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McLeod injury 'just a bruise,' expects to play vs. Stars |
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Rick Sadowski
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Avalanche left wing Cody McLeod was back at practice Monday, two days after needing assistance off the ice after he blocked a second-period shot by Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who has one of the hardest shots in the NHL.
McLeod, who was hit on the right knee, missed the rest of Saturday's game, a 5-1 Avalanche win, but he plans to be in the lineup Tuesday night against the Dallas Stars at the Pepsi Center.
"Luckily nothing's broken," he said. "Just a bone bruise, I guess. It's good. I couldn't really feel my leg there (Saturday). Yesterday it started feeling a bit better and today it's a bit better and hopefully (Tuesday) it's a bit better, too.
"(There was) a little pain but tolerable (during practice). Lucky it caught me where it did. I could've broken something if it hit somewhere else."
McLeod returned to the ice before the third period Saturday to test his knee and leg, but it was a no-go. "I tried pushing off and it just gave out," he said.
McLeod skates on the fourth line with John Mitchell and Patrick Bordeleau, providing energy and physical play, but he also kills penalties. The Avalanche has yet to give up a goal in 12 shorthanded situations.
"First of all, it's always good to see a player sacrifice his body," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "Cody is a leader on this team. I thought he showed great leadership there getting in front of that shot. It would've been easy for him just to 'flamingo' on that shot and he didn't want to do that. He wanted to block it.
"Basically, that's what I ask. Someone's going to have to come up with a big play and he had a big block. Sometimes a big play is not just the one who scores the goals. Sometimes it's taking a hit, sometimes it's blocking a shot. In that situation it was blocking a shot."
Assuming McLeod doesn't have a setback Tuesday, there won't be any lineup changes, so defenseman Tyson Barrie will be a healthy scratch for the second game in a row.
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Semyon Varlamov will start in goal against the Stars and Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings when the Avalanche completes a two-game homestand. Varlamov has won his first four starts, allowing one goal in each game while stopping 128 of 132 shots for a .970 save percentage. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who made 39 saves in last week's 2-0 win in Boston, is scheduled to start Saturday in Buffalo.
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Roy has said he wants his players to stay "humble" despite the Avalanche's 5-0 record, which matches the best start in franchise history. The Quebec Nordiques won their first five games in 1994-95.
"Right now the guys are doing all the right things," he said. "I was reading a couple articles -- I don't try to read too much, but it's a lot easier reading when you're winning. We know we have things we need to work at, but why not? That's what we've been saying. Let's play hard.
"Every day I see our guys coming to practice hard. It makes me think that we're still in the right direction. There's nothing else you can ask as a coach. If the guys are focused and they're doing what you're asking in practice, what (else) can I ask for?
"I think (Tuesday's game) is a good test. It's a four-point game with Dallas and it's an opportunity for us to win another game."
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The Stars placed goalie Kari Lehtonen on injured reserve with a "lower-body injury" retroactive to Friday, so he'll miss the game against the Avalanche. Lehtonen was injured in a 4-1 win against Winnipeg. He has a 2-1 record with a 1.57 goals-against average and .953 save percentage.
The Stars practiced Monday at Magness Arena on the University of Denver campus.
Dan Ellis, 33, will start in goal for the Stars. Signed as a free agent in July, Ellis made his first Dallas start Saturday in a 5-1 loss at Minnesota. It was the second game of a back-to-back situation for the Stars, who were outshot 36-19.
“We’ve had a couple of days to rest and a couple of days to look over what we might have done wrong and what I might have done wrong, and now we just have to go out and fix it,” Ellis told the Dallas Morning News.
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Varlamov and Giguere shared the NHL's second star for the week that ended Sunday after the duo led the team to its three-game road sweep of Toronto, Boston and Washington.
Varlamov went 2-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and .971 save percentage. He made 27 saves in a 2-1 win against the Maple Leafs and 40 saves in a 5-1 win against the Capitals.
Giguere stopped 39 shots in a 2-0 win against the Bruins for his 37th career shutout, which is seventh among active goalies and 39th all time.
San Jose Sharks rookie Tomas Hertl (five goals in three games) was named first star, while Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (three goals, four assists in three games) was named third star.
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West is best: Western Conference teams are dominating the East through Sunday, posting a 27-6-3 record. The Avalanche has gone 3-0 against the East, while Anaheim, San Jose and St. Louis are 2-0. Calgary and Chicago have gone 3-0-1. Minnesota played its first game against an Eastern team Monday night, visiting Buffalo.
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