"Even when both Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly stuck with the Avalanche as 18-year-olds, it seemed inconceivable that they could be centering Colorado's top two lines by the end of their second seasons in the league.

The major reason for that, of course, was that O'Reilly not only pulled off a shocker by immediately jumping to the NHL as a second-round choice, his forte was — and mostly still is — the defensive aspects of the game, seemingly pigeonholing him for the foreseeable future in a third-line role.

It's funny the way it has worked out — and funny in a way that won't bring any laughter from the Avalanche brass. Yes, there are sardonic smiles and shrugs in reaction to an injury list that keeps growing, and the latest news came Sunday, shortly before Colorado's 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames at the Pepsi Center.

The team announced that center Paul Stastny would miss the final five games of the regular season because of a stress fracture in his right leg.

In recent games, Avs coach Joe Sacco often used Stastny and Duchene on the same line, with Duchene on the left side. But Sacco separated the two centers again in the 4-3 shootout win at Phoenix on Friday, when Stastny played 18 minutes, so the loss to the Flames on Sunday represented an extended look at the 20-year-olds — Duchene and O'Reilly — centering the top two lines.

Veteran goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who finished with 34 saves, helped keep O'Reilly off the scoresheet Sunday, but he has seven of his 12 goals this season in the last 14 games."