Not only did the Colorado Avalanche lose 4-3 in overtime to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, but the Avs lost their two best players – Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar – to injuries in the process.
Nathan MacKinnon Injured
Center Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the Avalanche with 30 points in 20 games, left the game in the second period.
The 31-year-old MacKinnon took a crosscheck from Senators defenseman Artem Zub before collapsing to the ice. MacKinnon finished with 11:33 of ice time in the contest, his lowest time on ice in a game since December 5, 2022.
Losing Nathan MacKinnon is a problem, but the Avalanche have veterans Brock Nelson and Nazem Kadri available to handle offensive responsibilities at center.
In the aftermath of MacKinnon’s injury against Ottawa, the Avalanche put their lines in a blender. Martin Necas and Artturi Lehkonen were on MacKinnon’s wings to start the game. Once MacKinnon was out, the Avs had either Kadri or Nicolas Roy skating in that spot.
Cale Makar Also Injured
The news went from bad to worse for the Avalanche, as defenseman Cale Makar appeared to suffer a lower-body injury as well.
Makar played a career-low 13:57 against the Senators.
The 28-year-old blueliner ranks third on the Avalanche with 23 points. He has been surging offensively, with 12 points in his last seven games.
Once Makar left the game, the Avalanche had to lean heavily on other defenders. Devon Toews played a season-high 29:22 while Sam Malinksi played a season-high 23:29.
If Makar is going to be out of the lineup, Toews would be the most likely candidate to take over at the point on Colorado’s top power play unit.
Colorado will continue their road trip in Montreal on Saturday.
With uncertainty over the status of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar for that game, the Avalanche may need to bring in reinforcements from the American Hockey League to round out the roster.
Two Avalanche Superstars Injured in Loss to Sens