The Avalanche already had a massive challenge at the start of this season. One game in, it got tougher.
Jonathan Drouin, a breakout player and one of the great stories in the NHL last season, will miss at least the next two games after being injured in the Avs’ season opener Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
Avs coach Jared Bednar said it is an upper-body injury. Drouin won’t play Saturday night against the Blue Jackets in the home opener or Monday against the Islanders.
Colorado is already without Valeri Nichuhskin (suspension) and Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder), staples in the top-six forward group for the past two seasons, and captain Gabe Landeskog (knee), who has played in that role for most of his career.
“It doesn’t help. Every guy that’s missing makes the job more difficult,” Bednar said. “It forces our team to dig in on the details and the commitment side of the game right away. We have to expect that everyone in our lineup has to be on top of their game. Not just be in a role, but thriving in that role in order to have success.”
Drouin’s breakout year in 2023-24 helped offset the loss of Landeskog for a second straight season, as well as absences from Nichushkin (player assistance program) and Lehkonen (neck) during the regular season. Now the Avalanche will need others to step up while four of the club’s top-seven forwards are missing.
Nikolai Kovalenko, who made his NHL regular-season debut against the Golden Knights, slid into Drouin’s spot on the top line Friday at practice. Ross Colton, typically the club’s No. 3 center, moved up to replace Kovalenko on the second line with Casey Mittelstadt and rookie Calum Ritchie.
Colton took a shift with those two against Vegas, and it led to a Mittelstadt rebound goal. He also played in a similar role for a lot of his time with Tampa Bay before signing with the Avs.
“It’s a little bit different,” Colton said. I feel like at center I’ve always got my feet moving and playing with a lot of pace. On the wing, it’s a lot more stop and start. Some differences, some similarities, but wherever they need, that’s always been the role I like to fill.”
Parker Kelly, who played center in an NHL game for the first time against Vegas, slid up from the fourth line into the No. 3C role Friday. The Avs only had 11 healthy forwards for practice.
Bednar said they may go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen against Columbus, or they will recall another forward. If they do, either one of the extra defensemen — John Ludvig or Oliver Kylington — would need to be placed on waivers or Drouin would need to go on injured reserve for at least seven days to open a roster spot.
That’s because the Avalanche made another roster move Friday to fill its 23rd spot, claiming goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen on waivers from the Winnipeg Jets.
He is currently still in Winnipeg dealing with immigration issues, so his arrival in Denver is in flux. Adding Kahkonen gives the Avs three goaltenders on the NHL roster, which can be a tricky situation for any team to navigate.
“We’ve seen better from our goalies than we’ve seen here recently,” Bednar said. “If they can elevate their game, great. If Kahkonen can come in and play well, great. It’s about winning hockey games. If we can get incrementally better in any position, we’ll try and do it.”
Both of Colorado’s goalies had a rough night in the opener against the Golden Knights. Starter Alexandar Georgiev allowed five goals on 16 shots in two periods, then Justus Annunen relieved him and yielded two more on four shots plus one that didn’t count because of a Vegas penalty away from the play.
It’s the first bad game Georgiev has had since Game 1 of the first round against Winnipeg in April. He responded to that with a run of 10 solid or better performances before the club got eliminated by Dallas.
“I’m not the first goalie who that happened to,” Georgiev said when asked if he’ll draw on that playoff experience. “I’m just trying to stop the bleeding here and have a really good game, get back in the winning column. Just trying not to make too much out of it. It’s just the first game.”
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