The Colorado Avalanche are dealing with a multitude of injuries to key players, and things only got worse during Monday night's loss against the Philadelphia Flyers. Superstar center Nathan MacKinnon left in the first period of the game after picking up an injury and did not return to the contest. On Tuesday, Jared Bednar provided a troubling injury update on MacKinnon, indicating that he figures to miss some time, though his timetable is entirely unclear, via Vic Lombardi.
āThe fact he's leaving early in the game is not a good sign. We know he's gonna miss some time. Just don't know how long,ā Bednar said of MacKinnon in the aftermath of the Avs' 5-3 loss vs. the Flyers.
MacKinnon exited Monday's game with eight minutes remaining in the first period and did not return to action. He skated five shifts for a total of 4:58 on the ice before exiting due to the injury.
He joins a laundry list of currently-sidelined Avalanche stars, including captain Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, Evan Rodrigues, Bowen Byram, Josh Manson, Artturi Lehkonen, and Kurtis MacDermid.
Losing MacKinnon early in Monday's game further depleted an already lackluster lineup the Avs were forced to trot out, and fans may have to get used to seeing that type of setup while MacKinnon is recovering. The Avs have used a total of 22 different forwards across their first 26 games, and that figure could rise following the loss of MacKinnon.
The reigning Stanley Cup champs are perhaps the most injured team in hockey right now, and losing Nathan MacKinnon figures to be the biggest blow yet. This season, the 27-year-old has 34 points in 23 games, including eight goals and a league-leading 26 assists.
Currently in fourth in the Central Division, the Avs will look to stay afloat as their reinforcements begin to trickle back into the lineup.
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