Even before Matt Duchene went out with a knee injury, the Avs were going to have a tough month of January.
During this month, they have 12 games in this month and only three of them are at home, where the Avs have won nine of the last ten.
They have to embark on the road, where they are 7-8-1 despite starting the season 6-0. As it sits now, the Avs have 41 points, one point out of the eighth playoff spot coming into tonight's game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Now, the make matters worse, Duchene is out at least a month with a knee injury. While the team says he is not done for the season and he shouldn't require surgery, he will still be out for a lengthy amount of time.
He is not the Avs' best point-getter this year, that goes to Ryan O'Reilly but he does lead the Avs in goals and powerplay goals. Duchene is a key player for the Avs as his speed and creativity is irreplaceable on the team.
No one player can replace Duchene, they must all replace him. The goaltending tandem of Semyon Varlamov and Jean-Sebastien Giguere- who is making his first return to Anaheim since being traded tonight- must remain strong as they did during December when the Avs went 9-5.
All of the defenseman must be solid in their own end while also picking the best times to jump up into the play and create some offense, especially Erik Johnson, Kyle Quincey and Stefan Elliott. The Avs' forwards will not score as much without Duchene and hence the defense must work harder to give the forwards extra skating room.
Then on the forward lines, everyone must pull together and play solid defense first and transition smartly to offense. Specifically T.J. Galiardi, who will fill Duchene's spot on the first line, must play the way that he has been playing: tough, hard-nosed hockey and hungry around the net. Galiardi can't replace Duchene but he can minimize his absence if he plays his best brand of hockey.
The onus also falls on Paul Stastny to elevate his game to make those passes that helped Chris Stewart score 28 goals. He must also shoot the puck to open up the passing lanes. Stastny is a pass-first player but he still needs to shoot.
Last on the list of players who will need to step up: David Jones. Jones started the year hot with five goals in October but he has scored just two since then. Jones has to find his scoring groove, he just has to. He has to go hard to the net and get dirty rebound goals to get his confidence going so he can start shooting better. Jones will make his return to the lineup after missing eight games with a groin injury.
Should Jones and Galiardi fail, the Avs' best line of Ryan O'Reilly, Gabriel Landeskog and Milan Hejduk will have to face the best defensive pairings the opposing team has to offer, a task that might be too much for them to handle.
The Avs will have to pull together as a unit. Defenseman, forwards, goaltenders and especially coaches, will have to be at their best to keep the Avs in the playoff race without their best scorer.
Tonight starts the real character test for the Avalanche and it will be interesting to see how they respond.
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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