The surprising Colorado Avalanche will reportedly be without Matt Duchene for at least the first two games of their first round series against the Minnesota Wild.
Duchene, who sustained a knee injury in a collision with teammate Jamie McGinn in late March, did not practice with his teammates Tuesday.
"Obviously, with 'Dutchy' out it puts a lot more pressure on everybody else," said Avalanche rookie Nathan MacKinnon on Tuesday. "But we have tons of good forwards. It's not just going to be me that they're going to be paying attention to."
MacKinnon is expected to center PA Parenteau and Ryan O'Reilly on a secondary scoring line in Duchene's absence. "It's something we're going to start with. Is it going to stay that way? I'm not sure," Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy told the Denver Post's Adrian Dater. "It brings some speed in the middle, which I like. I think it's good to have that option for us."
