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This in from the NHL: Avalanche left wing Cody McLeod will have a hearing with Department of Player Safety director Brendan Shanahan for his hit against Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall in Thursday's game.

McLeod was offered the opportunity for an in-person hearing as required by provisions of the collective bargaining agreement for any suspension that can exceed five games.

At 2:13 of the first period, McLeod was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Kronwall, who remained down and was taken from the ice on a stretcher. He did not return. The Red Wings announced Kronwall sustained a concussion and cuts to his right ear.

The following grounds are being considered for supplemental discipline: boarding. However, the Department of Player Safety retains the right to make adjustments to the infraction upon review.



"I think (Friday) we've got to see how he feels," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said after the game. "He talked to the doctor. He's alert. Let's get to (Friday) morning, let's see how he's doing. He obviously hit his head. He hasn't gone to the hospital. I went down to the locker room and he was talking to the doctor. He was being evaluated. He was going through the sequence of events."

When Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was asked about the hit, he said: "The good thing about that is they pay Shanny to figure that out, not me. (Kronwall) will be evaluated, obviously. Tough situation for him. Anytime you get hit like that, you're out cold. He's doing pretty well. Obviously, when you see that and see a guy knocked out on the ice, you're scared to say the least."

Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said he hadn't looked at a replay.

"I didn't look at it because I didn't want to look at it," he said. "I didn't want to make a comment on it, but from the bench I thought that Kronwall turned his back at the last minute. Does that make it a dirty hit or not? I guess Shanahan is going to have to make the decision. From the bench I just saw the defenseman turn his back at the last second. It's hard for a player to stop."

The Avalanche didn't practice Friday and was scheduled to leave around noon (Mountain time) for Buffalo to begin a two-game road trip that starts Saturday night against the Sabres. The Avalanche plays in Pittsburgh on Monday night.

*****

The Avalanche is determined not to let the first defeat of the season, Thursday night's 4-2 loss to the Red Wings, be such a downer that it affects the team in a negative way.

"There's been games where I didn't think we played as well as tonight," Roy said. "We had a lot of chances. We gave up, what, 24 shots? (28, actually). Everybody was talking, you're giving up 40. Maybe we should have given up 40 and win the game. Anyway, we played a good game.

"I know we have no reward, but there were nights where we didn't play as well and there was (a reward). It is important for us to keep our heads up and be ready for the Buffalo game (on Saturday night) and get back right away on the winning side."

At least Avalanche players won't have to deal with Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk when they meet the Sabres. These guys have made life miserable for them throughout their NHL careers.

They each scored two goals -- one apiece in the first and third periods -- and have combined for 32 goals and 34 assists in 68 regular-season games against the Avalanche.

The Red Wings also received a superb performance from goalie Jonas Gustavsson, who made 38 saves in his third consecutive start while Jimmy Howard recovers from a bruised hand.

“We usually play pretty good coming in here," Franzen said. "We make it hard on them and you have to slow them down as much as you can. You know, it’s high altitude and you have to play smart to beat these guys. They have some great skills and some great speed and I think we did a good job with that.”

Franzen, who didn't have a goal in the Red Wings' first seven games, broke a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 7:10 of the third period. He opened the scoring with another one at 6:08 of the first period when he used his 6-foot-3, 223-pound body to muscle his way through the goalmouth after taking a return pass from Henrik Zetterberg.

That goal came after McLeod was assessed his penalties for his hit from behind against Kronwall.

Datsyuk -- is there a better all-around player on the planet? -- gave the Red Wings a 4-2 lead at 13:35 of the third period when he put in his own rebound after Daniel Alfredsson passed the puck past sliding Avalanche defensemen Andre Benoitand Erik Johnson.

"What a play by Datsyuk," Roy said. "You don't see too many guys capable of picking up a rebound like this. That was quite something."

Datsyuk was right in front of Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov when he converted the rebound of defenseman Danny DeKeyser's shot at the 15-minute mark of the first period for a 2-0 advantage.

Roy said he couldn't fault Varlamov for any of the goals.

"There were a lot of scramble plays," he said. "I cannot say they were easy goals. The first goal, Franzen turned and showed great hands. The fourth one, Datsyuk ... I mean, how many guys can pick up rebounds like this? He's probably the only one in the league that could do such a thing. The third one, the power-play goal, it was a perfect shot over the shoulder. I thought (Varlamov) did a good job.

"There's some details in our game that needs to be better, and we're all aware of that. We will correct them."

The official capacity at the Pepsi Center is 18,007 for hockey, but the attendance for Thursday's game was 18,101, so nearly an extra hundred fans were squeezed in. Standing room, I assume.

*****

Trailing by two goals for the first time this season, the Avalanche tied the game 2-2 with second-period power-play goals by Johnson and captain Gabriel Landeskog. They were the first goals of the season for each.

"I thought our guys played hard," Roy said. "It would have been very easy for them to give up after the first, and we bounced back in the second period. Like I said to them, we had to expect one time to be behind. We were still in that game. We had great energy in that second period. Their goalie made some great saves and kept them in the game.

"I loved the energy that we had for the entire game. I'm telling you, if we play a lot of games like this, we're not going to lose that many."

Johnson went end-to-end to score his first goal in 58 games, since Feb. 17, 2012 at Edmonton after Varlamov made a save. Johnson skated through the Red Wings defense, moved into the right faceoff circle and ripped a shot that went under Gustavsson's right arm at 2:36.

It was the kind of play you would expect from a guy who was drafted first overall (by St. Louis in 2006), but have rarely seen. The goal was the third by an Avalanche defenseman this season, one fewer than the group scored in 48 games last year.

*****

After killing 15 of 16 penalties in the first six games -- Dallas scored a goal with one second left on a power play Tuesday -- the Avalanche gave up two power-play goals on five chances against the Red Wings. Detroit totaled four shots on goal during the man advantages.

Losing McLeod didn't help. He and John Mitchell are the usual forwards on the first penalty-killing unit. Roy used a number of forwards, with Mitchell, Ryan O'Reilly, Jamie McGinn, Alex Tanguay and Paul Stastny getting most of the penalty-killing chores up front.

"It was big," Roy said. "He's been really good on our penalty killing. I thought our penalty killing did a good job, even if we gave up two goals. One of them was a broken play and they made a super play out of it. I thought the guys were involved."

*****

Avalanche players remained upbeat after the game, despite the disappointing loss.

"We still have the second-best record in the league," Matt Duchene said. "It's unfortunate we couldn't keep it going, especially against these guys, but we played real hard. They played really well, too. They're great hockey players and they showed it tonight."

No one showed it better than Datsyuk and Franzen.

"Datsyuk was unbelievable," Duchene said. "He's a fun player to watch when he's doing that. It's unfortunate that he put in two against us, but you have to tip your hat to him."

It did bother Duchene that he had a semi-breakaway late in the first period when he managed to get off a shot on goal despite getting slashed by defenseman Jakub Kindl.

"I got slashed on the hand and the (referee) told me it was all pants," he said. "I don't know. I didn't like it at all. I tried to go upstairs and I hit (Gustavsson) right in the toe. If I don't get slashed on the hand, hopefully I get the shot up and it's in. He's convinced I got hit in the pants. That's his call. I thought it could have been a penalty or a penalty shot for sure."

*****

Roy was interviewed after Thursday's morning skate by former Red Wings goalie
Chris Osgood, now a Detroit broadcaster. Remember, they fought during a game at Joe Louis Arena on April 1, 1998.

"It was a great battle at the time with the Red Wings," Roy said. "It's all behind. It was fun to do it." The interview, that is.

Osgood said he wasn't sure what to expect, but that he enjoyed the sit-down chat.

"It was a lot of fun," he told Detroit reporters. "I didn't really know what to expect from my first-ever interview. Trial by fire, I guess, to start with that interview. But it was fun. He's a very, very smart man. It was great to talk to him."

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