TORONTO — The first worrisome injury of the Avalanche’s season came Tuesday night, the only bad news in an otherwise fun time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. John-Michael Liles, who scored a goal in the Avs’ 4-1 victory, suffered a right shoulder injury after taking a hit along the boards late in the second period.
By the way Liles bent over in pain after the hit by Toronto’s Mikhail Grabovski, the injury could be serious. The Avs said they will give an update on his condition today. Depending on the severity, shoulder separations or subluxations can sideline players for weeks or months.
Avs coach Joe Sacco didn’t know how badly Liles was hurt but wasn’t happy with the hit by Grabovski.
“He got hit from behind a little bit and went into the boards,” Sacco said.
Liles, who added an assist on Darcy Tucker’s second-period goal, tipped in a puck in front of Leafs goalie Joey MacDonald for his second goal and fifth point of the season to give the Avs a 4-1 lead at 9:36.
The Avs have rookie defenseman Ryan Wilson on the roster, but if Liles can’t play Thursday in Montreal, they might call up another defender from Lake Erie of the AHL, with Derek Peltier a leading candidate.
Friendly faces.
A large contingent of Matt Duchene’s family members and friends were at the game, and they all hung around in the stands afterward to welcome him and other Avalanche players with cheers.
“My buddy (Matt Roberts), who played with me on wing about three years ago from my high school, was down by the bench and had a sign for me (that said ‘Matt Duchene, rookie of the year’), so that was pretty cool,” Duchene said.
Duchene notched an assist in the Avs’ win and nearly scored his first NHL goal on a couple of occasions.
Leafs defender Ian White blocked Duchene’s open-net rebound shot on the power play in the first.
“Right now, I think it’s gotten into bad luck,” Duchene said. “I’ll just keep going. I think I’m doing everything pretty well, so I will just keep going.”
Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
