DUCHENE UNLIKELY TO PLAY VS. WILD

Even if the Avalanche’s series against the MinnesotaWild goes seven games, Matt Duchene is unlikely to play.

That was the opinion of Avs coach Patrick Roy when asked about Duchene, who has been out sinceMarch 29 because of a knee injury and originally was expected to miss at least four weeks. Game 7 would be played April 30 at the Pepsi Center.

“I don’t think we will see Matt in (this) series,” Roy said. “I’d be very, very surprised. He hasn’t started skating yet.”

The news wasn’t positive regarding another injured Avs center, John Mitchell, either. Mitchell has been out since last week, likely with a concussion.

“To me, he’s still a day to day. We’ll see how it goes. But he’s not close. I mean, he hasn’t even started to ride the bike. He’s not ready to play,” Roy said.

Duchene has started to ride a bike. But when he will resume skating is uncertain.

MacKinnon the great.

Nathan MacKinnon used his world-class speed and stick handling to literally putWild defenseman Jared Spurgeon on his heels, then his backside, just before the Avs rookie unleashed a wrist shot that tied it 1-1 early in Game 2.

Before the game, Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said his team must do a better job of containing MacKinnon, who had three assists in Game 1. That strategy failed as MacKinnon assisted on the other three goals for a fourpoint game.

Yeo wanted his team to play the 18-year-old more physical.

“Nate can handle that, no problem,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said at the morning skate, long beforeMacKinnon scored Colorado’s first goal in superstar fashion. “We’ve seen him hit people with the puck, kind of like (Peter) Forsberg, and we’ve seen him stand up for himself. He’s fine. He’s so skilled, and he’s got the vision to see where the guys are coming. We’re not worried about that.”

Bryzgalov pulled in second.

Minnesota goalie Ilya Bryzgalov entered Game 2 against the Avs having allowed 13 goals in his past three games, but theWild stuck with the Russian.

That is, until Landeskog scored his second goal in the second period, prompting theWild to pull Bryzgalov in favor of rookie Darcy Kuemper. Bryzgalov finished with 11 saves on 14 shots for a .786 save percentage. Kuemper stopped all 14 shots he faced.

Pledge from Parenteau.

Avs winger P.A. Parenteau wasn’t happy with his performance in Game 1 and acknowledged that he needed to be a lot better starting with Game 2.

“Iwas not good,” he said. “I think you’re going to see me movingmy feet more fromnowon.”

Elliott on standby.

Stefan Elliott, called up late in the regular season to fill in for then-injured Tyson Barrie, remains with the Avs as a depth defender. “It’s a good experience being here in the playoffs,” Elliott said.