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The Colorado Avalanche will be without key defenseman Tyson Barrie for four to six weeks following a knee-on-knee hit from Wild forward Matt Cooke in the second period of Minnesota's 1-0 overtime win against the Avs. After averaging well over 20 minutes per game in the first two games of the playoffs, Barrie only played 7:14 in Colorado's first loss of the postseason. Avs coach Patrick Roy said Barrie has a medial collateral ligament injury in his left knee. "Knee on Tyson Barrie is without a doubt the play of the game. We lost our best offensive defenseman," Roy said. The hit has drawn the attention of the NHL's Department of Player Safety, which tweeted the following: Cooke is scheduled for an in-person hearing in New York City on Wednesday afternoon. Roy intimated in his postgame news conference that NHL action was likely, especially considering Cooke's suspension history and seriousness of the resulting injury. Barrie was second among Colorado defensemen with 38 points this season in 64 games and led all Avs defensemen with 13 regular season goals, five of which were game winners. Cooke, who was appearing in his 100th career playoff game, was penalized on the play. Colorado general manager Joe Sakic, when asked whether Cooke should be suspended, told the Denver Post, "I'm confident the league will do the right thing." The Avalanche lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 with Game 4 Thursday night in Minnesota. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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