DENVER—Colorado Avalanche rookie Matt Duchene can withstand a little pain for a sense of pride.
As a kid growing up in Canada, Duchene worshipped the Avalanche, adorning his room with posters of Joe Sakic and cutout pictures of Peter Forsberg.
He wanted to be just like them, especially come playoff time.
Now that the opportunity is here, Duchene is going to do everything in his power to play through the pain of a torso injury. Duchene said after practice Tuesday he will be ready for the playoff opener in San Jose on Wednesday night.
“I’m obviously pretty sore, but I’m going to do what I have to do,” Duchene said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to have the jersey on and do what some of my heroes did in the past.”
The 19-year-old Duchene was a big reason the Avalanche transformed into a playoff team a year after finishing last in the West.
Taken with the third overall pick in 2009, Duchene turned in a season worthy of consideration for the rookie of the year award. He led all NHL rookies in points (55) and tied for most goals (24) with John Tavares of the New York Islanders.
The only thing that slowed Duchene down was that torso injury late in the season, the result of a center-ice collision against Edmonton last Wednesday.
It was an injury that actually had him quite concerned.
He tried to suit up two days later, playing in the first period of a loss to Chicago. But he left when the injury flared up again. Duchene was even taken to the hospital as a precaution and discharged the next morning.
“We thought it was pretty serious,” Duchene admitted. “I was pretty freaked out. I was pretty happy when the results came back negative.”
Now, it’s just a matter of pain management.
“It’s not going to limit me that much,” he said.
Duchene has been thinking of this day since he began lacing up his skates. His first playoff game in his inaugural season?
He couldn’t ask for much more.
“There’s a lot of great players that haven’t gotten to taste (the postseason) very much in the league,” Duchene said. “I feel very fortunate.”
While the Avalanche may have Duchene back, they’ll be without forward Peter Mueller, who won’t make the trip. Mueller has been sidelined with a head injury after taking a hit along the boards from San Jose’s Rob Blake on April 4. Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said there is no timetable for Mueller’s return.
Mueller has been one of the Avalanche’s most consistent offensive contributors since being acquired in a trade with Phoenix, accumulating 20 points in 15 games.
That won’t be easy to replace.
But the Avalanche have a bevy of young players ready to step in and contribute. Colorado’s youth movement this season was one of the reasons they advanced to the playoffs when few were giving them any kind of chance.
“We’re not surprised at all,” Duchene said. “I didn’t know what the NHL level was going to be like, but I couldn’t imagine this team was going to be a bad team. We proved to everybody we’re already a team to be reckoned with. I think if we play our game, hopefully, we can do some damage in the playoffs.”
While Duchene has already started growing a scraggly playoff beard, other Avalanche players have taken it to a different level. Cody McLeod and Matt Hendricks showed up in the locker room sporting Mohawks.
“We’ll see if it brings us good luck,” McLeod said, laughing.
Did Duchene consider trimming his hair?
“No chance,” he said. “I love it, but not on me.”
