Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar injured without return timetable
The Colorado Avalanche suffered a major blow in their Central Division title hunt when coach Jared Bednar announced that he is unsure when Cale Makar will return from a lower-body injury.
Cale Makar is out of the Avalanche lineup again tonight and there is no timeline for his return, per @kylefredrickson pic.twitter.com/KrUflZqePO
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 6, 2023Makar missed the first leg of Colorado’s two-game visit to San Jose, a 4-3 overtime victory against the Sharks, before Bednar admitted that he has no timetable for the defenseman’s return on Thursday.
This latest injury continues a snakebit season for Makar, who has managed just 60 games in his follow-up to a historic 2021-2022 campaign that saw him take home the Norris and Conn Smythe trophies.
The 24-year-old missed 10 games this year due to a pair of concussions and another 6 to assorted ailments.
Despite his bad luck, Makar remains one of the league’s most dangerous players, with 17 goals and 66 points from the blue line to show for his efforts during his abridged season.
For the Avalanche, Makar’s injury continues a frustrating trend. The defending Stanley Cup Champions have gotten fewer than 70 games from Makar, fellow star Nathan MacKinnon, Artturi Lehkonen, and Valeri Nichushkin.
Lehkonen will be out for at least another two weeks because of a finger he broke in March, while captain Gabriel Landeskog has yet to suit up this season after having surgery in the offseason.
Despite the difficulty the Avs have had keeping their best players on the ice, they have pole position in a razor-thin race to the top of the Central Division. Colorado is tied at 98 points with the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars but has played a game less.
Bednar will hope to have Makar back for what could be a challenging first round of the postseason. If they do not win the Central, the Avalanche will meet either the Wild, who have lost just twice in regulation since February 17, or the Stars, who controlled the division for most of the year, to kick off their title defense.
With five games to go and Makar out indefinitely, home ice in those showdowns is no guarantee.
The Avalanche will have to adjust to life without Makar in the second of their back-to-back games against the lowly Sharks. The champs have 6 games left on their regular season schedule.