Avalanche defenseman Jordan Leopold missed his second consecutive game with a hip injury Saturday night against Columbus.
Leopold could return Tuesday against Calgary. He described the injury as minor, and appeared to be walking with no discomfort in the dressing room after Colorado’s 5-1 victory.
Leopold missed 65 games last season with hernia and wrist injuries.
Wolski moved up. The Avs inserted Wojtek Wolski on the first line against Columbus, up from the third line. Jaroslav Hlinka took Wolski’s spot on a line with Tyler Arnason and Marek Svatos. The sophomore left winger had two assists.
“I thought Woolly had a good game,” Avs coach Joel Quenneville said. “We wanted to mix things up a little bit, try to get that top line going a little.”
Still no sellouts. Attendance for the game was 16,153, meaning the Avalanche has yet to sell out a home game this season. The Avs had an NHL record 487 straight sellouts end last season.
Footnotes. Ben Guite was the lone healthy scratch for the Avalanche. … Blue Jackets goalie Pascal Leclaire saw his shutout streak end at 156:29, the franchise record. … The Avs’ penalty-killing unit did not allow a power-play goal for the second consecutive game. Colorado has killed off 19 of the past 20 opposition chances. … Joe Sakic is now one hat trick shy of Peter Stastny’s franchise record of 16. … The Avs will not practice today. Many players are expected to attend tonight’s Rockies playoff game.
