Avalanche’s Manson out for Game 1 against Wild
The Colorado Avalanche will be without a key member of their blue line once again for Game 1 of their second-round series against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday Night.
Head coach Jared Bednar announced earlier Sunday that defenseman Josh Manson would be out of the lineup with his injury for the contest, despite the fact that he gave it a go at the team’s morning skate.
𝑩𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮: Josh Manson will NOT play in tonight’s Game 1 against the Minnesota Wild.
Manson, a defensively responsible veteran right-shot blueliner, posted 31 points in 79 games in his fifth season as a member of the Avalanche. He shattered the best plus/minus mark of his career with a plus-42 rating while skating an average of 17:47 per game.
In the three Stanley Cup Playoff games in which he appeared prior to his injury, the Illinois native had a pair of assists while contributing to a trio of victories.
Colorado is not alone in dealing with injuries to key players in this series, as the Wild are set to be without center Joel Eriksson-Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin, both of whom suffered injuries in Minnesota’s first-round victory over Dallas.
The second round of the Central Division’s portion of the bracket was always going to be a blockbuster matchup, as it was a virtual lock to feature the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche against the winner between the Wild and Stars, who were each among the very best teams in the league for the entirety of the season.
Colorado took care of business by sweeping the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, while Minnesota ousted Dallas in six games thanks to tremendous efforts from Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes, Brock Faber and rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt.
The Avalanche have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs as the NHL’s top overall seed, and they will look to jump out ahead of their division rivals at Ball Arena Sunday night.