Dec 6: Though MacKinnon is still being evaluated, head coach Jared Bednar said that he is “going to miss some time” on Altitude radio this morning.
Dec 5: Bad is quickly turning to worse for the Colorado Avalanche in terms of injuries. Superstar center Nathan MacKinnon left the first period of the team’s Monday loss to the Philadelphia Flyers with an upper-body injury and did not return.
MacKinnon has been the glue holding this battered team together, notching 33 points in 22 games and averaging nearly 23 minutes per game. There are now eight Avalanche regulars as well as a number of fringe/depth players on the injured list, including MacKinnon.
Things were already bad enough for the Avalanche tonight, who were forced to ice players like Charles Hudon in top-six roles. It’s a stark reminder of the physical toll a long playoff run can take on a team, as they now have just five healthy forwards left who were full-time players on their Stanley Cup run last year.
Now, all eyes turn to Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar to keep the Avs afloat, as well as Alexandar Georgiev and his .922 save percentage.
“MacKinnon has been the glue holding this battered team together.” Truer words haven’t been written today, @Josh. The Avs’ depth is basically non-existent right now. It might get really ugly until some regulars can get back into the lineup.
If he is out long team will drop off for sure…Maybe out of playoff picture..