Makar will miss at least seven days with the upper-body injury and this will likely force Samuel Girard and Bowen Byram to take on bigger roles for at least the next few games. The Avalanche will be in tough on Wednesday, missing Makar, Mikko Rantanen, Devon Toews, Valeri Nichushkin and maybe Andre Burakovsky as well.
Girard has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury but will replace Kurtis MacDermid in the lineup on Saturday. Girard has picked up two shots with four shots on goal in five games this season.
Rantanen was banged up in Colorado's morning skate and head coach Jared Bednar was not sure of his status for tonight's game in St. Louis. Consider him a game-time decision and monitor his status when the Avalanche hit the ice for warmups at 7:30 PM ET.
Girard will not play Tuesday vs. the Golden Knights, so look for Kurtis MacDermid to draw into the lineup and Bowen Byram to take over on PP2. Consider Girard questionable for Thursday's game in St. Louis.
Samuel Girard is banged up, so MacDonald being recalled is an indication that Girard will not be available on Tuesday. MacDonald has had a hot start in the AHL, scoring one goal with three assists (four points) in four games.
Kylington suited up in the season opener but played just 3:27 TOI. Tonight he'll skate with Chris Tanev, which puts him in line for a much larger role. Kylington has picked up 16 points (5G / 11A) in 96 career NHL games.
Landeskog completed his two-game suspension and will return to the lineup tonight in Florida. Landeskog will likely return to the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen--he had one goal and one assist in the Avalanche season opener.
MacKinnon missed the first two games of the season but received two negative COVID-19 tests and flew to Washington to join his team for Tuesday's game. MacKinnon will provide a huge boost to an Avalanche team that will be without Gabriel Landeskog (suspended) and Valeri Nichushkin.
Kylington suited up as a seventh defensseman in the Flames season opener but will sit on Monday with Blake Coleman set to make his Flames debut. Kylington played just 3:27 TOI on Saturday, so this move doesn't come as much of a surprise.
The Avalanche are about to embark on a three-game road trip and MacKinnon will miss at least one more game after testing positive yet again.
Mittelstadt played 9:07 TOI before leaving the season opener with an upper-body injury. The Sabres announced today that he'll miss at least a couple of weeks, which leaves a huge hole down the middle. In Friday's practice, Dylan Cozens was elevated to the top line and Arttu Ruotsalainen is expected to draw into the lineup.
Landeskog planted Kirby Dach into the centre ice boards in Wednesday's win over the Blackhawks and will miss Saturday's game vs. St. Louis and Tuesday's game in Washington. He is eligible to play next Thursday in Florida.
MacKinnon tested positive but is asymptomatic, so he will miss Wednesday's season opener. The Avalanche are hopeful that MacKinnon will test out of COVID-19 protocol and will be available for Saturday's game vs. the Blues.
MacKinnon missed Tuesday's practice because of COVID-19 protocol, putting his status for tomorrow's season opener in jeopardy. Monitor his status during Wednesday's morning skate.
Kelley is a 22-year-old undrafted free agent, who scored a goal in his NHL debut with the Senators last season. He spent almost the entire season in the AHL, scoring 10 goals with eight assists (18 points) in 33 games with Belleville.
