The Avalanche didn’t have a formal morning skate Saturday, so there’s no official word yet or guarantee, but the plan has been for right wing Mikko Rantanen to return tonight against Chicago at the Pepsi Center.
This obviously would be great news for an injury-riddled team that has managed to more than stay afloat without him, Gabriel Landeskog, Erik Johnson, Andre Burakovsky, Matt Calvert and Colin Wilson.
The Avalanche have gone 8-7-1 without Rantanen, who sustained an ankle/leg injury Oct. 21 against St. Louis, and are third in the Central Division with a 15-8-2 record.
“It’s exciting, especially for our power play,… Nathan MacKinnon said earlier in the week on the prospect of getting his linemate back. “We need him, it’s been tough. It’s exciting to get one of the best players in the world back on our team. I think people forget that we’re missing 200 points out of our lineup from last season.…
Despite losing Rantanen and Landeskog from his line, MacKinnon has remained among the NHL’s scoring leaders with 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists).
MacKinnon had a goal and three assists Friday in the Avalanche’s 5-2 win in Chicago. He has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in a six-game point streak.
“He really put the team on his back,… coach Jared Bednar said Friday. “He’s been consistently hard and heavy on pucks, he’s using his speed, he’s finding a way to contribute every night, he’s making his linemates better while doing it.
“That’s what you need from your stars, and he’s certainly been the guy who’s been carrying the bulk of the load with some of the guys we’ve had injured.…
Goalie Philipp Grubauer is expected to start for the Avalanche, who have won two straight games and are 7-3-0 in the past 10.
Calvert and Landeskog skated with skills coach Shawn Allard in the morning, so there’s some positive news.
The Avalanche assigned forward Sheldon Dries to the Colorado Eagles, presumably because Rantanen is ready to play. It might even mean that Burakovsky will be available. He didn’t play Friday because of an upper-body injury.
Cale Makar, by the way, has 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists), the most by a defenseman in his first 25 NHL games since Los Angeles’ Larry Murphy (28) in 1980-81.