Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon will suit up for Tuesday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, according to Colorado head coach Jared Bednar, whose team faces elimination down 3-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Dealing with a right leg injury, McKinnon did not participate in Tuesday morning’s optional skate, but Bednar said the 30-year-old was feeling a lot better after taking a full day off.
MacKinnon, who led the NHL with 53 goals this regular season, sustained the injury Sunday when he blocked Shea Theodore’s one-timer off his right knee with just under eight minutes left in the second period.
He immediately fell to the ice and grabbed at his right leg after appearing to take the puck directly off the side of his right knee. While still down on the ice, he cleared the puck past the blue line, but was unable to get up, forcing referees to stop the play so he could be attended to.
He limped off the ice under his own power and attempted to play through it, returning for two more shifts before eventually limping back to the locker room late in the second period.
MacKinnon played just one full-strength shift during the third period, although he also was able to contribute on a power play and a 6-on-5 when the Avalanche pulled their goalie in the closing minutes.
MacKinnon has tallied a point in nine of Colorado’s 12 games in these playoffs, including a first-period assist Sunday, totaling 15 postseason points (seven goals, eight assists).
Colorado winger Valeri Nichushkin, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 3, also did not participate in Tuesday’s skate and is considered a game-time decision.
The Avs are turning to Mackenzie Blackwood in net for the first time in the conference finals as they look to avoid a sweep by the Knights.
