The Colorado Avalanche will likely be with out top-line left wing Jonathan Drouin for your entire first spherical of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Avalanche play the Winnipeg Jets within the opening spherical, with Recreation 1 set for face-off on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, on the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.
Drouin, who had a profession season with 19 targets and 56 factors in the course of the common season, suffered an lower-body harm when he tripped within the second interval of Thursday evening’s meaningless regular-season finale towards the Edmonton Oilers.
Drouin, 29, was signed as a free agent final summer time.
“Tremendous unlucky. I really feel actually dangerous for him,” linemate and NHL Hart Trophy (MVP) candidate Nathan MacKinnon mentioned by way of the Related Press and ESPN.com. “I do know he is crushed proper now. He is been constructing all season for this. We won’t exchange him. Clearly it sucks for the crew, however for him as an individual, it is simply so unhappy. Hopefully, we get him again ultimately.”
Drouin and MacKinnon are good buddies.
MacKinnon, who had 140 factors to complete second within the scoring race to Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, is the middle of the Avalanche’s high line. The precise wing on the unit is Mikko Rantanen, who had 42 targets and 62 assists for 104 factors.
“That is a troublesome one for us,” Colorado ahead Zach Parise mentioned. “He is had an ideal season. He is had some actually good chemistry with these guys on the 5-on-5 and on the facility play. We now have to, as a bunch, choose up the slack.”
Parise changed Drouin on the road with MacKinnon and Rantanen at follow on Saturday. However coach Jared Bednar mentioned that didn’t imply that Parise could be in that spot on Sunday.
