Stanley Cup Playoffs 2014: Colorado Avalanche Injury Updates
By Andrew Dill
Oct 12, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jan Hejda (8) skates with the puck against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
According to Adrian Dater of The Denver Post, the Colorado Avalanche received good news concerning top-line defenseman Jan Hejda. Head coach Patrick Roy reiterated Tuesday afternoon that the 35-year-old is day-to-day after suffering an upper body injury in Colorado’s season finale Sunday night in Anaheim. He appeared to take a slapshot off of his hand, causing him to exit the game. Dater also noted that rookie defenseman Nick Holden practiced alongside Erik Johnson just incase Hejda can’t go for game one.
Roy was fairly optimistic about the possibility of centerman John Mitchell returning in the series against the Minnesota Wild. Mitchell has been dealing with a concussion he suffered last week and Patrick Roy noted he was feeling better. Moving on to another centerman who led the team in points (70) and assists (47), Matt Duchene is entering week four of his prognosis for his MCL injury. He did not skate Tuesday and isn’t expected to be in uniform for the first two games of the series.
Here is what the possible lines and defensive pairings the Avalanche could be looking at for game one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Line 1: Ryan O’Reilly – Nathan MacKinnon – P.A. Parenteau
Line 2: Gabriel Landeskog – Paul Stastny – Jamie McGinn
Line 3: Maxime Talbot – Marc-Andre Cliche – Cody McLeod
Line 4: Patrick Bordeleau – Brad Malone – Paul Carey
Defensive Pairings:
Pair 1: Jan Hejda – Erik Johnson
Pair 2: Tyson Barrie – Nick Holden
Pair 3: Andre Benoit –Nate Guenin
Goaltenders:
1: Semyon Varlamov
2: Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Here is a look ahead at the scheduling for the first round series between the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild.
Game 1: Thu. April 17th: Wild vs. Avalanche (9:30 PM ET, 7:30 PM MT)
Game 2: Sat. April 19th: Wild vs. Avalanche (9:30 PM ET, 7:30 PM MT)
Game 3: Mon. April 21st: Avalanche vs. Wild (7:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM MT)
Game 4: Thu. April 24th: Avalanche vs. Wild (9:30 PM ET, 7:30 PM MT)
Game 5: (If necessary) Sat. April 26th: Wild vs. Avalanche (TBA)
Game 6: (If necessary) Mon. April 28th: Avalanche vs. Wild (TBA)
Game 7: (If necessary) Wed. April 30th: Wild vs. Avalanche (TBA)