Maybe this tells you some — some, not all — of what you need to know about the state of the Avalanche.

Sven Andrighetto on Sunday met his new teammates as they arrived at the dressing room individually or in small groups — and two and a half hours later was skating on the Matt Duchene-centered second line, also joining Finnish winger Mikko Rantanen, in what turned out to be a 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

“Throw him right in the fire,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.

Andrighetto had 15:19 of ice time and two shots on St. Louis goalie Jake Allen in the Avalanche’s 11th shutout loss of the season.

“It was a little tough at the beginning, but as the game went on, I felt better and better,” Andrighetto said. “It was my first time with these guys on the ice. I’m pretty positive it will get better from here. The chemistry will come and also understanding each other, who’s where at what point. It’s just a matter of time.”

Bednar said of Andrighetto: “I liked him tonight. I thought steady game, hard-working kid that can skate. He’s got some speed to him. He surprised me a couple of times out there, both on the tracking coming back defensively and then offensively as well. He made a couple of plays, nice seam pass in the third period over to Mikko for the one timer, and he missed it. Responsible guy, smart player. I liked his game tonight, it was pretty good, especially for a first one and missing the last few days on the ice.”

To get Andrighetto Wednesday from Montreal, the Avalanche sent fourth-line winger Andreas Martinsen to the Canadiens.

It meant that the Colorado lineup against the Blues Sunday included Andrighetto, who cleared waivers earlier this season and spent 20 games in the AHL before returning to Montreal; winger Matt Nieto, claimed on waivers from San Jose on Jan. 5; and defenseman Mark Barberio, a Feb. 2 waiver claim from Montreal.

Nieto has been a top six forward most of the time with Colorado. Against the Blues, he opened on the fourth line with Mikhail Grigorenko and Carl Soderberg. Barberio and Nieto both have been decent or better with Colorado, but waiver acquisitions or the virtual equivalent (Andrighetto) should be virtual spare parts, third and fourth liners or third pairing defensemen.

Plus, winger Rene Bourque, the Avs’ fifth-leading goal scorer with 10, was on the Nathan MacKinnon-centered first line Sunday. And Bourque made this team in the preseason after his six-year, $20-million contract (signed when he was with Calgary) lapsed, the Columbus Blue Jackets didn’t bring him back and he still was an unrestricted free agent when Colorado signed him to a professional tryout agreement.

Andrighetto, 23, came over from his native Switzerland to play two seasons with Rouyn-Noranda in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League before he was the Canadiens’ third-round choice in 2013. He has played 170 games in the AHL and 83 with the Canadiens, and had 11 goals and 17 assists over three seasons with Montreal.

The Martinsen ($640,000) and Andrighetto ($650,000) contracts are pushes, with Andrighetto potentially becoming a restricted free agent on July 1. So as Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic looks to make his roster younger and add speed up front, Andrighetto — like Nieto, whose contract also is up — is auditioning. Nieto is listed at 5-11 and 190, Andrighetto at 5-10, 188.

“I knew a couple of guys,” Andrighetto said of his new teammates before the game, mentioning Nathan MacKinnon and Grigorenko as past QMJHL opponents. He said he also shared a house with Barberio last season at Montreal and that they lived in the same hotel during their stints this season with the Canadiens. Related Articles September 12, 2020 Chambers: Nathan MacKinnon is not your typical Lady Byng winner

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Andrighetto’s debut for Colorado came after a crazy week. The night of the trade, he traveled to Chicago and stayed overnight, before coming to Denver — awaiting the completion of the detail work to get him a U.S. work visa. While his new teammates were in Canada, playing at Ottawa and Winnipeg, he waited in Denver. Finally, on Friday afternoon, the arrangements for his visa were complete.

And Sunday night, his audition began. “I like to be creative in the offensive zone, play with the puck, have some fun and hopefully score some goals, while trying to be reliable on the defensive side,” he said. “I’ll try to bring the speed.”

He said his up-and-down year “has been an experience, for sure…My role in Montreal was a little bit different than I had in juniors and the AHL. I was playing fourth line, a couple of minutes a night. I always stay positive and work hard.

“I’m really happy to be here. Obviously the team is not doing great and sometimes for you guys, it’s tough to understand how you’re excited to get here, but I’m really excited because I think it’s a huge opportunity for me to show what I can do and I’ll probably going to play a little more than I used to at Montreal.”