Possibly the worst way to ruin any excitement over your third straight win, and fourth of five games so far, is for your star player to suffer a scary eye injury. Colorado Avalanche management and fans held their breath throughout most of Friday’s win against the Anaheim Ducks, hoping that the injury would not be catastrophic. With just under 10 minutes left in the first period, 2013 first rounder Nathan MacKinnon took a high stick straight to his eye. The infraction came from Anaheim’s Derek Grant. There was visible signs of blood on the ice, before MacKinnon left the ice and didn’t return.
The good news is, MacKinnon will be in the lineup for Saturday’s game against the Dallas Stars. After the game, coaching staff refused comment but Avalanche players assured the press that MacKinnon was fine.
Nathan MacKinnon Not Expected to Miss Time Despite Scary Injury
Nathan MacKinnon got clipped in the eye on a careless attempt at a stick lift by Derek Grant. Was bleeding & won't return. No penalty called pic.twitter.com/Sndk5EuKJF
— Steve Kournianos (@TheDraftAnalyst) October 14, 2017
The Avalanche are very grateful that nothing serious happened to MacKinnon. They’ve had a fired-up, and very surprising, start to their season. They currently sit at 4-1-0, and have had surprising play from everyone. MacKinnon isn’t an exception to this list either. While players like Nail Yakupov and Sven Andrighetto have been scoring the team’s goals, MacKinnon has been their playmaker. He has four points, all assists, in the five games so far. This leads the team in assists, tied with Mikko Rantanen.
MacKinnon continues to be a bright spot for the Avalanche. The first overall pick in 2013, MacKinnon has had three seasons over 50 points. This includes one over 60. He’s looking good again this year, playing top line minutes yet again. In fact, he’s been apart of one of the best lines in the league. Andrighetto, who has had a surprisingly good start to the year, can contribute his strength to his linemates. He’s played alongside the best set-up guys on the team, in MacKinnon and Rantanen. They aren’t showing any signs of slowing down, and MacKinnon isn’t going to break up the chemistry by missing any games.
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