<p>DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon returned to the ice for practice Saturday and all signs point to him being back in the lineup for Game 1 of a first-round series against the St. Louis Blues. </p>
<p>The difficult-to-contain Colorado Avalanche forward missed four of the final five games of the regular season with a lower-body injury. But coach Jared Bednar said he expects MacKinnon and forward Brandon Saad to be ready to go Monday night for the start of their best-of-seven series at Ball Arena. The top-seeded Avalanche went 5-3 against the Blues this season.</p>
<p>“He’s such a big part of our hockey team, especially driving our offense,” Bednar said of MacKinnon. “To have him in for the start of the series would be what the doctored ordered.”</p>
<p>MacKinnon finished second on the team with 65 points (20 goals, 45 assists), a point behind fellow linemate Mikko Rantanen (30, 36). </p>
<p>Along the way, MacKinnon set a career high this season with a 15-game point streak from March 27 to April 28. It’s the third-longest streak by an Avalanche player since the team relocated to Denver before the 1995-96 season.</p>
<p>“He’s one of our stars and a guy that really looks forward to this time of year,” said Bednar, whose team captured the top spot in the West Division and the Presidents’ Trophy for the top regular-season record. “We saw what he could in the playoffs last year.” </p>
<p>In 2020, MacKinnon went on a 14-game point streak to begin the playoffs. It tied Mark Messier (14 in 1988) and Bobby Orr (14 in 1970) for the second longest to begin a postseason in NHL history, according to the Avalanche. The longest was recorded by Bryan Trottier, who went on an 18-game point streak to open the 1981 postseason.</p>
<p>Saad has missed the last 11 games with a lower-body injury. He’s had 15 goals and nine assists this season after being acquired from Chicago last October. Saad captured two Stanley Cup titles (2012-13, ’14-15) while with the Blackhawks.</p>
<p>Another possible return to the lineup for Colorado could be defenseman Conor Timmins, Bednar said.</p>
<p>The Avalanche remain without banged-up rookie defenseman Bowen Byram, who hasn’t played since March 25. Byram did skate Saturday.</p>
<p>“He’s getting better every day,” Bednar said. “The next thing for him will be getting in skates like this with a lot of guys and taking contact. We’ll see where he gets to. </p>
<p>"He’s missed a significant amount of time for us now. we’re trying to get him back up to speed. … Hopefully he’s an option for us at some point.”</p>
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