The Colorado Avalanche just lost the engine and the transmission in the same game. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar both suffered lower-body injuries in the second period of Thursday’s 4-3 overtime loss in Ottawa, and coach Jared Bednar said Saturday that MacKinnon will miss about a month and Makar about two weeks. MacKinnon tried a reverse hit on Senators defenseman Artem Zub, grabbed his right side and left. Makar, who had left practice on Nov. 8 as a precaution, was playing through a soft-tissue issue that Bednar said gradually got worse.
Colorado responded with a 4-1 win in Montreal on Saturday, but one road win does not replace 53 points in 39 combined games. The question for fantasy managers is simple: where do those minutes, shots and power-play touches go, and which Avalanche players are worth holding, adding or moving?
What Colorado Is Missing
MacKinnon leads the team and is tied for fifth in the NHL with 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 20 games, averaging 20:12 a night and a team-high 71 shots. Makar has 23 points (5 goals, 18 assists) in 19 games, tied for third among NHL defensemen, while averaging 22:25. Both anchored the top power-play unit. Josh Manson is also on injured reserve, which leaves the blue line thin: Alex Gagne made his NHL debut Saturday in Makar’s spot and Gavin Brindley drew into the forward group for MacKinnon.
The schedule softens the blow a little. Colorado plays only twice this week, Wednesday at Utah and Thursday at home against Anaheim, then hosts Montreal on Nov. 25 before a Nov. 27-28 set at Minnesota and home to San Jose. If Makar’s two-week estimate holds, he misses roughly five games. MacKinnon’s month runs into mid-December.
The New Look
Saturday’s lineup in Montreal, per Daily Faceoff’s posted combinations:
- Top line: Artturi Lehkonen — Brock Nelson — Martin Necas
- Second line: Jaden Schwartz — Nazem Kadri — T.J. Hughes
- Top pair: Devon Toews — Sam Malinski
- PP1: Toews at the point with Necas, Kadri, Lehkonen and Hughes
- PP2: Malinski with Landeskog, Roy, Schwartz and Nelson
Player-by-Player Fantasy Fallout
Devon Toews: The Biggest Winner
Toews already has 19 points in 21 games while averaging 21:41, and every one of those points has come without a power-play goal. Now he inherits Makar’s spot as the top unit’s quarterback on a team that still has Necas, Kadri and Lehkonen up front. Expect his ice time to climb past 23 minutes while Makar is out. If he is sitting on your bench or your league’s waiver wire, he is a must-start for the next two weeks, two-game week or not.
Sam Malinski: The Add to Make Now
Malinski has 9 assists and no goals in 20 games at 18:23 a night, which is why he is widely available. That changes with a promotion to the top pair next to Toews and a spot on the second power-play unit. He picked up an assist in his first game in the role. Malinski is not a long-term hold once Makar returns, but in deeper leagues and leagues that count blocks and shots, he is the cleanest short-term pickup on the roster. If you only have room for one Avalanche add, it is him.
Martin Necas: Volume Up, Quality Down
Necas sits second on the team with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 21 games and stays on both the top line and PP1. He becomes Colorado’s primary playmaker, and his touches will rise. The catch is linemate quality: Nelson is a fine two-way center, but he is not MacKinnon, and Necas will see the opponent’s best checkers every night. Keep starting him in every format. Just set expectations closer to a point per game than the pace he has been on next to MacKinnon.
Nazem Kadri: Quiet Bump
Kadri has 17 points and 60 shots in 21 games, second on the team in shots behind only MacKinnon, plus three power-play goals. He now carries the second line and stays on PP1. Of all the Colorado forwards, his role changes the least while his opportunity grows the most, and his shot volume makes him a strong play in leagues that count shots on goal. Move him up your rankings for the next month.
Artturi Lehkonen: Sell-High Candidate
Lehkonen scored again Saturday, his team-leading 15th goal of the season, and added an assist. But 15 goals on 46 shots is a 32.6 percent shooting rate, a number no forward sustains, and he has been riding MacKinnon’s coattails on both the top line and the top power play. He keeps both roles, but without the league’s best play driver beside him, the goal pace is due to slow. If a league-mate is valuing him as a 40-goal scorer, this is the week to listen to offers.
Brock Nelson: Top-Line Minutes, Modest Ceiling
Nelson stepped into MacKinnon’s spot and scored Saturday, giving him 6 goals and 13 points in 21 games. Top-line minutes between Lehkonen and Necas give him a real bump, but he is on the second power-play unit and has just 36 shots on the season. He is a reasonable streamer in deeper leagues, not a must-add.
T.J. Hughes: The Deep-League Dart
Hughes has only 10 points in 21 games, but his 49 shots are tied with Makar for the third-most on the team, in just 15:05 a night. A spot on the second line with Kadri and on PP1 make him worth a look in deep leagues and in formats that reward shot volume.
Brent Burns and the Rest of the Blue Line
Burns has six assists, no goals and 30 shots in 21 games on the third pair. Even with Makar out, he is not getting the power-play time that made him a fantasy asset in past seasons. Leave him on the wire. Gagne and Noah Juulsen are depth fill-ins with no fantasy relevance.
Goaltending
Mackenzie Blackwood was strong in Montreal, but the bigger picture is that Colorado’s offensive cushion just shrank. MacKinnon and Makar drive much of the team’s 5-on-5 offense, and Bednar said as much on Saturday. Expect tighter games and fewer blowout wins. Blackwood remains a weekly starter, but the win projection dips while both stars are out, and Scott Wedgewood stays a pass in fantasy.
The Weekly-Lineup Problem
In weekly head-to-head leagues, Colorado’s two-game week matters as much as the injuries. Toews earns a start regardless. For Necas, Kadri and Lehkonen, compare against your bench: a mid-tier forward with four games this week can out-produce any of them in total volume. In daily leagues, start them both nights and reassess when the Avalanche return home against Montreal on Nov. 25.
The Bottom Line
Add Malinski. Start Toews everywhere. Bump Kadri and Hughes for shot volume, keep Necas in lineups with lowered expectations, and shop Lehkonen while his goal total still looks like it belongs to a star. Makar’s short timeline means the defensive opportunity has an expiration date, so act this week rather than next.
See today's NHL lines on DFS Lines, each one set against the player's last ten games.