"We're fighting for our lives," Avalanche forward Matt Duchene said. "We've got to win the next three, and we've got to hope [Minnesota] loses the next two. That's the mindset going forward here."
Avalanche coach Patrick Roy had strong words about Duchene's goal celebration in a 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. Duchene said he and Roy have talked since then and that the two have no issue.
"We talked, we had a good chat [Monday]," Duchene said. "It's one of those things that I totally understand where he's coming from and what he's trying to do. I'm on board with it, and I think we all are. It's one of those things that right away, I knew that was not the right thing. It wasn't the right reaction. I kind of buried my head after that, even going back to the bench because I understood it just wasn't the right thing. We had a good talk, and it's all good."
Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis could return to the lineup. Ellis has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury after taking a puck to the side of the head in a 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on March 29.
"It's up to the coaches at this point," Ellis said. "I feel good. Like I said before, no one is going to be 100 percent in here. It's the way things are as you head down the stretch and into the [playoffs], and that's part of the game and part of why you have a bunch of teammates to pick you up at that point."
Here are the projected lineups:
AVALANCHE
Shawn Matthias - Matt Duchene - Mikkel Boedker
Gabriel Landeskog - Carl Soderberg - Blake Comeau
Mikhail Grigorenko - John Mitchell - Jarome Iginla
Cody McLeod - Andrew Agozzino - Jack Skille
Francois Beauchemin - Tyson Barrie
Nick Holden - Erik Johnson
Nikita Zadorov - Zach Redmond
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Andrew Bodnarchuk, Andreas Martinsen, Chris Bigras
Injured: Nathan MacKinnon (knee), Brad Stuart (back), Ben Street (chest), Jesse Winchester (concussion), Eric Gelinas (elbow)
PREDATORS
Calle Jarnkrok - Ryan Johansen - James Neal
Filip Forsberg - Mike Ribeiro - Craig Smith
Colin Wilson - Mike Fisher - Viktor Arvidsson
Cody Bass - Paul Gaustad - Colton Sissons
Roman Josi - Shea Weber
Mattias Ekholm - Petter Granberg
Barret Jackman - Ryan Ellis
Pekka Rinne
Carter Hutton
Scratched: Eric Nystrom, Austin Watson
Injured: Anthony Bitetto (lower body), Miikka Salomaki (undisclosed), Gabriel Bourque (upper body)
Status report: Varlamov will start for the Avalanche. … Zadorov will replace Bigras on defense. … The Predators held an optional morning skate. … Rinne is expected to start for the Predators . … Defenseman Stefan Elliott was reassigned to Milwaukee of the American Hockey League.
Who's hot: Landeskog has two goals and one assist in his past four games. … Neal has eight goals and six assists in his past 10 games.
