It could have been a lot worse, much worse.
When Avalanche forward Matt Nieto fell to the ice in the third period Tuesday while grimacing in pain after getting hit by a slap shot by Montreal's Shea Weber, coach Jared Bednar could be forgiven if he had visions of Erik Johnson's broken fibula.
Johnson hasn't played since sustaining the injury Dec. 3 when he blocked a shot by Dallas' Tyler Seguin, and Weber has won the NHL's hardest shot competition three years in a row.
Nieto was much more fortunate. Bednar said after practice Wednesday that Nieto was hit on the back of his calf, there is no fracture, and he might even be able to play Thursday against Pittsburgh at the Pepsi Center when the Avalanche attempt to win a third consecutive game for the first time since March of last season.
"He got hit, X-rays were negative,… Bednar said. “He got hit kind of more in the calf, I guess, so he didn’t skate today. He’s pretty sore, but we’ll see what he’s like tomorrow. I would say there’s a chance he could play tomorrow.
"He’ll be in, in the morning and probably go for a skate on his own. To be able to come out of that one, even if he has to miss a game, that’s better than what some of the other alternatives could be.…
The Avalanche won't have a morning skate or player availability before playing the Penguins and Sidney Crosby, who needs two points to reach 1,000 for his NHL career.
Joe Colborne, who hasn't scored a goal since his opening-night hat trick, took Nieto's place at right wing in practice on Matt Duchene's line. Nieto has four goals and one assist in 12 games since the Avalanche claimed him on waivers from San Jose on Jan. 5.
Rene Bourque remains sidelined because of a head injury, so the Avalanche would be short one forward if Nieto can't play unless they summon one from San Antonio. Bednar said he could use seven defensemen.
Tyson Barrie, who has missed six of the past eight games with a lower-body injury, might be able to play against the Penguins. He practiced while wearing a non-contact jersey. He's missed six of the past eight games.
"I think things went well," Bednar said. "We'll have to check and see how he is tomorrow after that practice. He's been out for a significant amount of time when you take the injuries and the (All-Star) break that we had, so we'll just see how he is in the morning and make a decision on him for tomorrow night."
Bourque skated before practice and was "much better again today," Bednar said. "He's progressing the right way. He did a light workout in the gym two days ago, a heavier one (Tuesday) and today, and he skated for 30 minutes and then he was in the gym. Hopefully that continues until we get clearance on him."
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The Avalanche made it two wins in a row with their 4-0 victory against the Canadiens. Mikko Rantanen became the third Colorado rookie to collect a hat trick (Marek Svatos and Radim Vrbata were the others) and Calvin Pickard made 27 saves for his third career shutout.
"It's a dream come true," said Rantanen, who has five goals in the past five games, 11 this season. "You watch other guys when you are younger, watch guys score hat tricks and the crowd is going wild, so it's a dream come true. The most important thing was the two points."
The Avalanche were shellacked 10-1 in Montreal on Dec. 10.
"I think we earned a little payback from what happened in Montreal," Rantanen said. "No one was happy, it was embarrassing. We were really sharp (Tuesday) and we played a solid 60 minutes."
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Nathan MacKinnon is looking forward to playing against Crosby, his Nova Scotia pal and one of his offseason training partners. Crosby didn't play because of an injury Oct. 17 when the Avalanche won 4-3 in overtime in Pittsburgh to begin the season 2-0.
"He's been the best player in the world for 12 years now, he's been doing it forever," MacKinnon said. "He's had an unbelievable career, definitely one of the best players ever to play. He's like a grinder almost. He goes in the corners, he battles hard. That's what makes him so good; he can play any style of game. He can do it all."