Nathan MacKinnon is expected to miss his second straight game Saturday when the Avalanche play the Anaheim Ducks at Ball Arena to complete a two-game set.
The star center sustained a head injury Wednesday in San Jose on a hit by Sharks forward Joachim Blichfeld, who was assessed a match penalty and was suspended two games by the NHL Player Safety Department.
Here are the GAME NOTES.
MacKinnon took part in the morning skate Friday and was expected to play, but he was a late scratch before the Avalanche’s 3-2 overtime win.
Here’s my NHL.com GAME RECAP.
Valeri Nichushkin scored two goals, including in overtime. Brandon Saad had a goal and two assists, and Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves.
Coach Jared Bednar said Friday night that MacKinnon wasn’t feeling well in the afternoon and was in protocol.
“I'm assuming he's going to miss a couple games here,… Bednar said.
The Avalanche didn’t have a morning skate Saturday.
“We found out when we came to the rink,… Joonas Donskoi said Friday night. “It happens. Obviously, he's one of the best players in the world. But we still have a locker room full of great players, so we just have to keep going."
The Avalanche are 4-1-0 in the past five games. The Ducks have lost nine in a row (0-6-3) since a 1-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 11.
Guessing Hunter Miska will start.
The projected lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog -- Nazem Kadri -- Mikko Rantanen Brandon Saad -- Tyson Jost -- Joonas Donskoi Valeri Nichushkin -- J.T. Compher -- Andre Burakovsky Kiefer Sherwood -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Logan O’Connor
DEFENSE Ryan Graves -- Devon Toews Jacob MacDonald -- Samuel Girard Dan Renouf -- Conor Timmins
GOALIES Hunter Miska Philipp Grubauer