Already missing Matt Duchene, the Colorado Avalanche will be without another key player for the foreseeable future.
Defenceman Tyson Barrie left Monday’s game against the Minnesota Wild after a knee-on-knee hit from Matt Cooke and will miss four to six weeks with a medial collateral ligament injury, according to Patrick Roy.
Cooke received a two-minute minor for kneeing on the play and has been offered an in-person hearing by the NHL department of player safety. Cooke’s hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Programming Note: Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers will air on Sportsnet 360 Tuesday night beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
At 2:02 in the second period of Wild’s 1-0 overtime win over the Avalanche, Cooke stepped into Barrie as the 22-year-old attempted to make a pass while approaching the blue line and delivered the hit. Barrie immediately left the game and did not return.
Roy called it the “play of the game,” lamenting the loss of his team’s best offensive defenceman. The coach said he thought the play warranted more punishment than Cooke’s two-minute minor penalty.
“I think it would’ve broke their momentum. There’s a key moment in those games. And now we believe that the league will make the right call,” Roy said.
Barrie had 13 goals and 25 assists in the regular season.
With files from Associated Press
