Injuries are starting to increase for the Colorado Avalanche, and the last one on Sunday night involved its biggest player.
Already playing without Erik Johnson, Matt Calvert and Devon Toews, Avalanche lost superstar winger Nathan MacKinnon due to an undisclosed injury to his lower body in the 4-3 loss in overtime to the Minnesota Wild.
MacKinnon recorded 15:24 ice time in two periods and recorded a couple of assists before leaving the game.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar had no update on MacKinnon after the game, and he didn’t even seem sure when the injury happened. MacKinnon never missed a shift in the first two periods, but did not return to the team at the bench at the start of the third period. Colorado started the game with only 11 attackers in their lineup, so MacKinnon’s absence left them with even fewer players.
It’s significant because MacKinnon is one of the league’s top MVP contenders and one of the most dynamic players in the world, scoring at least 93 points in each of the past three seasons. With his two helpers on Sunday, he has scored 14 points in 10 games so far this season.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Professional hockey lecture at NBC Sports. Talk to him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.