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Bruised Bourque Foot, knee, whatever will keep Bourque out of Game 4
Posted: Tuesday May 02, 2000 06:26 PM
DETROIT (AP) -- First it was described as a bruised foot. Now, it's being called a knee sprain. Either way, Colorado defenseman Ray Bourque is out of action for Wednesday night's game against the Detroit Red Wings. That's bad news for the Avalanche who are clinging to a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Red Wings. "There are two options in this scenario," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said after practice Tuesday. "One is that we sit here and start crying because we lost Ray. The other is that we lost a great defenseman, but that injuries are a part of the business and we move on." Why the mystery over whether it's Bourque's foot or his knee? Because it's hockey, a sport where hiding injuries has become part of the routine. Teams fear that if they tell exactly where a player is hurt, opponents will hack and whack and attempt to make the injury even worse. Bourque didn't return for the third period of Game 3, a 3-1 Detroit victory Monday night at Joe Louis Arena. Immediately after the game, Bourque said he had injured his foot. Tuesday, however, Bourque had changed his story. He said he had a sprained knee. He wouldn't specify which knee, although television station KUSA in Denver was reporting it was the left one. Detroit coach Scotty Bowman, who has hidden more than a few injuries while winning eight Stanley Cup championships, figured the first story was probably closer to the truth. In other words, Bowman thinks Bourque has a sore foot. "I don't think it's a big deal," Bowman said. "You assume it's a bruised foot. Drawing on the fact that he didn't play in the third period, it's a factor. "Hockey is a different sport. We've got skates and sticks so it's a unique sport. In hockey if you say that it's a left thumb, one whack on the thumb, I don't know. If it's an injury to the hand, you have to be careful. "At first we thought it was a knee but then he came out for a few shifts. That's hard to do with a sore knee." Either way, the loss of Bourque is huge for Colorado. "It's going to be tough, but everybody has to step up and make sure we fill his spot," Colorado forward Peter Forsberg said. After winning the first two games in Denver, the Avs had visions of a sweep. But the Red Wings regrouped for a 3-1 victory in the third game Monday night on their home ice. And the fact that Bourque missed the entire third period of that game certainly helped Detroit. "He plays 30-plus minutes a game," Detroit forward Steve Yzerman said. 'So it changes their power play around a little bit, whether they might use a forward as they did before they had Bourque. "Joe Sakic played the point a lot. Or last night they were either using Adam Foote or [Martin] Skoula on it. It changes a bit." Bourque said the injury, whatever it is, occurred when he got tangled up with Detroit forward Martin Lapointe during the second period. "I finished the period, but couldn't move on," Bourque said. "For precautionary measures, I didn't go back out for the third. I was really hoping this morning I'd wake up and things would be a lot clearer in terms of where we were going from there. "I woke up this morning knowing that tomorrow night I'm not going to be playing. After that, I don't know, we'll see. One thing we know it's nothing major so we'll take it day by day." Bourque said there have been no X-rays. He said he'd rather wait and have the injury examined more closely back in Denver. "I don't want to go into specifics exactly what it is, but it is my knee and that's all I'll say," Bourque said. Before Bourque arrived, the Avs were just an average hockey club, sporting a 30-27-10 record. Since obtaining the 39-year-old Bourque in a March 6 trade with the Boston Bruins, the Avs are 18-4-1. He may be old, but he plays with the zest of someone far younger. In Colorado's first seven playoff games, Bourque led the team with an average of 30 minutes, 15 seconds. The Avs won all but one of those games. He played only 19:21 in the third game against Detroit. Game 5 of the series will be played Friday night in Denver. If a sixth game is needed in the best-of-seven series, it will be Sunday in Detroit.
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