The Colorado Avalanche’s all-star center on Tuesday left the game early against the after suffering an upper body injury.
MacKinnon left the ice with after a collision in the corner with Vancouver defensemen Alexander Edler. MacKinnon lost his helmet on the play.
“I really don’t know a timeline,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters after the game. “It’s upper body and I don’t know if it’s day-to-day or not. We’ll have to talk to the trainers and then we’ll probably know more on it tomorrow.”
Nathan MacKinnon, the 's second-leading scorer, has left tonight's game in Vancouver with a shoulder injury because of this play.
— Chris Oddo (@TheFanChild)
MacKinnon was seen on the bench holding his shoulder in pain and then went to the locker room. MacKinnon did not return to the contest and the Avs went on to lose 4-3 in overtime.
The Avalanche moved rookie to first-line center in MacKinnon’s place.
“Hopefully Nate’s OK,” Avs captain told Altitude TV during the second intermission.
MacKinnon, who reached the all-star break second in the NHL in points (60), finished second in a mid-season vote for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the league’s most valuable player. He tallied another point Tuesday — an assist — on the Avs’ opening goal by J.T. Compher 4 minutes, 20 seconds into the second period.
The collision came shortly after MacKinnon served a two-minute penalty for slashing.
