LAS VEGAS — At first, it looked like maybe just a bad stinger, like getting hit really hard on the funny bone.
That happens in hockey. A player blocks a shot, a part of their body goes numb for a bit and then eventually, things go back to normal.
That wasn’t the case Sunday night for Nathan MacKinnon. In a Western Conference Final where a few other key Colorado Avalanche players are already playing through injuries, the NHL’s leading goal scorer this season was felled trying to prevent someone else from scoring.
The Avs lost Game 3 in stunning fashion, blowing a three-goal lead in a 5-3 loss. They will try to extend their season Tuesday night back here at T-Mobile Arena.
“Obviously he’s a big part (of our team), but he’s doing what he’s supposed to do, block a shot for the team, right?” Avs goalie Scott Wedgewood said. “Comes in, gets checked, comes back out, works through it. Playoff competitor, itap what you expect out of him. Obviously don’t want to lose him for any time, but we had to there for a bit and guys have to step up.”
MacKinnon went down to block a shot with 7:54 remaining in the second period of Game 3. Shea Theodore’s blast hit MacKinnon on the outside of his right knee.
He writhed in pain for nine seconds before play was stopped, and several more after that before skating gingerly back to the Avs bench.
“I mean it’s tough, he sells out for a shot block, and unfortunately it’s obviously because of a bad turnover from us,” said fellow Avs star Cale Makar, who was back in the lineup after missing the first two contests in this series with an upper-body injury. “And then just giving them those opportunities in the first place, so shouldn’t happen. But obviously an amazing block there.”
MacKinnon took two more abbreviated shifts in the second period, one for 32 seconds and one for just 16. After the second one, he limped along the bench and down the tunnel to seek treatment.
He tried to come back and play in the third period. MacKinnon took one shift early in the period at 5-on-5, but when he had a chance to burst through the neutral zone with the puck, he just couldn’t do it.
After that, he stayed on the bench for nearly six minutes until Colorado had a power play. He also took two shifts at the end of the game when the Avs had the net empty.
MacKinnon still managed to play 4:05 in the third period, despite the injury.
“You might have to kill him to get him off the ice,” Wedgewood said. “Just kind of the person he is and the competitor he is. Obviously proves that every time he’s on the ice, he wants to win more than anybody and just another example.”
To make matters even worse, Valeri Nichushkin didn’t play in the final 22 minutes of this game as well. He took one shift in the final 27 minutes, but wasn’t able to play at all in the third.
Avs coach Jared Bednar didn’t have an update on either of them after the game.
“Well, itap not easy,” Bednar said when asked how he tried to navigate the third period. “You lose Nate and Val, too. You’re running a shorter bench, and you’re just doing the best you can to try and create a chance to win the hockey game. (Chances) were hard to come by in the third, and then we obviously gave one up off the rush.
“How do you navigate it? You just put your head down and keep working. You got three different lines, or two different lines and spot shifting your 10th guy in to try and give some guys a break. Not ideal circumstances for sure.”
