who sprained his knee on March 10, briefly skated on his own Monday

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. Texas Rangers Gear . -- The Colorado Avalanche will be heading into their first post-season in four years without leading scorer Matt Duchene after the forward suffered a quirky left knee injury. Duchene hurt his medial collateral ligament when he ran into a teammate on the opening shift against San Jose over the weekend. Hes expected to miss about four weeks. The loss is a big blow for the Avalanche, who have turned things around in coach Patrick Roys first season in charge and are in the running for home-ice advantage with eight games remaining. "We hope for a speedy recovery to be back as soon as he can," Ryan OReilly said after practice Monday. Duchene was trying to avoid a collision with teammate Jamie McGinn, but they awkwardly bumped anyway near the Sharks blue line. Duchene fell to the ice and then gingerly skated to the bench. "One of those freak accidents in hockey," McGinn said. McGinn said hes called and texted Duchene, telling him to "stay positive." Duchene posted on his Twitter account Monday that the "thought of not playing in the first round for me has been devastating." He added that he will be "doing everything in my power to be ready for Game 1... And if not then, shortly after!" The 23-year-old Duchene has set career highs this season in points (70), assists (47) and shots (217). He missed three games earlier this season with an oblique injury. The team went 3-0 in his absence. For now, Roy said the plan is to move rookie Nathan MacKinnon to centre to fill in for Duchene, with OReilly and McGinn playing on the wings. "Weve been finding ways to win games," Roy said. "Well continue to find ways to win." Heres an encouraging sign: P.A. Parenteau, who sprained his knee on March 10, briefly skated on his own Monday. Roy said Parenteau could possibly be back for the regular season finale in Anaheim on April 13. "We have depth and a lot of confidence in our players," Roy said. "Our players have a lot of confidence in themselves. Its a team concept. Its how weve been winning our games. Its not going to change." Right after practice, Roy assembled his team at centre ice, just to give them one final pep talk before taking off for their game in Columbus on Tuesday. He told them he was "proud of them" and that the team shouldnt be satisfied, especially with Colorado trailing Central Division-leading St. Louis by only seven points. The message was well received. "All year, guys have stepped up and done a great job," McGinn said. "We just stay positive and work hard and good things will happen." Asked if there was any pressure stepping in for Duchene, MacKinnon responded, "No." "Im not going to try to replace Dutchy, because you cant," said MacKinnon, a clear favourite for rookie of the year. "Matt is a big-time player and were going to have to find ways to win without him." Roy knows all about missing an integral player for the post-season. He and the Avalanche were without Peter Forsberg during their 2001 Stanley Cup run when Forsberg had to have his spleen removed after the first round. The team carried on without the Swedish star, beating the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 to win the title. "Thats the way it was in 2001 -- it was about the team," Roy said. "Peter was a very important player on that team, dont get me wrong. But our culture was we had to work hard every time we were on the ice. We had to find ways to win hockey games. "Thats what this team has been doing all year. This is what were talking about when youre talking about a team changing their culture. Were not looking for an excuse. Were looking for a solution." Texas Rangers Store . Head of clinic Josef Obrist tells the Austria Press Agency on Thursday that Morgenstern "is doing surprisingly well. ... He still has a memory gap but thats nothing unusual." Morgenstern has moved to a rehabilitation clinic in Klagenfurt for further recovery. Texas Rangers Pro Shop . -- The Florida Gators are first yet again this season. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/ .com) - Sporting Kansas City announced Thursday that club has signed former on-loan midfielder Jimmy Medranda to a permanent contract from Colombian side Deportivo Pereira.OAKLAND, Calif. - Spencer Hawes had 22 points and 13 rebounds to help the Cleveland Cavaliers erase an 18-point first-half deficit on the way to a 103-94 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Dion Waiters added 18 points and Luol Deng and Kyrie Irving had 16 apiece for the Cavaliers, who overcame a slow start to take the game over in the final three quarters and snap a six-game losing streak against the Warriors. Stephen Curry scored 27 points on his 26th birthday and Draymond Green added 18 but it wasnt enough to prevent another bad home loss by the Warriors, who were without starting guard Klay Thompson. He was in the Bahamas for his grandfathers funeral. Golden State had won five straight at home following a 4-6 stretch in January and February that included losses to lesser teams like Denver, Minnesota, Washington and Charlotte. This game didnt look like it would follow that pattern the way it started with Golden State taking a 16-point lead less than 6 minutes into the game. But the Cavaliers got back into it in the second quarter and broke it open after Curry hit back-to-back 3-pointers that put Golden State up 62-58 midway through the third. But Cleveland ended the quarter on a 13-3 run that included two 3-pointers from Irving to take an 84-71 lead heading into the fourth — a stunning 29-point turnaround in the middle two quarters. But Irving scored seven points in the fourth quarterr, including a long 3-pointer that made it 95-80 with less than 6 minutes to play to keep the Cavs in control. Rangers Jerseys 2020. The Warriors got off to a fast start with David Lee scoring nine of the games first 13 points and Golden State going up 20-4 following back-to-back 3-pointers by Andre Iguodala midway through the quarter. The lead grew to 36-18 early in the second before the Cavaliers erased it to the shock of the home crowd. Matthew Dellavedova, who starred in college at nearby Saint Marys, made a pair of 3-pointers and assisted on another by Waiters as part of a 13-0 spurt. The run extended to 23-2 as Waiters came from out of bounds to steal a ball from Andrew Bogut and laid it in and then hit a 3-pointer the next time down. Bogut was called for a technical foul after that shot and Jarrett Jacks free throw have the Cavaliers a 41-38 lead. Harrison Barnes put Golden State back in front with consecutive baskets and Golden State led 53-52 at the half. NOTES: Cleveland G Jarrett Jack got a warm ovation in pregame introductions in his first game here since leaving as a free agent last summer. ... Golden State C Jermaine ONeal played his 1,000th career game. Thompson had played 214 consecutive games played — longest in team history to start a career. He is expected back Sunday in Portland barring any travel problems. ... Cavaliers G C.J. Miles missed the game with a sprained left ankle. ' ' '