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Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon to miss three weeks “give or take” with injury

MacKinnon logged 20:40 and didn’t seem to miss a shift in his first pointless game this season

Mike Chambers
The Denver Post
Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins, left, stops a shot behind Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, center, who is checked by Blue Jackets defenseman Jake Bean, right, during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar on Wednesday said star center Nathan MacKinnon will miss three weeks, “give or take,” with a lower-body injury he sustained in Saturday’s 4-2 loss at Columbus.

MacKinnon logged 20:40 and didn’t seem to miss a shift in his first pointless game this season. He missed the Avs’ first two games because of a positive COVID test. Now he’s set to miss even more.

“Coming out of the game it didn’t feel the way he wanted it to feel,” Bednar said of MacKinnon’s injury.



J.T. Compher will again step in for MacKinnon, centering the top line with wingers Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. The versatile Compher has the ability to slot in on any of the four lines.

MacKinnon is out of the lineup when a handful of other key players either returned Saturday or will return for Thursday’s game against the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Top-pair defenseman Cale Makar and top-six forward Valeri Nichushkin have been cleared for the Canucks game, and Rantanen, forward Andre Burakovsky and defenseman Devon Toews returned on Saturday.

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