Byram and Johnson practice but their season debuts remain a mystery

Both Bowen Byram and Erik Johnson practiced with the team for the first time this season, kicking off speculation of when either might get into the lineup.

As the Avs head to California for a four-game road trip, the lineup on defense is a major focus as Johnson is a proven regular and Byram is arguably the best defenseman in the world not already in the NHL.

Coming off an 8-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues, however, there doesn’t appear to be a sense of urgency to get either player into the mix.

Johnson, who tested positive for COVID-19 at the start of training camp, has not been on the ice at all during his quarantine period and still needs to get back into the rhythm of playing regularly.

Byram spent the last week in quarantine after spending a day with his family following winning the silver medal at WJCs as co-captain of Team Canada. The coaching staff will do extensive video work with Byram this week to get him up to speed on the team’s systems but beyond that, it won’t take long for Byram to be ready to jump into the action.

All told, it appears the plan is to make no changes to the actual personnel for the two-game set against the Los Angeles Kings but things could be up for debate when the Avs take on Anaheim on Friday and Sunday.

As for Conor Timmins, who struggled in the first game of the year but followed it up with his best performance in the NHL to date, he is expected to play against the Kings.

“He’s absolutely still in our top six for LA,” Jared Bednar said of Timmins.

Bednar also said he knew what the timeline was for getting Byram into games but declined to share as he doesn’t feel the need to give opposing teams more information than they need in planning for their games against the Avs.

In looking for an opportunity to get them into the lineup, the first back-to-back of the season on Friday against the Ducks seems like a smart play. Instead of running back an entire defense that’s tired, the Avs could easily slot in either Johnson or Byram (or both) in the second game and get some fresh legs going.

As both players just went through their first team practices of the season, the real takeaway from today is they are both healthy and looking to get into the lineup and provide a boost to a defense that is already pretty damn solid.

Moving away from the defense, there were no other lineup changes today and all players participated. The Avs leave for California tomorrow.