West Shore hockey product Tyson Barrie of the Colorado Avalanche faces a four- to six-week rehab after colliding knee-on-knee with Minnesota’s Matt Cooke in the Wild’s 1-0 win in game 3 of their opening round NHL playoff series Monday.
Barrie, characterized by head coach Patrick Roy as the team’s “best offensive defenceman,” was diagnosed with a medial collateral ligament injury in his left knee.
Barrie, who had two assists and was a plus-3 in the first three games of the series, was the Avs’ second-high scoring defenceman this season with 38 points in 64 games.
The second-period collision happened just after Barrie passed the puck away out of the defensive zone. Cooke, a former Vancouver Canuck who has faced league discipline numerous times for dangerous hits, appeared to stick out his leg to catch the leg of Barrie.
Cooke, penalized two minutes for kneeing on the play, was suspended for seven games Wednesday after an in-person hearing with the league’s player safety department.
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