on Tuesday morning for the Colorado Avalanche. They spent only about 45 minutes on the ice to prepare for the preseason game against the Winnipeg Jets. Many of the well-known veterans were not on the ice this morning, having played in Monday night’s contest against the Utah Mammoth. So fans can expect a younger group or AHL players on Tuesday night.

Taylor Makar gets rewarded

Late in the third period of Monday’s game, Taylor Makar was sent to the box for a high-stick. He started right away and quickly made up for it by scoring a brilliant goal. During the morning skate, Makar was on the second power play unit as a reward. He had done some power play work with the Colorado Eagles last season, but became more of a penalty kill specialist. So this is not too far out of his comfort zone, but is showing some trust by the Avalanche.

Avs power play units

PP1 Sam Malinski- Vinnie Hinostroza- Nicolas Roy- Fedor Svechkov- Georgii Merkulov

PP2 Fabian Lysell- Adam Beckman- Taylor Makar- Tristen Nielsen- Christian Wolanin

Malinski in the lead

Sam Malinski continues to show that he can take the lead as he will head the top power play unit on Tuesday night. A spot that is normally filled by Cale Makar, it is a role that is difficult to fill. But Malinski has been standing up to the challenges. He shattered his career highs last season with eight goals and 32 assists. This went well beyond his previous highs of 15 total points the year before.

The Jets will roll with a mostly veteran group on Tuesday night. So this could be of a challenge for the young core on the ice for the Avs during the morning skate. But either way, it will be a great learning experience for some of them before they head to Loveland for Eagles camp later in the week.