Looks like everything is hunky-dory between
Patrick Roy and center
Matt Duchene, who was criticized by the Avalanche coach for his emphatic celebration after scoring his 30th goal late in Sunday's 5-1 loss to St. Louis.
"We talked, I know exactly what he was getting at, I know what the message was, and I believe in that message. It was a mistake and we're moving on from it," Duchene told the
Denver Post after the morning skate Tuesday in Nashville, where the Avalanche will attempt to avoid being eliminated from the playoffs.
The Wild have a five-point lead (87-82) for the second wild card in the Western Conference with two games to go, one fewer game than the Avalanche. The Wild can clinch the playoff berth by defeating San Jose at home on Tuesday, or if the Avalanche lose to the Predators, or if the Wild and Avalanche both lose in overtime.
Here are the
GAME NOTES.
"Everything's good," said Duchene, who leads the Avalanche in scoring with 57 points. "I totally understand where (Roy) is coming from, what he's trying to do. I'm on board with it, I think we all are. It was one of those things where right away I certainly knew it wasn't the right thing, the right reaction.
"I kind of buried my head after that, even going back to the bench. I understood it wasn't the right thing. We had a good talk and it's all good."
Duchene, who tipped in
Mikkel Boedker's shot, said his celebration was a spur-of-the-moment reaction.
"If I could go back and change it, I would," said Duchene, who added that he didn't ask Boedker to retrieve the puck.
It didn't help Roy's mood Sunday that the Avalanche have lost three games in a row -- four in a row at home while playing poorly -- and five of the past six games when even a couple of wins would have prevented them from being on the brink of elimination.
Roy also called out his "core" players after the game, questioning their determination to take this team to a higher level.
"After every game, I always try to mention to our fans how I view the game, what I see, and I always speak with my heart," Roy said. "That's the way I am. I'm not saying I'm a total open book, but I'm pretty close to it. I think it's important for our fans to understand where I am and what I think.
"My conversation with Matt was very simple: I want him to be a leader on this team, and I think that our core needs to be leaders. I'm happy that he understands and supported it. I think this is a great opportunity for him to become a better leader."
*****
Defenseman
Nikita Zadorov will play against the Predators after missing one game with a concussion. He was injured Friday when he landed on his back and hit his head on the ice after a check by Washington's
Tom Wilson.
"It was a clean hit, that’s why I recovered so fast,” Zadorov said. “It wasn’t the head or anything."
Here's the Avalanche lineup, according to
NHL.com:
FORWARDS
Shawn Matthias - Matt Duchene - Mikkel Boedker
Gabriel Landeskog - Carl Soderberg - Blake Comeau
Mikhail Grigorenko - John Mitchell - Jarome Iginla
Cody McLeod - Andrew Agozzino - Jack Skille
DEFENSE
Francois Beauchemin - Tyson Barrie
Nick Holden - Erik Johnson
Nikita Zadorov - Zach Redmond
GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard
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