The Avalanche depth will be severely tested for at least the next two games, against Philadelphia and Minnesota at the Pepsi Center, without centers Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon, both out with knee injuries.
Coach Patrick Roy said Tuesday that Duchene and MacKinnon -- the team's top two scorers with a combined 50 goals and 58 assists -- won't play against the Flyers on Thursday or against the Wild in Saturday's Central Division showdown, and they won't skate this week.
"We're going to go on a weekly basis," Roy said. "Sunday ask me the same question, see if they're going to come on the road trip (at Nashville and St. Louis next Monday and Tuesday). I'll give you an update every week to see how they're doing and if they're close to coming back. We'll see how it goes over the weekend."
Goalie Semyon Varlamov will play Thursday and Saturday.
The Avalanche (38-31-4) had a one-point lead on Minnesota (34-28-11) for the second wild card position in the Western Conference before the Wild played at home Tuesday night against Los Angeles. The Avalanche have nine games left, the Wild eight after playing the Kings. Colorado had a three-game lead (34-31) in regulation and overtime wins, the first tiebreaker if it comes to that.
Duchene was injured last Wednesday in the Avalanche's 3-1 win in Vancouver, MacKinnon on Friday in a 4-3 shootout win in Calgary. Captain Gabriel Landeskog returned from his three-game suspension Sunday in a 3-2 win in Edmonton.
The Avalanche have won five of their past six games, the lone blemish that 3-2 loss in Winnipeg on March 12 when they squandered a 2-0 lead.
"We've been playing some smart hockey, working hard on our puck possession, making sure that we have the puck more," Roy said. "Defensively, our tracking is good. The depth I don't think has been as good as it is now in my three years here."
Roy said Mikhail Grigorenko will center Mikkel Boedker and Blake Comeau, with Mikko Rantanen centering Cody McLeod and Jack Skille. Carl Soderberg will skate with Shawn Matthias and Landeskog, while John Mitchell will be with Andreas Martinsen and Jarome Iginla.
"Every team has their fair share of injuries throughout the season," Landeskog said. "It's tough timing with these ones, but it is what it is and there's not much you can do about it. We know that we have a deep enough team, a good enough team to win.
"It's a matter of focusing on what we have, focusing on what we have in the lineup. It's a matter of going out and winning hockey games, not looking for excuses. This is the time of year where you just have to find ways to get some points every night, and that's the way we're going to do it.
"Guys have to step up, especially when guys go down. Different guys will get more ice time, get a chance on the power play. The guys that do get a chance, it's a good opportunity for them to spark the team."
With Eric Gelinas out indefinitely with an elbow injury, Roy said he'll rotate Andrew Bodnarchuk and Zach Redmond on the third defensive pairing with Chris Bigras. There are no plans to recall Nikita Zadorov from San Antonio.