Makar, MacKinnon among Avalanche players missing final two regular season games

With the third seed in the Central Division locked in ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Colorado Avalanche will have a different looking lineup for the final two regular season games.

Facing the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday and the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, the Avalanche will be without superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, in addition to forwards Ross Colton and Jonathan Drouin plus defensemen Ryan Lindgren and Josh Manson.

For MacKinnon, it means the 29-year-old native of Halifax, N.S., will wrap up the season with 116 points, currently tied with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov for top spot in the Art Ross Trophy race. It is not yet known whether Kucherov will take to the ice for the Lightning’s final four games.

At the forward ranks, the Avalanche have been without Colton for the past two games due to an upper-body injury, while Drouin has missed the last four contests after suffering a lower-body ailment. On the season, Colton has collected 29 points in 61 games, while Drouin, who has been limited to 43 appearances, has picked up 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points.

For Makar, the former Norris Trophy winner closes out the season with 92 points in 80 games, giving him a safe 16-point cushion above Columbus Blue Jackets rearguard Zach Werenski as the NHL’s top scoring defenseman.

Beyond Makar, weekend action will also see Colorado’s blue line without Lindgren, who missed Thursday’s contest against the Vancouver Canucks due to an upper-body concern. Since being acquired from the New York Rangers ahead of this year’s NHL trade deadline, Lindgren has tallied three points through 18 games with the Avalanche. Lastly, Colorado will also be without Manson who remains sidelined with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for the past 13 games.