The Avalanche will be without defenseman Nikita Zadorov for a while. He had surgery Friday night for a broken jaw and is out week-to-week, coach Jared Bednar said Saturday after the morning skate.
So Ian Cole will return to the lineup against Columbus at the Pepsi Center.
Zadorov was injured early in the second period Thursday when he was hit with a puck shot by Nashville forward Ryan Johansen in the Avalanche’s 9-4 win.
"Everything went well, so we will just see how things go over the next couple days and then we will try to get him back on the ice,… Bednar said.
Nathan MacKinnon didn’t skate in the morning, but Bednar said he would play against the Blue Jackets. MacKinnon had a goal and three assists Thursday and was held out of the third period with an upper-body injury for precautionary reasons with the Avalanche holding a commanding 8-3 lead.
"We didn't put him out there this morning just because we are going to give him a little rest," Bednar said.
Goalie Philipp Grubauer and forwards Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog and Colin Wilson remain out with lower-body injuries. Bednar said he expects Grubauer to accompany the team on its five-game road trip that starts Tuesday in Winnipeg.
The Avalanche recalled forward Jayson Megna from the Colorado Eagles, but he’ll be a healthy scratch against Columbus. They’ll recall another player before the trip.
The Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS Matt Calvert -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Joonas Donskoi Tyson Jost – Nazem Kadri -- J.T. Compher Matt Nieto -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Valeri Nichushkin Andre Burakovsky -- Vladislav Kamenev -- T.J. Tynan
DEFENSE Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson Ryan Graves -- Cale Makar Ian Cole -- Mark Barberio
GOALIES Pavel Francouz Adam Werner