By Jordan Long
The Colorado Avalanche 4 game road trip ended in a thud, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers by the final of 5-3. Colorado lost more than the game as star and perhaps the best player in the NHL, Nathan MacKinnon, left the game with an upper body injury in the first period and never returned. This adds to the long list of injuries for the Colorado Avalanche.
The Avalanche tallied first when Alex Newhook recorded his 5th goal of the season on the power play 3 minutes and 50 seconds into the game. It was looking good for Colorado since this was the start they needed.
Heading into the third period, Colorado trailed 3-1. It didn’t get any better because Philadelphia scored yet another goal 9 minutes and 54 seconds into the third when Owen Tippett scored on the power play pushing the Flyers lead to 4-1, the 4th straight goal Colorado allowed.
Colorado though didn’t simply quit. They responded with two goals 36 seconds apart when Mikko Rantanen and Alex Newhook found the back of the net. This was Alex Newhook’s second of the game. Unfortunately, Colorado couldn’t complete the come from behind victory. Travis Konecny iced the game with 1-minute remaining when he put the puck into the empty net. The loss puts Colorado at 13-9-1, 4th in the Central Division with 27 points, 6 points behind Dallas for the Division lead. Colorado has two games in hand on Dallas.
Colorado finishes the 4 game road trip at a forgettable 1-3. Of course, the bigger story is the health of center Nathan MacKinnon. He played only 5 shifts against Philadelphia before leaving for good with an upper body injury. Head Coach Jared Bednar went on Altitude Sports’ Morning Show today with Moser, Lombardi & Kane. According to https://www.tsn.ca, Bednar said during his appearance, “The fact he’s leaving early in the game is not a good sign. We know he’s gonna miss some time. Just don’t know how long”.
With MacKinnon out, Colorado will be missing 4 of their top scorers including MacKinnon. The others are right winger Valeri Nichushkin, left wingers Artturi Lehkonen and Gabriel Landeskog, a lot of scoring power Colorado would like back in the lineup at some point. Secondary scoring will need to pick up the pace until they are back to keep Colorado afloat . Otherwise, Colorado may slip further in the standings. Luckily, it is only December so Colorado will still have plenty of opportunity to bounce back once everyone is healthy.
Colorado will return to home ice for a two game set. They face Boston on Wednesday and the New York Rangers on Friday before heading back out on the road when they travel to St. Louis.
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