Nathan MacKinnon News

MacKinnon is dealing with a lower-body injury and is questionable for Friday's game in Florida. If MacKinnon is unable to play, head coach Jared Bednar said that Nazem Kadri will move up and centre the first line and J.T. Compher will centre the second line.

Mackinnon was back skating with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen at practice on Saturday. He has 61 points in 49 games for the Avalanche this season (24G/37A). Colorado went 4-4 without Mackinnon in the lineup.

Mackinnon appeared to be ready to return as he was a full participant at Thursday's practice, but shortly after the Avs announced he would not be travelling to Winnipeg. His next chance to return is Sunday vs. Edmonton.

MacKinnon is two weeks into a 2-4 week timetable, so he appears to be right on track in his recovery. The next step is for MacKinnon to ditch the no-contact sweater, which could happen later this week. MacKinnon will need a few practices before he’s set to return to the lineup.

It looks like the Avalanche avoided disaster here as MacKinnon’s shoulder injury is only expected to sideline him for about one week. The Avalanche likely won’t disclose a full timetable until Thursday but the preliminary indications are positive. MacKinnon won’t play Thursday but has not officially been ruled out for Saturday’s game.

MacKinnon was hurt in Tuesday’s overtime loss in Vancouver and won’t play in Edmonton. This is a horrible loss for the Avalanche, who have been absolutely carried by MacKinnon since the Matt Duchene trade. Since then, MacKinnon leads the NHL with 49 points (21G / 28A) in 36 games. It sounds like he is more day-to-day than long-term so monitor his status heading into the weekend.

MacKinnon, 20, was the first overall pick in 2013 and is coming off of three strong seasons to start his NHL career. In 2015-16, MacKinnon had 21 goals and 31 assists (52 points) in 72 games. He has missed 28 games over the three years, but has scored at a strong pace—22 goals, 35 assists per 82 games. Entering his age 21 season, expect MacKinnon to take another step forward.

The Avalanche announced earlier in the week that MacKinnon would be shutdown for the week and reevaluate his status on Sunday. It doesn’t sound like he has improved as he and Matt Duchene will miss the Avs’ two-game road trip in Nashville and St. Louis.

MacKinnon will miss at least the next two games before he is reevaluated on Sunday. The Avalanche said there will be no further updates until that time. This is obviously a massive hit to the Avs’ playoff chances—they are currently clinging to the last Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, just one spot up on Minnesota, who they’ll play on Saturday with out MacKinnon or Matt Duchene.

MacKinnon was scratched from Sunday’s game with a knee injury and is listed as day-to-day. Thankfully for the Avalanche, they’re off until Thursday, so there’s a chance that MacKinnon could be available versus the Flyers.

McKinnon has played the majority of his young career on the wing, but if they use MacKinnon in the middle it allows the Avalanche to give 18-year-old Mikko Rantanen a shot in the NHL and opens the door for Curtis Glencross and Jack Skille a chance to make the team on PTO’s. If MacKinnon indeed ends up on the third line, look for Rantanen and Blake Comeau to play on his wings.

MacKinnon’s broken foot likely ends what has been a disappointing sophomore season for the 19-year-old. After a 63 point rookie season, Mackinnon registered just 38 points (14G / 24A) in in 64 games this season. The Avalanche sit nine points out of the playoffs, so this injury all but derails any hope they had for the postseason. Despite an average season, MacKinnon remands as an excellent keeper option.

Mackinnon did end up returning to the game so he was probably to play Game 5 today anyways.

MacKinnon's current 12-game point streak broke Wayne Gretzky's record for longest point-streak in NHL history for an 18-year-old. Over the 12-game streak he has five goals and 12 assists (17 points) as he continues to pace all rookies with 51 points (22G / 29A) in 63 games, which is 12 more than second place Tyler Johnson (39).

MacKinnon's return to practice this afternoon suggests that he will be in the lineup on Wednesday vs. Los Angeles. To be safe, Monitor his status following Wednesday's morning skate. In weekly leagues, it appears as if he should be safe to deploy.