Makar will miss at least seven days with the upper-body injury and this will likely force Samuel Girard and Bowen Byram to take on bigger roles for at least the next few games. The Avalanche will be in tough on Wednesday, missing Makar, Mikko Rantanen, Devon Toews, Valeri Nichushkin and maybe Andre Burakovsky as well.
Blackwood was on the ice on Friday and told reporters that he isn't ready to play Saturday but thinks he'll be ready within the week. Blackwood should immediately take over as the Devils' No.1 netminder.
Landeskog completed his two-game suspension and will return to the lineup tonight in Florida. Landeskog will likely return to the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen--he had one goal and one assist in the Avalanche season opener.
Roy missed the first two games of the season with an undisclosed injury but will play Wednesday vs. the Blues. With Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Alex Tuch and Mattias Janmark all out, Roy will play on the second line with Chandler Stephenson and Evgenii Dadonov.
MacKinnon missed the first two games of the season but received two negative COVID-19 tests and flew to Washington to join his team for Tuesday's game. MacKinnon will provide a huge boost to an Avalanche team that will be without Gabriel Landeskog (suspended) and Valeri Nichushkin.
The Avalanche are about to embark on a three-game road trip and MacKinnon will miss at least one more game after testing positive yet again.
Blackwood continues to rehab his heel injury and is not expected to be available for Friday's game vs. the Blackhawks. With Blackhwood still out, Jonathan Bernier is expected to start with Scott Wedgewood serving as the backup.
Landeskog planted Kirby Dach into the centre ice boards in Wednesday's win over the Blackhawks and will miss Saturday's game vs. St. Louis and Tuesday's game in Washington. He is eligible to play next Thursday in Florida.
MacKinnon tested positive but is asymptomatic, so he will miss Wednesday's season opener. The Avalanche are hopeful that MacKinnon will test out of COVID-19 protocol and will be available for Saturday's game vs. the Blues.
MacKinnon missed Tuesday's practice because of COVID-19 protocol, putting his status for tomorrow's season opener in jeopardy. Monitor his status during Wednesday's morning skate.
Kelley is a 22-year-old undrafted free agent, who scored a goal in his NHL debut with the Senators last season. He spent almost the entire season in the AHL, scoring 10 goals with eight assists (18 points) in 33 games with Belleville.
Roy remains day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and will not play Tuesday vs. the Kraken. With Roy out and Patrick Brown getting claimed off of waivers by the Flyers, the Golden Knights' fourth line is expected to feature Peyton Krebs and Pavel Dorofeyev.
Juulsen is a former first-round pick who had his career thrown off track due to headache issues but gets a fresh start in Vancouver. It's a homecoming for the Surrey, BC native, who had no points in four NHL games and one assists in five AHL games a season ago.
Francouz was injured in Colorado's preseason vs. the Golden Knights and will miss at least three weeks with a lower-body injury. This is a tough start to the season for Francouz, who missed all of 2021 with a lower-body injury. With Franocuz out, Jonas Johansson will likely start the year as Darcy Kuemper's backup.
Toews had shoulder surgery in the offseason and has resumed skating but is expected to miss at least a few games to open the 2021-22 season. With Toews out, Jack Johnson was brought into training camp on a PTO and could earn a contract with the Avalanche.
O'Connor is entering the final-year of a two-year deal worth $725K AAV. He earned a moderate raise to $1.05M AAV that carries through 2024-25. The 25-year-old winger had three goals and two assists (five points) in 25 games in 2202-21.
