No official word yet on how long defenseman Tyson Barrie will be sidelined after he broke a bone in his right hand during the Avalanche's 6-2 win in Arizona on Saturday.
Barrie left the game at 5:02 of the first period when he blocked a shot by Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Center J.T. Compher missed six games earlier this season after breaking his thumb blocking a shot. He wore a brace for several games after returning.
Barrie has 27 points (four goals, 23 assists) and is tied for second in scoring among NHL defensemen with Philadelphia's Shayne Gostisbehere and Washington's John Carlson.
Barrie is averaging 21:20 in ice time, second on the Avalanche behind Erik Johnson's 25:33.
The Avalanche (17-15-3) are 2-0-1 in the past three games and 5-2-1 in eight games after beginning the month with four consecutive losses.
The season resumes Wednesday following the NHL's three-day Christmas break, and the Avalanche play Arizona again to open a six-game homestand.
It should be an interesting rematch considering the fisticuffs that took place at 8:52 of the second period, along with Zac Rinaldo's punch that flattened Samuel Girard and will result in a suspension.
Arizona’s Zac Rinaldo has been offered an in-person hearing for a punch to an unsuspecting opponent, Colorado’s Samuel Girard. Date and time TBD.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) December 24, 2017
Rinaldo was assessed a match penalty for the punch, which came after a big hit on Nathan MacKinnon. Girard skated up to Rinaldo, who dropped him with one punch. MacKinnon and Johnson responded by chasing after Rinaldo. Johnson and Rinaldo fought, and MacKinnon fought with Josh Archibald; MacKinnon and Archibald were given game misconducts along with fighting majors.
With Johnson serving roughing and fighting penalties, MacKinnon in the locker room after being ejected and Girard off to be examined (he later returned), the Avalanche got power-play goals from Compher and Nail Yakupov after Carl Soderberg had scored the first of his two goals.
The Avalanche also got goals from Matt Nieto and Sven Andrighetto.
"Any time your best players stick up for one another I think it goes a long way in the locker room," Johnson told reporters. "It’s the things you do on the ice to back each other up when things happen that you don’t think are right. We stepped up as a group after that. There was a bit of a hit and then (Girard) went over to (Rinaldo) and then he suckered him and I flew in and took care of it.
"You don’t want to see that. I don’t think Girard is going over there to try and fight him, he’s just going over there to give him a bump and he suckered him.…
Semyon Varlamov had 32 saves and the Avalanche killed all five Coyotes power plays; they've killed 23 in a row in the past eight games.