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Duchene getting better, but he won't play in rematch with Blues |
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Rick Sadowski
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Avalanche center Matt Duchene took a major step Tuesday towards returning to the lineup by taking part in team drills without wearing a non-contact jersey, but he still won't play Wednesday night against St. Louis at the Pepsi Center.
Coach Patrick Roy is hopeful that Duchene, who will miss his fourth game because of an oblique injury, will be available for Friday's game in Minnesota.
"He looked good," Roy said after practice. "I think he's very close to playing. He won't play tomorrow. It's a day-to-day decision for Minny, but he felt a lot better. There's a big chance he'll play Friday. We'll see how it goes. I like his chances."
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The Avalanche will take a three-game winning streak without Duchene into Wednesday's rematch with the Blues, who scored three power-play goals in a 7-3 rout Nov. 14 in a game that included three fights and plenty of animosity.
"We just have to go about our business," said left wing Cody McLeod, who fought Blues forward Ryan Reaves. "It's a big test for us. We know what happened in St. Louis and we just have to come out and play our game. I don't think you can think about (any bad blood). We just have to go out and play a hockey game. Let's just go out and get two points."
Reaves had surgery this week after breaking his right hand in a fight last Saturday with Dallas’ Brenden Dillon and will be out for at least six weeks.
The game plan for the Avalanche is to use its speed and stay out of the penalty box, which didn't happen in the first game between the teams.
"You know what? The Blues did what they had to do," Roy said. "They were ready for us. They played a hard game, a strong game, and they played very well and I'm sure their coach (Ken Hitchcock) was very happy with their performance. We're going to have to be ready to play a good game. It's not about revenge, it's about playing a good hockey game.
"Two of their first three goals were power-play goals, so we have to make sure we're not going in the box. If we are, our 'PK' is going to have to have a big game. We're going to have to play our game."
The Blues scored four unanswered goals in the second period to grab a 5-1 lead. All three fights took place in the final 3:14 of the period. Aside from the McLeod/Reaves bout, Duchene fought Vladimir Sobotka, and Cory Sarich fought Chris Stewart, who after his easy win was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for pumping his arms to the crowd.
"It's what I said to them after the second period, that we're not going to play that game, we're going to play hockey," Roy said. "Our team is about speed, our team is about playing hockey. Are we capable of playing physical? Yes, we are, but we're not going to fight and be a part of that game. We're going to make sure we play our way, and that's how we're going to win our games. That's what we've been doing since the start of the year. I thought it was important to address that right after the second period and make sure in the third we were back in our game."
The Blues defeated Minnesota 3-0 on Monday and have posted a 17-3-3 record, good for 37 points and second place in the hotly-contested Central Division. The Avalanche is third with a 17-5-0 record and 34 points. Minnesota also has 34 points but has played three more games than the Avalanche and sits fourth with a 15-6-4 mark. Under the new playoff format, the second- and third-place teams in each division meet in the first round.
"It's a big game," Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said of Wednesday's contest. "Last game we got into some penalty trouble and they made sure they capitalized on their power plays. They got up by three or four and it was downhill after that. We have to keep improving on our starts like we've been doing. Our first period has got to be a good one."
The Avalanche has outscored teams 10-4 during the three-game winning streak after being outscored 13-5 in its three-game losing streak.
"Even when we were losing we really didn't change anything," Landeskog said. "There was no panic in here."
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The latest issue of Sports Illustrated has a four-page article "The Mile-High Makeover" on the Avalanche's surprising start. The domestic violence allegations against goalie Semyon Varlamov are included. He was formally charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, last Friday by Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey. The charge alleges that Varlamov assaulted his girlfriend last month. He is scheduled to appear in Denver County court on Monday.
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