As of 10 days ago, Josh Manson had as much experience playing the left side on defense as John and Joe sitting in section 220 at Ball Arena.

“Zero (experience),” Manson told The Denver Gazette.

For someone who hasn’t done it at the NHL level, he’s off to a heck of a start.

With more right-shot defenseman on their roster than lefties, the Avalanche started the season with Sam Malinski playing his “off side” on the left. While he was starting to adjust, the team moved Malinski back to his natural right side when Sam Girard went down. The reasoning was simple – with no Girard, they needed Malinski back on his natural side to help the Avalanche advance the puck up the ice.

That’s worked, but it created another hole on the left side next to Brent Burns. That’s when the staff made the decision to put the 6-foot-3 Manson next to the 6-5 Burns. On paper, it’s an ideal shut-down pairing for any coach, with one glaring issue — Manson had to get uncomfortable for it to work.

“It’s been different, for sure,” Manson said of playing the left side. “There’s moments where I’m a lot more uncomfortable on the ice. Like, it doesn’t feel as natural out there, flowing around. I find myself getting a little lost out there sometimes. … But I think it’ll keep getting more comfortable as I go. It’s just new situations.”

While playing on the left for a right-shot can lead to some better situations offensively, as evidenced by Manson’s one-time goal against Boston, it’s a total adjustment for the veteran. After practice ended on Monday, he stayed late and had a teammate send the puck up the boards in the offensive zone so he could practice corraling it on his backhand, something that will happen multiple times a game if he stays on that side.

While the 34-year-old has more puck skill than he lets on, he understands his limitations.

“I mean, there’s a reason I play defense (and) not forward, right?” Manson joked. “I switched from forward to defense for a reason, mainly puck management.”

The adjustments don’t stop with puck on his stick.

Manson’s game is built around being a pain to play against. That means he has to play nasty and physical to be effective. He’s still wrapping his head around learning new angles to attack forwards while he’s on the left side.

“Way different,” Manson said. “One-on-ones, I definitely don’t feel like I can be as aggressive. I feel like I’m definitely more passive as guys enter the zone. It’s more about just keeping them wide rather than trying to close the play. Hopefully, as we go along, I can start closing plays down a little bit more, but right now, I feel like I’m just backing up a little bit and trying to run them out of room.”

Manson and Burns as a duo gives Bednar a pair he feels comfortable throwing out there in tough defensive situations. In over 42 minutes together at even strength, the Avalanche are controlling nearly 55% of the shot attempts with the two of them on the ice and they’re outscoring the opposition 4-1.

Bednar has been happy with what he’s seen so far.

“Two big bodies that are both hard to play against,” Bednar said of the duo. “They’re closing plays out in the (defensive) zone quickly. They’ve done a nice job up-ice versus the rush.”

News and notes

• Scott Wedgewood was named the third star of the week by the NHL after going 3-0 and posting a .954 save percentage.
• Mackenzie Blackwood is nearing a return. He won’t travel with the team to Utah for their game on Tuesday, but he’s close. Trent Miner didn’t take part in the team practice Monday, allowing Blackwood to get all the work in. It’s possible he is back within the week, as the Avalanche play their first back-to-back next weekend out East.
• For a team that looks dialed-in and has picked up 11 of a possible 12 points, Monday’s practice was intense. “I think that was the message (Bednar) was trying to send to us,” Manson said. “Let’s make today a good day. Five-on-five, work hard, let’s really try and keep this momentum going and we’re not going to sit back and let go of the habits.”