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Duchene will play vs. Flames; Wilson out at least 2 weeks

November 8, 2013, 5:05 PM ET [5 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT




Avalanche center Matt Duchene wasn't going to let a bruised foot prevent him from playing against Calgary on Friday night at the Pepsi Center. He took part in the morning skate after missing practice Thursday and will be at his usual spot on a line with Ryan O'Reilly and PA Parenteau.

"It's not a surprise for me," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "He's been a warrior for us since the start of the year."

But defenseman Ryan Wilson will miss at least two weeks after hurting his back in Wednesday's loss to Nashville. The results of an MRI weren't encouraging.

"The doctor said let's wait two weeks and see where it goes from there," said Roy, who will replace Wilson with Nick Holden. Holden will be paired with Nate Guenin. Holden's only appearance this season came in a Nov. 1 game at Dallas when he played left wing on the fourth line.

Roy said he'll also use Holden on a power play that has gone 0-for-9 in the past four games and 1-for-15 in six games.

It could be worse. The Flames are 0-for-28 on power plays over the past eight games.

*****

Remember the last time the Avalanche got out of the starting gate with an impressive start? It was in the 2009-10 season under a first-year coach (Joe Sacco) with a hot goalie (Craig Anderson) and a couple of teen-age forwards (Duchene and O'Reilly). That team started out 10-2-2 and eventually earned a playoff berth.

I spoke with Duchene, O'Reilly and Paul Stastny for an NHL.com story comparing that team to the present one, which is off to a 12-2-0 start.

Here's the link:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=690637&navid=nhl:topheads

*****

Roy said Friday he has remained friends with Flames coach Bob Hartley since their time in Colorado. Roy was in goal in 2001, of course, when Hartley coached the team to its second Stanley Cup.

"I have a lot of respect for Bob," Roy said. "Over the past years he always said, 'Hey, call me. If you need something, I'll be there for you.' He's always been there for me. He called me when I got the (Avalanche coaching position), he called me in the summer, he called me before the start of the season, in training camp he called me. We're talking a lot."

The Flames have lost eight of their past 11 games after starting the season 3-0-2 and will conclude a four-game trip Friday. After beating Chicago 3-2 in a shootout, they lost 5-1 to Minnesota and on Thursday night they lost 3-2 to St. Louis.

*****

Here's the Avalanche lineup for Friday's game:

Forwards
Ryan O'Reilly -- Matt Duchene -- PA Parenteau
Gabriel Landeskog -- Paul Stastny -- Jamie McGinn
John Mitchell -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Max Talbot
Cody McLeod -- Marc-Andre Cliche -- Patrick Bordeleau

Defense
Andre Benoit -- Cory Sarich
Jan Hejda -- Erik Johnson
Nick Holden --Nate Guenin

Goalies
Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Semyon Varlamov

Injured: Alex Tanguay (knee), Ryan Wilson (back)
Scratched: Matt Hunwick
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