Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon out at least three games with facial fracture
The Colorado Avalanche will be missing their top center after he suffered a facial fracture and concussion.
The incident happened Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins, when B’s forward Taylor Hall hit MacKinnon high.
All that was called was interference on the play, but MacKinnon’s own stick hit him in the face. He dropped to the ice
And on Friday, Avs head coach Jared Bednar confirmed the injuries.
Nathan MacKinnon update, per Jared Bednar: Facial fracture and a concussion. He'll miss the next three games. Unclear if he'll be ready for All-Star Game.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) January 28, 2022
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MacKinnon, 26, is in the midst of a career year with the Avalanche scoring nine goals and 43 points in 31 games. His 1.39 points per game ranks the highest of his career.
The injury comes at a bad time for MacKinnon, in a personal sense. He was voted to his fourth all-star game of his career which is set to take place next weekend.
He will miss games Friday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday and the Arizona Coyotes Tuesday.
MacKinnon being out of the lineup means some shuffling of the Avs lines, too. Mikko Rantanen is set to slide to the top-line center position, while Valeri Nichuskin slides to the first line right-wing.
Alex Newhook will draw up to the second line alongside Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.