SAN JOSE, Calif. — Although Peter Mueller remains off skates and out of the Avalanche lineup after suffering a concussion against the Sharks on April 4, Colorado still has something to show for the March 3 trade that sent Wojtek Wolski to the Phoenix Coyotes.
That something is winger Kevin Porter, a Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner at the University of Michigan who was playing in the American Hockey League at the time of the trade and joined the Avalanche on March 10.
Against the Sharks, Porter is playing on the third line with Ryan O’Reilly and Cody McLeod and is also doing some penalty-killing work. It’s heady stuff for a 24-year-old who seemed in danger of being typecast as a minor-league journeyman and organizational player as recently as six weeks ago.
“It’s great being here,” Porter said Friday morning. “I can’t believe I’m playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs right now. I’m just going out there and trying to play my game and not do anything fancy. The line we have now is great, and we just try to get pucks deep, go hard to the net, and hopefully we’ll get some goals.”
Porter is from the Detroit area, and from a family that traditionally — and not surprisingly — has rooted for the Red Wings.
“Now they’re Avalanche fans,” Porter said, laughing. “They still watch the Red Wings, but they’re rooting for us.”
Time ticking on Mueller.
As each day passes that Mueller does not skate, the chances diminish that he’ll be able to play in the first round of the playoffs.
The Avs said Friday there was “no change” in Mueller’s status. The team said he has yet to resume skating, though he has done some off-ice workouts.
Bad ice.
Avalanche and NHL players are accustomed to occasionally poor ice conditions, but the way the HP Pavilion ice was for Game 1 had every Avs player noticing it.
“It is (a factor) for sure. You’ve got to make sure your passes are flat and try not to overhandle the puck. Hopefully, it’s a little better (for Game 2), but probably not,” Avs rookie Matt Duchene said.
The ice has looked snowy and chippy, with pucks bouncing along the surface and hard to handle. Warm temperatures outside don’t help, either, with San Jose being in the 60s Wednesday.
Footnotes.
The Avalanche on Friday said Sunday’s Game 3 at the Pepsi Center wasn’t a sellout but declined to be specific about the number of tickets still available. . . . Right wing David Jones, still recuperating from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, did not play in Game 2. He is skating with the team daily, and there is a chance he could be activated at some point in the series.
