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The Colorado Avalanche don't have a ton to play for over their last three regular-season games — and they'll likely have to play them without their best player. Nathan MacKinnon won't suit up at home against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, and could also miss games No. 81 and 82 on the road, head coach Jared Bednar confirmed.
“He's dealing with something,” Bednar said on Thursday, per NHL.com's Ryan Boulding. “I think you get to this point in the year, all these guys are dealing with something. The guys that didn't get the break, too, for the 4 Nations [Face-Off]. This has been a tough stretch of games since then, right? I think rest is part of it, though.”
It looks like the undisclosed injury isn't something that will endanger MacKinnon's status for Game 1 of Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs — but it also looks like he won't play again until then.
With that, it looks unlikely that the Canadian superstar will lead the National Hockey League in scoring in 2024-25. He currently is first on the Avs with 32 goals and 116 points, which is tied with Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov league-wide.
Considering the Bolts have four more games, and Kucherov is fully healthy, MacKinnon is likely to finish second. He will also see his current 26-game home point streak (16 goals, 27 assists) halted, as well as his streak of 209 consecutive regular-season games.
“I don't think that individual accolades [matter to him]. I think they're nice. I think he's won a lot of them,” Bednar said, per Boulding. “His trophy case is huge. I don't think it matters to him. I think winning has always been the most important thing to him. Having accomplished that in 2022, I think he got a taste for it, and he wants to win again.”
If the current standings hold, the Avalanche will play a familiar face in Mikko Rantanen and the Dallas Stars in Round 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Avalanche could play Mikko Rantanen, Stars in Round 1
Now 48-27-4 after a 3-2 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights at home, Colorado has secured third place in the Central Division. They are a full eight points up on both the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues, who occupy the two wildcard berths in the Western Conference.
The Avalanche are six points behind the second-place Stars, but have played one more game. Dallas has lost three straight and will play the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets in a heavyweight tilt on Thursday night in Texas.
The Stars are four points behind the Jets and both teams have played 78 games. If Dallas is able to beat Winnipeg, there's a chance they could still pass them in the final days of the regular-season.
If that happens, it will be Avalanche-Jets in Round 1, which would be ideal for Colorado considering they easily beat their Central Division rivals in the opening round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But they were then defeated in the second round by the Stars, who eventually lost in the Western Conference Final to the Edmonton Oilers.
MacKinnon and co. will be looking for some revenge this time around, if the standings hold up come the final day of the season on April 17. After Thursday's tilt against the Canucks, the Avalanche are in Los Angeles and Anaheim to play the Kings and Ducks on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
