Avalanche Star Nathan MacKinnon to Miss 1-2 Weeks with Lower Body Injury

The Colorado Avalanche announced Wednesday that superstar forward Nathan MacKinnon will miss one to two weeks with a lower body injury.

MacKinnon has been a force the past few seasons, notching 97 points on 39 goals and 58 assists in 2017-18 and 99 points on 41 goals and 58 assists last season. He's emerged as one of the game's bright young stars and the most dangerous player in Colorado's attack.

This year, the 24-year-old has registered 35 goals and 58 assists for 93 points in 69 games.

While MacKinnon—the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft—didn't initially have the impact of some of the recent No. 1 selections, such as Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, that narrative changed the past few years, and his loss will be felt.

Until MacKinnon returns, the recently acquired Vladislav Namestnikov is likely to center the top line with Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin as his wingers.

Since other key forwards in Mikko Rantanen (upper body), Nazem Kadri (lower body) and Andre Burakovsky (lower body) are also injured, the second line of J.T. Compher, Tyson Jost and Joonas Donskoi will be leaned upon heavily as well.

Head coach Jared Bednar will also look for defensemen Cale Makar, Samuel Girard and Ryan Graves to contribute offensively.

Still, the Avs are in good shape as far as the Western Conference playoff race goes. They are second in the Central Division with 90 points through 69 games, and they hold an eight-point lead on the third-place Dallas Stars, plus a 12-point lead on ninth place in the conference.

That cushion should allow the Avalanche to take a cautious approach with MacKinnon and get him healthy in time for the playoffs.