TAMPA, FLa. — When the Avalanche learned that Croatian winger Borna Rendulic had suffered a broken leg during the first period against Florida on Thursday night, coach Patrick Roy — whose team continues its road trip Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning — made several short-term decisions.
First, to not call up a forward from Lake Erie. The Avalanche had been carrying an extra forward, through coinciding call-ups and demotions, so a call-up wasn’t an absolute necessity.
Second, to move Cody McLeod up from the fourth line to the third to skate with John Mitchell and Dennis Everberg. “It’s tough to see because ‘Borno’ had been playing good for us,” McLeod said after the Avalanche’s practice at Amalie Arena on Friday. “I guess it’s an opportunity and I have to just play hard when I’m out there.”
And third, for Roy to commit to reinserting veteran Marc-Andre Cliche, who had been the healthy scratch among the forwards against the Panthers, back into the lineup.
“Right now we have no reason to call up somebody,” Roy said. “I think (Cliche) will play and we have 21 guys. We’re fine. We’ll see how the game goes (Saturday) night and we’ll make more decisions after.”
Rendulic, 22, an NHL rookie who has played in Finland, was wearing a boot/cast-type device on his lower left leg and foot as the Avalanche practiced Friday.
Rendulic played only 1:54 during the first period against Florida on a line with Mitchell and Everberg before suffering what initially was said to be a foot injury. That left the Avs with only 11 forwards for the rest of their 4-2 victory over the Panthers.
“I saw it happen in the first along the board,” Roy said of Rendulic’s injury. “I think the guy (a Panther) pushed on his leg and (he) lost his edge and that’s what happened.”
Rendulic has one goal and one assist in 11 games for Colorado in two stints this season.
He was recalled for the second time from Lake Erie on Dec. 31 and became the first Croatian-born player to score an NHL goal, against Philadelphia that night.
“It’s sad, but I guess it’s part of the game,” Roy said of the injury. “We were excited about making them the third line for us.
“The couple of shifts they had together, there was size, there was speed. I really would love to see that happening because I thought it would be a great experience for these guys.”
Roy said of McLeod’s latest opportunity: “He played really well last game, and he deserved to be up on that line. He made a great play on the power play, screening the front of the net, and on five-on-five, I thought he had a lot of urgency, was physical and that’s certainly something that could help our team.
“There’s a reason we agreed to give him a three-year deal. He’s bringing a lot of leadership, a lot of energy to this team, plus he’s having a tough role to play in that sometimes he is going to have to fight with the enforcer of the other team. I don’t know if I should use that word, but the tougher guy on the other side.”
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or
