The Colorado Avalanche: News from around the NHL - December 20th, 2013

Patrick Roy coached a number of players during his QMJHL coaching career. Tonight one of his former players will be playing against him. Vlasic mentions that if you don't work hard for Roy, you don't get ice time.

The Colorado Avalanche was well aware of Patrick Roy's fiery presence when it hired the legendary goalie as its coach and de facto general manager last summer.

And on opening night, the rest of the NHL was reminded just how short a fuse he still had. Upset by a hit on rookie Nathan MacKinnon, Roy went after Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, knocking down the Plexiglas partition between them and drawing a $10,000 fine for the outburst.

The incident came as no surprise to Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

"He coaches like he played," said Vlasic, who played three seasons of junior hockey for Roy with the Quebec Remparts. "He's intense."

Sam Gagne won't be suspended for his hit on Paul Stastny.

It’s apparent Gagner was concerned when Stastny was down on his knees, so much so he skated over to him while the play was going on, then tried to apologize before he was sent to the penalty box. He knew instantly it was a frustrated swing that had gone badly wrong. It started with Gagner sticking his head into Stastny’s chest at the draw, then Stastny came up with his stick and appeared to cut the Oilers’ forward. He got mad, and he got tossed out, but not before a major kerfuffle.

Referee Mike Leggo first called a minor penalty, then with Gagner in the box, the other ref Greg Kimmerly and the two veteran linesmen Vaughan Rody and Brad Lazarowich came rushing over. Either they disagreed or they had seen another look at it on the huge, new screen over centre ice. Whatever, Leggo changed his mind and sent him off with a major and a game misconduct.

Seth Jones got lucky with an eye injury that could have been much worse than it was.

Defenseman Seth Jones wore a gash over his left eye as the Predators practiced at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday.

He also wore a slight smile. He knew the cut, suffered when he was hit by a puck near the end of the first period of Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadiens, could have been a far more severe injury.

"I am pretty lucky," Jones said. "The doctor said it was probably the best spot cut-wise for it to happen. When it happened, I was feeling around it. I knew it wasn't around (the eye), so it got a little scary that it was right on the eye."