Matt Duchene’s Dallas debut to the season has already hit a wall.
The former Colorado Avalanche first-round pick is on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury, leaving the Stars without one of their most established scorers as they try to dig out of an early hole. Dallas opened the year with a 4-0 home loss to the St. Louis Blues and followed that with a 2-1 defeat against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, both without Duchene in the lineup.
The earliest he can return is Oct. 25 against the New York Islanders, which would be Dallas’ 11th game. That is only the first date he’s eligible, though, not a promise that he’ll be back then.
The injury traces back to training camp, when the lower-body issue first surfaced. Dallas attempted to manage it, but Duchene eventually suffered a setback and landed on LTIR. He’ll be out at least 10 games.
For the Stars, the timing couldn’t be much rougher. They’ve scored just one goal in their first two games and are already searching for more offense.
Duchene, who turns 36 in January, proved last season that he could still drive a top-line attack. He played all 82 games for Dallas in 2024-25 and paced the team with 30 goals and 52 assists for 82 points. It was the third 30-goal season of his career.
His 2024-25 campaign was followed by a much tougher stretch. Duchene missed 25 games after suffering a vestibular concussion on a hard hit from Minnesota Wild defenseman Jake Middleton. He later called it the hardest injury he’d had to recover from.
Colorado still has a long memory for Duchene, and for good reason. He was the No. 3 overall pick by the Avalanche in 2009 and spent parts of nine seasons with the organization before being traded to Ottawa in 2017. By then, he had appeared in more than 587 games for Colorado.
Since leaving the Avalanche, Duchene has played for Ottawa, Columbus and Nashville before settling in Dallas. But his years in Colorado remain a major part of his career, and he was one of the most recognizable players on the roster during that run.
Now he’s back on the sideline again, and both Duchene and the Stars are left waiting for a better break.
In Other News...
Artturi Lehkonen Is Giving The Avalanche A Tough Decision Fast
Artturi Lehkonen has wasted no time reminding the Avalanche why he matters in the kind of games that shape a season. Through two nights, he has three goals and the best two-game opening of his career, a sharp start that fits the reputation he has built in Colorado as a player who shows up with energy, discipline and a knack for making the right play when the stakes rise.
It also puts the Avalanche in an awkward spot early, because Lehkonen is in the final year of his contract and there is still no new deal in place. Coaches and teammates have long praised the consistency and competitiveness that make him so useful, and this kind of start only sharpens the question of how aggressively Colorado will need to act if it wants to keep one of its most reliable pieces from becoming a bigger story later on. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Top Line Is Creating A Problem Opponents Havent Solved
Through the first two games of the season, Colorados top line has looked less like a new combination and more like a matchup problem opponents still do not have an answer for. Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Artturi Lehkonen have already piled up meaningful offense, with MacKinnon setting the table, Necas finishing chances and Lehkonen chipping in at both ends of the scoring touch.
MacKinnon had three assists in the 6-1 win over the St. Louis Blues, while Necas scored twice and reached 50 goals with the Avalanche. Lehkonen has also been in the mix with goals and assists, giving the line a balanced look that can hurt teams in different ways and make Colorados attack even tougher to game-plan against. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Fans Got An Early Look At A Goalie Worth Watching
A new face in the crease gave Avalanche fans an early reason to pay attention Friday night, as Colorado Eagles goaltender Ilya Nabokov stepped into his AHL debut and immediately looked the part. Nabokov stopped 32 shots to help the Eagles blank the Tucson Roadrunners 2-0, while Nikita Prishchepov and Jake Wise supplied the scoring and Gustav Stjernberg and Yanick Turcotte picked up assists.
The Eagles did a lot of the little things well around their rookie goalie, even if the power play never clicked on four chances. Their penalty kill was perfect, and the win offered a tidy first glimpse of a goaltender who could become one to watch as the Avalanche organization keeps an eye on its depth in net. [Read more 🡒]