The Colorado Avalanche started the new NHL season once again as one of the favorites to lift the Stanley Cup next spring. The Avs have not had the start that many expected them to have, but much of that has been down to injuries in the camp, preventing their best players from hitting the ice and making their mark.
One positive on the season has been the fact that Colorado have been playing very few games during the past few weeks when injuries have hit them. This has been good for rest, ensuring players are not missing too many games. During this period, fans have had to enjoy ice hockey without their team, either watching others or turning to other ice hockey related hobbies. The casino game Break Away Deluxe is an ice hockey themed game available on video slots UK sites, allowing people to still be connected to the sport, without actually watching games.
The start to this season has not been promising for the Avalanche, but the hope is that they can work through, and then really kick on when healthy in the near future.
Missing Key Pieces to Start the Season
Right at the start of the season, star blueliner Cale Makar struggled to get fit because of no pre-season, while his defensive partner Devon Toews missed a handful of games due to injury.
Currently, Bowen Byram is the only defenseman out, he is in concussion protocols after a bad hit suffered against the Vancouver Canucks on November 11.
It is with their forward group that the Avs have felt most problems though. Both Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog have missed games early in the season, while Valeri Nichushkin missed a couple of weeks due to an arm injury.
Last night was the first time since October 2017 Nathan MacKinnon didn’t register a shot on goal in a regular season game. 😳 pic.twitter.com/jfXoEMFFBf
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 1, 2021
The biggest miss has been elsewhere though, with star center Nathan MacKinnon going down with a lower body injury. The Avs have announced that he will be out for around three weeks, taking the best forward away from this group.
On top of that, the player used in this kind of situation to fill the gaps higher up the line up is J.T. Compher, and he also has a lower body injury, one that will keep him out for around a month.
Due to early tests the team recently claimed Nicolas Aube-Kubel off waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers, while Logan O’Connor is one player to have found himself moved into a bigger role, after an impressive start to the season.
Every team will have their fair share of injuries throughout the season, and some will have multiple injuries together just like Colorado are facing right now. There is not good time to get these, but in many ways, if the Avs can get over the hump and put the injuries behind them, that will allow for a far better progression throughout the season, building towards the playoffs and the Stanley Cup.
If they can cope with the adversity thrown at them recently, we could see this team come out of the other side looking ready to challenge for the cup.