Healthy again, Sven Andrighetto eager to get back into Avs lineup

NEWARK, N.J. – From a distance, it was hard to tell just who it was in the baby blue practice jersey at Avalanche practice on Wednesday here at the Prudential Center. He looked about 5-11 or so, maybe 180 pounds. Was it Matt Calvert? Sheldon Dries? Matt Nieto?

No, it was Sven Andrighetto, No. 10. While Jared Bednar wouldn’t say for sure after practice if Andrighetto would return to the lineup Thursday night against the 4-0-0 New Jersey Devils, he gave enough of a hint to make it seem like just a formality.

So, Sven 10, suddenly, is back.

“I feel really good. It always sucks to be away from the team, and I had to be away from the team last week when they were on the road, back in Denver. But I’m glad it’s going in the right direction right now,” Andrighetto told BSN Denver.

Where would Andrighetto play, assuming he’s back in the lineup? Bednar said he and his staff would figure that out overnight. He could replace any one of four guys probably, maybe a Dries, Nieto, Gabriel Bourque or maybe even a Vladislav Kamenev. I’ll go ahead and wager that Dries gets the short straw, but we’ll see Thursday.

Andrighetto, a native of Zurich, Switzerland, posted eight goals and 22 points in 50 games for the Avs last season. He scored one goal in six playoff games – the game-winner in Colorado’s Game 5 victory in Nashville.

The Avs’ offense has looked a little stale of late, with preseason concerns about secondary scoring starting to photosynthesize again. Andrighetto, assuming his left foot injury is properly healed, will bring speed up and down the wing and some creativity with the puck.

“I think I can help a lot with this group, with my speed and not necessarily for the offensive side,” Andrighetto said. “Also, for the defensive side, like turning pucks over, those loose pucks on the forecheck-backcheck and going from there.”

Before the preseason injury, against Dallas in a game at home, Andrighetto’s mindset coming into the season was just to “contribute to the team aspect” as best he could.

“I never try to focus on numbers,” Andrighetto said. “I think that’s just a reflection of how hard we work and if we play the right way. Obviously, the numbers depend on how many minutes you play, if you play power play and stuff like that. But if you’re just focused on numbers, you’re not following the process.”

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS FOR A WEDNESDAY

• J.T. Compher skated for roughly the first 15 minutes of practice at the Pru Center, but that was it. He had a non-contact jersey. Compher missed the last game with a reported head injury. He will not play against the Devils, but Bednar said he is “progressing.” I saw Compher walk around the team after practice today, seemingly OK. I don’t think this is a serious worry, his injury, but I guess you never know when it comes to the head.
• Marko Dano (pronounced “Duh-no”) still has yet to join the team, after being claimed on waivers Monday from Winnipeg. Paperwork with immigration still.
• The Avs have the NHL’s second-best penalty-killing percentage, at 93.1.
• Philipp Grubauer will get his second start of the season.
• Have you all seen our newest BSN Denver Locker t-shirt, the Nathan MacKinnon NHL ’94 one? They are going fast. Get yours today here: https://www.bsndenverlocker.com/products/16-bit-mackinnon