Aarif Deen
Cale Makar won’t play for the Avalanche when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night. But it sounds like the Avalanche’s superstar defenseman is not severely hurt.
“He’s doing ok. He’s gonna miss some time, though, like nothing serious, nothing that’s putting playoffs in jeopardy or anything like that,” head coach Jared Bednar said on Wednesday following morning skate. “But like I said with Nic Roy, if someone has something going on this time of the year, we want to make sure they’re right for playoffs. So we’re going to keep them out for a little bit.”
Makar has an upper-body injury, one he seemingly sustained after taking a hit along the boards from Calgary’s Adam Klapka in the second period. He played a handful of shifts after that play and set up Nathan MacKinnon for a one-timer goal later in the period before officially leaving the game.
Bednar did not commit to shutting down Makar for the rest of the regular season. After Wednesday, the Avs still have eight more games remaining on the calendar before the playoffs, which conclude with the NHL’s regular-season finale against the Seattle Kraken at Ball Arena on April 16.
Nick Blankenburg will enter the lineup in Makar’s absence.