Nathan MacKinnon took part in an optional practice Tuesday and is expected to play against the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.
The star center has missed the past three games with a head injury he sustained March 3 on a hit by San Jose Sharks forward Joachim Blichfeld.
The Avalanche could have used him Monday when they outshot the Coyotes 35-14 and lost 3-2.
Here’s my NHL.com GAME RECAP.
“I do expect him to play tomorrow and it should give us a big lift,… Bednar said of MacKinnon, who has 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 19 games. “This is one of the top players in the world, he’s our on-ice leader and we need him and his offensive punch.
“You look at last night for example; we played hard defensively, we did a lot of good things, had a good tempo to our game. We had 35 shots, had some really good scoring chances, but the fact of the matter is we’re not capitalizing on our chances.
“When Nate gets into scoring areas, he draws attention to himself and he either winds up with a good scoring chance or his linemates do, and the top players tend to finish off more of their scoring chances than other guys. So it’s going to be a big lift for us to get him back.…
Defenseman Cale Makar’s status is murky, to say the least. He’s missed six games with an upper-body injury. He skated Sunday and before the morning skate Monday but didn’t take part in the optional practice Tuesday.
“There’s no specific setback, I’m just not getting any information that says he’s coming back tomorrow,… Bednar said. “Until I hear from our medical staff or from Cale himself that he’s good and ready to play or gearing up to play our next game, I don’t know when that’s going to be.
“It could be as early as tomorrow or it could be two months from now. I have no idea. I know you guys want more specific information, but the facts are I don’t have any more information to give you.…