John-Michael Liles sat out Friday’s Avalanche game with a leg injury, meaning no player on the roster will complete a full 82-game season.
Liles had been the only Avs player to avoid missing a game all season, but the injury suffered late in the first period of Tuesday’s loss at Minnesota proved too much to overcome Friday.
Liles is considered day to day. The Avs went with six defensemen against the Ducks, choosing not to recall anyone from the Lake Erie Monsters.
High cycle.
Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said the Avs are one team that exemplifies a new trend in the NHL — the “high cycle.” Essentially, that means allowing defensemen to jump up higher into the offensive zone on sequences of play.
“There’s a lot of teams doing it, and a lot of teams that have had success in creating more offense from it, from a high cycle. We went through defensive schemes and how we’re supposed to defend that,” Carlyle said.
“I don’t think we’re any different from any other team, when they activate those people you’ve got to collapse down at your net. You’ve got to have three or four guys down at the net if they’re going to send three or four guys to the net.”
Footnote.
The Avs were criticized in the Minnesota media after Tuesday’s game, specifically coach Joe Sacco for putting Cody McLeod and David Koci on the ice with three seconds left in a 5-2 game. What the Avs said wasn’t reported was an unpenalized hit to the head of Kevin Porter by Minnesota defenseman Marek Zidlicky after an empty-net goal.
Besides, Sacco said Friday, “I was just trying to get them more ice time.”
Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
