The Avalanche will play on the safe side with star center Nathan MacKinnon.
MacKinnon, who is recovering from a concussion and broken nose, did not practice with the team upon its return from the All-Star break on Tuesday and is now tentatively scheduled to rejoin the lineup on Sunday at the Dallas Stars.
Colorado returns to play Thursday against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
MacKinnon, who has missed three games since absorbing a cross-ice check from Boston’s Taylor Hall on Jan. 26, skated with skills coach Shawn Allard before the full team practice Tuesday. He donned a regular practice jersey and, from afar, didn’t appear to have facial trauma.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar originally said MacKinnon was on pace to return against Tampa Bay. But the Western Conference-leading Avs (32-8-4), who lead the NHL with a .773 winning percentage, can afford to be patient with their top-line center.
“As we got into the break, we kind of felt like he might need a little bit more time,” Bednar said. “We wanted to give him the time through the break to make sure he was feeling good, so when he came out of the break, he can start ramping up to play. So we got into the break and we started targeting Sunday for his return date now. Everything’s going to have to go smoothly and he’s going to have to make the right steps here over the next few days in order to be ready to go.”
Bednar added that MacKinnon remains in concussion protocol and Tuesday might have been his first skate since he was injured 2:22 into the Bruins’ game.
Nathan MacKinnon right now … might not skate with full group but not in red
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers)
In MacKinnon’s absence, Valeri Nichushkin remains on the top line with Mikko Rantanen and Gabe Landeskog.
In other lineup news, goalie Pavel Francouz missed practice because of travel issues, Bednar said. Forward Darren Helm, who has missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury, was back in a regular practice sweater and has been cleared. Defenseman Jacob MacDonald, who has missed the last 19 games with an upper-body injury, practiced with the team in a red non-contact jersey.
Bednar said the Avs, who last played Feb. 1, will be ready to perform against the Lightning, which will also come off an eight-day break between games.
“We had the option to come in yesterday to practice,” Bednar said. “I wanted to give our guys a few days to make sure they get rested and a nice mental break. Love our practice today, guys were doing some work over the break, staying in shape. So I felt like coming back focused for two good days of practice and then pregame skate will put us in the right spot. So that’s what we’ll do. It’s a review of systems, getting back into special teams. Hopefully, we’ll have another real good one (Wednesday) and then a pregame skate and we’ll be ready for Tampa.”
