Avs win again, but lose Cale Makar

BOSTON – One of the things Avalanche have said as a saving grace in recent times: At least they still have MacKinnon and Makar.

Cale Makar was injured Saturday night.

Just when it seemed like the Avs were shaking the injury bug, they not only lost No. 1 goalie Philipp Grubauer again, they lost Calder Trophy favorite, Cale Makar, after taking a hit from Boston Bruins veteran Brad Marchand early in the third period.

Makar appeared to have taken the brunt of the hit to his left shoulder, though he also was shaking his head a bit. He left for the dressing room and did not return.

Jared Bednar would only say, “I don’t know yet” when asked about Makar (another Avs player who got hurt – Philipp Grubauer). Makar was not available for comment afterward.

The hit from Marchand – despite his reputation – was not a dirty one. It was hard, but otherwise routine. Here is the hit:

Makar could rightly be considered the Avs’ best all-around defenseman already, despite being in just his first year.

Otherwise, the Avs had a successful night in pinning the first regulation loss to the Bruins on home ice. They got goals from Valeri Nichushkin, Ian Cole, Andre Burakovsky and Gabe Landeskog and got strong goaltending in relief from Pavel Francouz.

Grubauer left the game in the first period. He missed from Nov. 5-19 because of a lower-body injury.

Asked about battling through another game in which they lost key players, Landeskog – who only just returned from missing nearly six weeks – told Colorado Hockey Now:

“Whoever’s out there, we just them to do the job. That’s the way it’s always been,” Landeskog said. “We know, with the way our conference is, we gotta keep winning. We’re looking ahead, not what’s behind us. It was already a good road trip, but we wanted to make it a great one. I don’t think they had lost at home (in regulation) this season (true). That’s a tough team to play against offensively, but I was happy with how we were able to play.”

Burakovsky, who has already equaled his goal total from last season (12) made it 3-1 in the second period with a snipe after flying in from the left side.

“Personally, it’s been frustrating last three years, where you know what you’re capable of doing, and it’s kind of just locked up inside you,” Burakovsky told Colorado Hockey Now. “To get it out of you and play great games…it builds confidence inside you. I think, for me, confidence is everything. When I’m feeling confident, I can do a lot of things.”