- The Avalanche welcomed back defenseman Samuel Girard tonight against Winnipeg as NHL.com’s Tracey Myers relayed (Twitter link). The 25-year-old suffered a concussion late in the regular season against the Jets and hadn’t played since then. Girard had a bit of a down year for Colorado as he was limited to 18 points in 59 games, the lowest output of his career while his ATOI dipped to 19:23, the lowest since his rookie season. Still, as a top-four blueliner, his return was certainly a welcome one.