Colorado Avalanche and their nagging injuries

Entering the season, the Colorado Avalanche had some pretty high expectations with only two years removed from winning the Stanley Cup. The core of the team is still there and the Avalanche have one of the most explosive cores in the entire NHL.

However, it has become clear that you need real depth to be able to consistently win in the NHL and the Avalanche have lost that this season due to constant injuries.

The Avalanche have still been able to win so far this season but it will not last. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar can not single-handedly carry this team to win after win, it just is not possible.

Those two superstars are currently at the top in points in the NHL.

The injuries continue to build up for Colorado and the team is currently missing six of its top nine forwards. Those are massive numbers for a sport that relies heavily on depth.

The two biggest players out right now are Gabriel Landeskog and Jonathan Drouin. Drouin has been playing on the top line with MacKinnon, while Landeskog remains the captain and has made key contributions to deep playoff runs.

Additionally, Makar left the most recent game with an injury and is currently listed as day-to-day. If he were to miss any significant time, it is going to be a struggle for the Avalanche to withstand any sort of winning record.

The defensive positions have been relatively healthy and are a major reason for the continued success of the team.

The other injuries include the entire third line. The third line is typically the line that can do it all. Despite this, when you have an entirely new third line it will be hard to be able to produce offensive and defensive production.

The final player missing to injury is Artturi Lehkonen who typically is on the second line.

When you look at the standings and see the Avalanche currently sitting towards the bottom of the standings in the Central Division you may initially think it’s a slow start for a team that heavily relies on its stars.

The team is still relying on its stars but the stars can only take you so far. For example, a team like Edmonton has consistently been one of the best teams in the NHL but has not been able to get it done because of the depth.

The Avalanche have the depth, they are just all hurt right now. The team has won games, a decent amount more than what they should be right now considering just the number of injuries, but they are still fighting and getting it done in some aspects.

However, the injuries are a massive concern for Colorado and it looks to be turning a corner on the injury bug with a couple of players expected to return soon. The main focus right now for the squad is the availability of Makar and if he is out for any time then the corner would not be turned just yet on the injury bug.

Andrew Deal is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email asd5765@psu.edu