Game 3 notes
By Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
Joel Quenneville said Tuesday morning he was tired of injuries being the first topic of discussion regarding his team. The Avalanche going one game without any new, serious injuries probably would help put the focus on other things.
The Avs lost another key player in Tuesday’s Game 3, when center Paul Stastny suffered a knee injury in the first period and didn’t return.
Stastny, the team’s leading regular-season scorer, will be further evaluated today. He was hurt when he got tangled up with Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk and teammate Adam Foote along the boards.
Stastny’s ailment comes on top of the loss of veteran Ryan Smyth.
We probably won’t know until after the playoffs exactly what is wrong with Smyth’s right foot. But it’s probably a safe bet to say the Avalanche left winger has some kind of serious injury for him to miss a playoff game.
Smyth missed Game 3 with a foot injury, the result of being hit with a shot in Game 2 on Saturday. On Monday, Avs coach Joel Quenneville said Smyth only missed practice because of “maintenance” issues, and was likely to play Tuesday. A day later, Quenneville said Smyth would be out. But for how long?
“We’ll call it day-to-day,” Quenneville said.
Smyth missed three weeks of the regular season with a fractured bone in his right ankle.
Rookie T.J. Hensick replaced Smyth in the lineup, and got his first career playoff point in the first period. The Michigan native put a puck on net that was tipped in by fellow rookie Cody McLeod.
Hannan back
Avs defenseman Scott Hannan returned after missing one game with a foot injury.
Hannan appeared at less than full speed, but the Avs had missed his steady presence in their own end. He played more than 24 minutes in the loss.
Footnotes
Nick Lidstrom played in his 201st career playoff game, breaking the NHL record for European players previously held by Jari Kurri. . . . With his two assists, Joe Sakic moved into eighth place on the all-time NHL playoff scoring list, with 186 points, ahead of Bryan Trottier (184) and Steve Yzerman (185). . . .
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We probably won’t know until after the playoffs exactly what is wrong with Ryan Smyth’s right foot, but it’s probably a safe bet the Avalanche left winger has a serious injury for him to miss a playoff game.
Smyth missed Game 3 against the Red Wings on Tuesday because of a foot injury, the result of being hit with a shot in Game 2 on Saturday. On Monday, Avs coach Joel Quenneville said Smyth missed practice only because of “maintenance” issues, and was likely to play Tuesday. A day later, Quenneville said Smyth would be out. But for how long? “We’ll call it day to day,” Quenneville said.
Smyth missed three weeks of the regular season because of a fractured ankle bone. Rookie T.J. Hensick replaced Smyth in the lineup Tuesday, and got his first career playoff point in the first period. The Michigan native put a puck on net that was tipped in by rookie Cody McLeod.
Hannan back.
Avs defenseman Scott Hannan returned after missing one game because of a foot injury.
Hannan appeared at less than full speed, but the Avs had missed his steady presence in their own end.
Multinetworks.
Game 3 was a rarity, with four telecasts coming from the Pepsi Center.
It was carried on Versus, the national cable network, but Versus has only a limited number of exclusives in the first two rounds, and this wasn’t one of them.
As a result, both Altitude and Fox Sports Net Detroit carried the game with their regular broadcast crews.
Also, TSN — the Canadian equivalent of ESPN — broadcast the game nationally north of the border.
Lacking discipline
Avalanche winger Andrew Brunette said the team needs to be more disciplined.
Colorado had six penalties over the first two periods to two for Detroit, and the Red Wings capitalized with two power play goals.
“We’re anxious and excited and trying to play physical,” Brunette said. “Unfortunately, their power play is as good as it gets. We just have to find a way to play disciplined smart hockey.”
Franzen hot
Detroit’s Johan Franzen had a goal, giving him six in the series and an NHL-most eight in the playoffs. . . . Red Wings defenseman Niklas Lidstrom appeared in his 201st career playoff game, most ever for a European-born player. Lidstrom was tied with Jari Kurri (200 playoff games), who finished his career with the Avalanche. . . . Lidstrom had an assist, the 100th of his career in the playoffs.
Team practices.
Both teams have practices scheduled today in the Denver area, with Game 4 set for Thursday night at the Pepsi Center.
Adrian Dater, Terry Frei, Mike Chambers, David Wright The Denver Post
