The Avalanche announced Sunday that injured centers Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon wouldn't accompany them on the two-game road trip to Nashville and St. Louis that begins Monday against the Predators.
No surprise there. The Avalanche are all but out of the playoff picture following their 4-0 loss to Minnesota on Saturday, and neither player has skated since going out with knee injuries.
Our paths crossed in a Pepsi Center hallway after the game Saturday while walking in opposite directions, but team rules prohibit interviews with injured players, so all I could do was say hello and keep going.
At this point, barring a miraculous Avalanche surge and unlikely Wild collapse, there's no reason to think Duchene and MacKinnon will play again this season.
Every team the Avalanche play the rest of the way has virtually wrapped up a playoff position and is competing for a higher seed. Three of the Wild's remaining opponents -- Calgary, Ottawa and Winnipeg -- have nothing to play for. If the Wild split their remaining six games, the Avalanche would need 12 points in their final seven games to overtake them. Think that's going to happen?
"I know the schedule doesn't favor us, I hear it," coach Patrick Roy said. "But at the same time we have a game in hand. Let's just play our games and play the way we're capable of."
The Avalanche will miss the playoffs for the second year in a row and for the sixth time in the past eight. Among the reasons: They couldn't protect late leads, didn't "earn" enough points for overtime losses -- four, fewest in the league and seven fewer than the Wild -- and a poor home record (17-17-4).
"It's obvious that our home record this year hasn't been good enough, but let's go on the road and let's see what we can do," Roy said. "This group, even if we didn't play well (Saturday) after they scored their first goal, didn't quit. They kept working ... this is the type of group that we have."
The Avalanche lost four of five games against the Wild, who picked up a point in their 2-1 overtime defeat Dec. 7. Not good enough, obviously.
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The Avalanche on Sunday announced they've recalled forward Andrew Agozzino and defenseman Nikita Zadorov from San Antonio after returning 2015 first-round pick Mikko Rantanen to the Rampage.
The Avalanche have preserved Rantanen's three-year entry-level contract by keeping him out of his 10th NHL game. He didn't have a point in nine games and played sparingly on the fourth line following his March 19 recall from the AHL team.
"We’re not going to burn a year, first of all," GM Joe Sakic told the Denver Post. "He will start (in Colorado) next year."
Also, if the NHL eventually expands to Las Vegas and Quebec City, first- and second-year players are expected to be exempt in an expansion draft.
"It’s got to be negotiated, but in his first two years, he would be treated like a junior player," Sakic said. "From our understanding, but not 100 percent, the first two years he won’t be exposed, so you don’t have to protect them. So you can protect your other guys. If expansion (starts) in another year, he would be a one-year pro, not a two. If we have to protect him, that’s a guy we’ll protect. You only have so many players to protect.…
Agozzino, 25, has 12 goals and 17 assists in 39 games with the Rampage. Zadorov, 20, has 10 goals and 19 assists in 52 games.
It's pretty clear the Avalanche have given up on center Joey Hishon. The former first-round pick is San Antonio's third-leading scorer with 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 55 games.