In what coach Patrick Roy called a “good practice”, the Avalanche went through its paces Tuesday morning for its first time in the playoffs in preparation for a first-round series with the Minnesota Wild.

Defenseman Jan Hejda, the team’s second-leading minutes leader in the regular season behind Erik Johnson, missed practice with an upper-body injury. But Roy said Hejda is considered day-to-day and expected him to be ready for Game 1 on Thursday night.

Center Matt Duchene (knee) did not practice and is not expected to play in the first two games at minimum. Rookie Nathan MacKinnon, the probable Calder Trophy winner, will start the playoffs at center on a line with Ryan O’Reilly and P.A. Parenteau.

“It’s something we’re going to start with. Is it going to stay that way? I’m not sure,” Roy said. “It brings some speed in the middle, which I like. I think it’s good to have that option for us.”

Roy also gave some hope that third-line center John Mitchell could be back before long. Roy indicated Sunday that Mitchell has a concussion, but said he has been doing better.

“We’ll know more in a few days, but he’s looked better every day,” Roy said. “I’m confident he plays somewhere in that playoff.”

TOUT: Avs practice Tuesday to prepare for Wild

With Duchene out, MacKinnon knows he will draw extra attention from a good Wild defense.

“Obviously, with ‘Dutchy’ out it puts a lot more pressure on everybody else. But we have tons of good forwards. It’s not just going to be me that they’re going to be paying attention to,” MacKinnon said. “I think it’s good that, if they key on one guy, we’ll have other guys step up. They’re going to have to kind of choose who they want to pick their battles with.”

Roy said his team will approach the postseason just like it did the regular one: with a one-day-at-a-time, even-keeled approach.

“You focus on what you can control, and what we can control is how we’re going to play,” Roy said. “I’ve always believed you can’t just turn the switch on and off. It’s a process. Everything you’ve been doing all year, you’re coming to this moment now. Thursday, I think we just need to focus on what we’ve been doing all year, and who we are as a team and not change anything.”

Adrian Dater: adater@denverpost.com or twitter.com/adater