NEWARK, N.J. - The Colorado Avalanche will have center Matt Duchene back in the lineup on Thursday when they play the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.
Duchene, who suffered a right ankle injury on March 6 against the Minnesota Wild and missed the previous four games, was originally expected to be sidelined three to four weeks.
Duchene, who suffered a right ankle injury on March 6 against the Minnesota Wild and missed the previous four games, was originally expected to be sidelined three to four weeks.
The third-year forward is expected to center wings Peter Mueller and Milan Hejduk. Duchene has 13 goals and 26 points in 48 games for the Avalanche this season. He also missed 20 games with a knee injury earlier this season -- he was leading the team in goals and ranked second in points at the time of the injury.
Colorado coach Joe Sacco will start Jean-Sebastien Giguere between the pipes. The Devils will counter with Martin Brodeur. The Giguere-Brodeur matchup became quite an item during the 2003 Stanley Cup Final, when Brodeur helped the Devils to a seven-game series triumph -- even though Giguere won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Follow Mike Morreale on Twitter at: @mike_morreale
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