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Duchene on trip to Minnesota, will try to skate Monday |
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Rick Sadowski
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Avalanche center Matt Duchene accompanied the team to Minnesota on Sunday and is expected to skate Monday morning at the Xcel Energy Center for the first time since hurting his left knee March 29 against San Jose.
Center John Mitchell is also on the trip, though it isn't known if he'll attempt to skate. He hasn't been on the ice since sustaining a concussion April 10 against Vancouver.
Duchene, who led the Avalanche in scoring with 70 points in 71 games, was expected to miss about four weeks after sustaining an injury to the medial collateral ligament in his knee in a collision with linemate Jamie McGinn.
"We're not going to push," coach Patrick Roy said. "We're going to be very smart about when he's going to come back. He's going to want to play soon and it'll be up to our doctors (and trainers) to determine if he's ready to play. I know he might try to come back faster, but we're not going to let him come back until our doctors are extremely comfortable with it."
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The trick for the Avalanche now will be to figure out how to overcome whatever strategy the Wild coaches can devise to try and slow down Nathan MacKinnon and Co. with the first-round playoff series moving to St. Paul for Games 3 and 4 Monday and Thursday.
The Wild has plenty of work to do in that regard after watching the Gabriel Landeskog-Paul Stastny-MacKinnon line light it up for four goals and six assists Saturday in the Avalanche's 4-2 win for a 2-0 series lead.
Colorado has won all 12 of its previous playoff series after winning the first two games, but no one is taking anything for granted.
"It's been a lot of fun," MacKinnon said. He and Stastny each had a goal and three assists in Game 2, while Landeskog scored two second-period goals. "But I think it's going to be a tough one against Minnesota on Monday."
With a goal and six assists in the series, MacKinnon has matched the NHL record for points (seven) in the first two games of a playoff career, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Montreal's Odie Cleghorn did it in 1919 and Boston's Barry Pederson in 1982.
MacKinnon became the third 18-year-old in postseason history to collect four points in a game, joining Buffalo's Pierre Turgeon (1988) and Vancouver's Trevor Linden (1989). Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr holds the record for points by an 18-year-old in one postseason, 13. Jagr had three goals and 10 assists in 24 games in 1991.
At 18 years, 228 days, MacKinnon became the youngest player in Avalanche/Nordiques history to score a playoff goal when he weaved through the Minnesota defense to tie the game in the first period.
"It's very exciting out there," he said. "Everybody's having a blast. We're having fun because we're winning. I still feel like a kid, I'm 18. I'm trying not to grow up too fast. I'm enjoying this."
When it was pointed out to Roy that the Wild was having a difficult time trying to control MacKinnon, he responded:
"Well, they're not the only one. There's a lot of teams that have been struggling with Nate. We're a fast team and certainly transition is something we're pretty good at and we took advantage of it (Saturday)."
Roy said he was just as impressed with MacKinnon's play without the puck as he was with his offensive outburst.
"You know what? I'm different than you guys," he said. "You guys are looking at points, but I'm looking at how he performed at both sides of the ice. He's been playing well offensively, yes, but he also played really well defensively. He made some great plays and that's what I want to see from him. I'm happy when he puts points on the board, but I want him to play well defensively, and that's what that line did."
Wild coach Mike Yeo was frustrated by his team's inability to keep the Avalanche's fleet forwards at bay.
"We put our defensemen in some tough positions because of the way we played in front of them at certain times of the game," he said. "It's about our team. Coming back home we should get excited about that opportunity playing in front of our fans. Our building is going to be rocking. (The Avalanche) did what they were supposed to do, it's a good team, and they took care of winning the first two and now we have to take care of our business."
Stastny, the Game 1 hero, has three goals and four assists in the first two games, giving him six goals and nine assists in 17 career playoff games.
"When you're playing with two guys like MacKinnon and Landeskog, as long as they're moving, I'll find them and that creates a lot of space," Stastny said.
Landeskog has three goals in the series.
"It feels good to contribute," he said, "but individual statistics don't matter in the playoffs. It's all about whether you get the win or not. Certainly it feels good to contribute and to give our team some momentum. We've done a good job of working hard. I think that's where it starts for all of us. We complement each other very well with Nate's speed and Paulie's smartness and his vision. I just try to find the open ice and try to use my shot. Our line certainly made some nice plays."
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As well as the Avalanche's big line played, the Wild could have seized control in the first period with two power plays and some quality scoring chances in even-strength situations. But goalie Semyon Varlamov made a number of big stops.
"He was rock solid," Roy said of Varlamov, who finished with 30 saves. "He made some key saves at the right time. I'm having so much confidence in him. He's been our best player all year. It was a solid game from him."
Varlamov wasn't at his best in the series opener, but his defense was pretty poor and he turned aside all 15 shots he faced after the Wild took a 4-2 lead in the second period, allowing the Avalanche the chance to mount its comeback.
"We were a little bit nervous in the first game," he said. "When you're nervous, you sometimes try to do different things. We knew Minnesota would be playing real hard (Saturday), especially in the first period. It was a tough game and both teams never give up. I feel a little bit better."
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The Avalanche power play continued to struggle. Colorado's only power-play goal in the series came when Stastny scored into an empty net with 14.2 seconds left after Wild defenseman Ryan Suter took an ill-advised cross-checking penalty. The Avalanche is 1-for-7 in the series and 1-for-18 in seven games against the Wild, counting five regular-season games.
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PA Parenteau can't win. The officials missed it when Jonas Brodin high-sticked him near his left eye with 4:07 to play in the third period, and his empty-net goal that would have given the Avalanche a 4-1 lead with 1:30 to play was mistakenly ruled offside.
“That’s how the game goes sometimes,” Parenteau told the Denver Post. "I was pretty mad they didn’t count the goal, especially after they scored just after. But it is what it is. The whole team kept its composure and we got out of there with a win, and that’s all that matters.”
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