Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar will miss two games with upper-body injury

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar announced Thursday that reigning Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar will be out for at least two games with an upper-body injury that is head-related.

The incident occurred in Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins when Penguins forward Jeff Carter elbowed Makar with a blindside hit to the head while attempting to retrieve the puck near Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz.

Makar was stunned by the play and went to the bench, he later made his way to the locker room for a brief moment but would return to the game. He logged 24:21 of ice time and a minus-2 rating. There was no call on the play and Makar was quite vocal about the hit saying “Pretty blindside. The ref said apparently we ran into each other, but I don’t know how that’s possible. He was coming down the ice.” 

The defending Stanley Cup champions have dealt with a horrendous amount of injuries throughout this season so far, and losing Makar on the blueline will not make things any easier. Makar has totalled 45 points (13 goals, 32 assists) in 45 games this season and is among the favorites to win the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman for a second straight season. 

The Avalanche have a date with the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday, marking their first meeting since the 2022 Stanley Cup Final where Makar and the Avalanche captured Lord Stanley; Makar winning the Conn Smythe. Makar is set to miss games against both the Lightning and the Florida Panthers on Saturday. His first chance to return to the lineup will be next Tuesday when the Avalanche hosts the Lightning.