MacKinnon and Makar Both Left Injured. Colorado's OT Point Came at a Cost.
GOATIFYAn overtime point would normally be something for Colorado to take from a difficult road game. On Thursday in Ottawa, it felt secondary. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, the Avalanche's two most influential skaters, left the second period with lower-body injuries and did not return. Colorado still turned a two-goal deficit into a third-period lead, only for the Senators to tie the game late and win 4-3 in overtime. The result mattered in the standings. The uncertainty around the two departures mattered far more.
The known details are narrow but significant. MacKinnon was hurt in a play involving Ottawa defenseman Artem Zub and subsequently headed down the tunnel. Makar had an extremely short shift, disappeared into the dressing room, returned briefly and then remained unavailable. Colorado confirmed the injury category for both; it did not establish a recovery timetable or the extent of either problem in the initial report. That distinction matters when one awkward play can turn into days of speculation.
MacKinnon entered the night as Colorado's scoring engine, while Makar was its most productive defenseman. Losing one would reshape the way the Avalanche attack; losing both for any meaningful stretch would force a much broader change. Before Colorado visits Montreal on Saturday, the urgent question is not whether Thursday's comeback deserved a second standings point. It is how much of the team's familiar identity will be available for the next game.
MacKinnon's awkward exit changed the night
MacKinnon's final shift ended with 8:15 left in the middle period. He was attempting a reverse hit as Senators defenseman Artem Zub engaged him, then grabbed his right side. MacKinnon stayed on the bench for several minutes before going to the dressing room. That sequence is established; any specific diagnosis, projected absence or conclusion about exactly what was damaged would go beyond what Colorado had confirmed after the game. An injury description of 'lower body' is an initial classification, not a medical timetable.
The context makes the exit especially consequential. Through 20 games, MacKinnon had 30 points, comprising 10 goals and 20 assists, placing him fifth in league scoring according to the official update. His value is not contained in those numbers. He drives the pace of possession, pushes defenders backward with controlled entries and forces opposing teams to make difficult choices about where to allocate their best checkers. When Colorado needs to turn a long defensive shift into immediate offense, his ability to carry the puck through traffic changes the geometry of the ice.
Removing that engine is not as simple as moving a new center onto the top line. Colorado's forwards can redistribute individual shifts, but the next player asked to carry that workload may not reproduce MacKinnon's entries, transition threat or attention from two defenders. More stationary offense can leave the Avalanche trying to recover pucks along the walls instead of attacking from speed. The tactical response, if one is needed, is likely to involve shorter support distances, more deliberate breakouts and offense created through coordinated movement rather than asking one skater to beat a set defense.
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The Avalanche had shown plenty of scoring breadth immediately before the Ottawa game. In Tuesday's 6-3 win at Toronto, thirteen different Colorado players collected a point. That is useful evidence of depth, not proof that the top line can be replaced. Players such as Martin Necas, Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson and Artturi Lehkonen give the coaching staff options for distributing touches. But an opponent planning for Colorado without MacKinnon would defend a different set of threats, and those options would have to solve that changed coverage rather than merely fill minutes on a lineup card.
One relevant part of Thursday's story is what Colorado did after MacKinnon was out. The club was trailing 2-0 when it began its response, and the remaining skaters did not retreat into damage control. That competitiveness provides a useful floor if injuries force a temporary adjustment. It does not settle the ceiling: making a comeback in a single road game and generating sustained offense over a run of games are separate tests. Until the next official availability update, the strongest conclusion is that Colorado demonstrated resilience while the risk to its strongest offensive driver remained unresolved.
Makar's four-second shift raised a separate concern
Makar's exit was troubling for a different reason. The defenseman took a second-period shift at 10:44 that lasted only four seconds before heading back to the dressing room. He later returned for a 23-second shift with 5:20 remaining in the period, but stayed on the bench afterward and did not play the rest of the game. That stop-start pattern can look ominous on a broadcast, but it is not evidence of a particular diagnosis. It tells us only that the player was not able to continue in a normal role that night.
His preceding week provides context without answering the medical question. Makar had departed a Sunday practice early as a precaution, and the team was already managing his readiness before Ottawa. It would be a mistake to assume the two episodes must involve the same condition or to conclude that Thursday's exit was a known recurrence. Colorado had identified the game-night issue as lower body. Beyond that, observers should wait for team information rather than treating a brief return to the ice as either proof of serious injury or proof that everything is fine.
From a hockey standpoint, Makar's place in the lineup is unusually difficult to replace. He had 23 points in 19 games, with five goals and 18 assists, ranking third among NHL defensemen in scoring. His minutes connect several phases of Colorado's system: he retrieves pucks under pressure, moves the first pass through the neutral zone, joins attacks at precisely chosen moments and supplies a dangerous option when the power play resets above the circles. A defenseman can be proficient at one or two of those jobs without changing all of them at once the way Makar does.
The Avalanche do have experienced alternatives. Devon Toews can manage difficult defensive assignments and move the puck effectively, while veterans such as Brent Burns and Brett Kulak can absorb targeted responsibilities. But if Makar misses time, replacing one number on the scoresheet is the least complex part. Pairing assignments have to be redistributed, the first power-play unit may need a different point-of-attack rhythm, and Colorado's forwards could have fewer rapid, clean exits from their own end. Those downstream effects are often what opponents notice first.
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The possibility of simultaneous absences makes this more than two isolated lineup questions. MacKinnon and Makar are central to the Avalanche's capacity to move the puck from pressure to offense without a lengthy reset. When both are available, opponents must account for a world-class puck carrier up front and an elite creator from the back. If both are missing, Colorado can still play effective hockey, but it has to build possessions more collectively. A sensible near-term plan would prioritize reliable exits and controlled shifts rather than automatically asking every replacement to imitate an irreplaceable player.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog's postgame response focused on the players who remain available and the team's need to keep competing, not on making predictions about injured teammates. That is a useful distinction for Colorado's locker room and for supporters. The club can respect uncertainty while preparing to win. An update on actual participation at the next practice or morning skate will be much more informative than interpreting one short shift or reading a dramatic headline as a prognosis.
The comeback was real. The test ahead is bigger
Colorado's comeback deserves attention precisely because it happened without its two headliners. Ottawa struck first through Shane Pinto at 7:11 of the opening period, then doubled the advantage when Tim Stutzle scored at 13:13. The Avalanche entered the middle period behind and subsequently had to absorb the departures of MacKinnon and Makar. This was the kind of road situation in which a team can lose its structure and begin chasing the game shift by shift.
Instead, Artturi Lehkonen gave Colorado a foothold with a power-play goal at 18:04 of the second. Parker Kelly then tied it 2-2 with a short-handed finish at 3:54 of the third, turning a potential weakness into a momentum-changing attack. Gabriel Landeskog put the Avalanche ahead 3-2 on the power play at 10:03, converting a setup from Brock Nelson. Those goals did not resemble an offense shutting down after an injury scare. They came from different situations and different contributors, evidence that Colorado could still manufacture chances without waiting for the usual stars to solve every possession.
But protecting a lead is part of the same test. Drake Batherson equalized for Ottawa at 16:04 of the third after the puck worked through the crease. In overtime, Pinto intercepted Kelly's pass in Colorado's zone and beat Scott Wedgewood at 2:08. Pinto finished with two goals, while Ottawa took the extra point. The decision-making lapse on the winner should not obscure Colorado's rally; nor should a gutsy rally erase the late mistakes. The night presented both reasons for encouragement and clear areas to tighten.
At 11-6-3, the Avalanche remained third in the Central Division after extending their run of games with at least a point to four. The single point matters, particularly in a division where small gaps accumulate across months. Yet a standings calculation offers only a partial measure of this evening. Colorado's performance showed that Lehkonen, Kelly, Landeskog and other players could contribute in different game states. The harder question is whether that balance can be repeated once opponents have had time to prepare for a changed Colorado lineup.
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There is also a sensible limit to reading too much into one overtime result. Ottawa received a boost from the return of goaltender Linus Ullmark, was aggressive early, and found the late equalizer after Colorado's surge. The Senators earned their win. Colorado earned credit for climbing back into it. A fair assessment does not need to turn the loss into a moral victory or make the absence of two star players an excuse for every mistake. The Avalanche can take the lesson that their competitive identity survived a difficult night while still identifying the puck management that cost them the extra point.
Saturday's visit to Montreal is now the first practical checkpoint. Colorado faces a Canadiens side riding a strong run of results, and it must decide how to structure its forwards and defensive pairs based on who is actually able to play. The following road date in Utah offers another near-term decision point. A brief absence would pose a different challenge from several games without both stars, so the team should not be treated as locked into either scenario in advance. The initial report leaves the duration open.
The clearest way to judge Colorado's next performance will be through its process: whether defensemen can provide clean first passes under pressure, whether the forwards enter the attacking zone with support, and whether the power play finds controlled chances instead of depending on one predictable action. Those are observable measures even before the medical picture becomes clear. The team may need to spread critical minutes, but asking replacements to stay within their strengths is often more realistic than copying the injured stars' habits.
Jared Bednar's postgame assessment praised the effort of a depleted group while acknowledging errors that contributed to the loss. That balance is the appropriate conclusion from Thursday. A strong third-period response was real; so were the late breakdown and the injuries. Colorado now has to turn that resilience into a sustainable plan, with the precise shape of it determined by confirmed availability rather than guesswork.
An overtime defeat in Ottawa will not define Colorado's season. The status of MacKinnon and Makar might shape a far larger stretch of it, depending on what the next medical and lineup updates establish. Both were classified with lower-body injuries after leaving the same period, but no definitive timetable was supplied in the initial report. Anything more specific remains speculation.
The Avalanche can carry forward something tangible from the 4-3 loss: they answered a two-goal deficit, generated goals on the power play and penalty kill, and kept earning chances after losing their two biggest creators. Saturday in Montreal will show whether that collective response travels. For now, the most important next result is not a score. It is the confirmed news about who can dress and how Colorado intends to play if either star cannot.
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