DET vs COL

Denver - Joel Quenneville may be tired of talking about it, but injuries again were the big story coming out of his Colorado Avalanche's morning skate today.

A day after saying Ryan Smyth was likely to play in Tuesday night's Game 3 with the Detroit Red Wings, Quenneville this morning revealed that, no, Smyth won't play because of a foot injury.

It's just the latest huge blow to an Avs team that seems cursed in this series, after getting all the medical breaks in the first round against Minnesota.

Forsberg, Hannan probable

Smyth was hit by a puck in Game 2 and was hobbling around after the game. But Quenneville said the veteran left-wing's absence from Monday's practice was just for "routine maintenance." Which only goes to prove once more that anything a hockey team says about injuries in the playoffs, you believe at your own peril.

The only decent news for Colorado was Quenneville's proclamation that Peter Forsberg (groin) and Scott Hannan (foot) were "probable" to play. Neither player took part in the morning skate, but neither did many other Colorado regulars.

Quenneville said rookie forward T.J. Hensick is likely to take Smyth's spot in the lineup tonight. Hensick spent some time with the Avs in the regular season and played well at times, but he's small and a defensive liability. Hensick, who played at the University of Michigan, grew up a major Red Wings fan.

Quenneville is growing annoyed at being asked nothing but injury questions.

"We don't want to the focus to be on health. We want to be excited to play the game," he said.

Wings flying high into Game 3

The Red Wings are the Goodship Lollypop compared to the Avalanche. Everybody is healthy and happy. Goalie Chris Osgood has lost his last six playoff starts in Denver, but says "that was a long, long time ago."

Osgood was asked what he thought the odds were of another fight happening with an Avalanche goalie, in this case Jose Theodore.

"No chance at all. We both wouldn't want to mess up our pretty faces," he joked.

Many Red Wings kicked the soccer ball around in the hallway before the skate. The Wings were one of the first teams to start the practice, which has become commonplace now.

Even the Avalanche does it, with Joe Sakic often taking part. One thing is for sure: David Beckham has no reason to worry. Sakic might be one of the game's greatest players, but he's got two left feet when it comes to soccer.