With the final Western Conference playoff spot on the line, the Avalanche will be without its top two scorers — Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon — because of knee injuries.
Coach Patrick Roy on Tuesday announced both will be out on a “week-to-week” basis. At a minimum, Duchene and MacKinnon will miss two of the regular season’s final nine games, including Saturday’s showdown against visiting Minnesota.
Before the Wild hosted the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, the Avs led Minnesota by one point for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
“They won’t play over the weekend for sure — Thursday and Saturday against Minny,” Roy said. “Sunday, ask me the same question (and) see if they’re going to come on the road trip, and I’ll give you an update every week.”
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The Avs, who host Philadelphia on Thursday, start a two-game trip Monday at Nashville.
“It’s not going to change anything for us. Obviously it’s a tough break, but every team goes through their injuries,” Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog said. “We know we have a deep-enough team to win hockey games. It will be fun. It’s a good test for us, and it’s the best time of year.”
Duchene leads Colorado in goals (29) and points (56). MacKinnon has 21 goals and 52 points, both second on the team. The Avs are 2-0 without Duchene, who was injured March 16 at Vancouver, and 1-0 without MacKinnon, who went down Friday at Calgary. Both played every game before their injuries.
Their absences might keep rookie forward Mikko Rantanen in Colorado. Rantanen, the 10th selection in the 2015 draft, leads the American Hockey League in rookie scoring, despite playing in only 44 games.
He has played seven games with the Avs, and if he reaches 10, he will burn the first year of his entry-level contract. But without Duchene and MacKinnon, Rantanen could be needed to help out offensively.
Roy said he would be surprised if the Avs allow Rantanen to play in a 10th game, but the coach said nothing will be determined until after Rantanen plays his ninth — almost certainly Saturday against Minnesota.
“Just trying not to think about it too much, that contract thing,” Rantanen said. “The guys upstairs decide what to do, and I just try to play as well as I can and try to help the team win. It’s a big playoff push here. I don’t decide where I play.”
Rantanen, 19, is in his first year in North America playing on NHL-size sheets. In 80 years of the AHL, he became the second-youngest player to play in the league’s all-star game.
Footnotes. The Avs — who had goalie Calvin Pickard backstop Sunday’s 3-2 victory at Edmonton, which made Colorado a perfect 3-0 on the trip — will use Semyon Varlamov on Thursday and Saturday, Roy said. … Forward Jarome Iginla, 38, took Tuesday off as the Avs practiced with only 11 forwards. The three centers were Carl Soderberg, Mikhail Grigorenko and John Mitchell.
Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or @mikechambers
