The Colorado Avalanche have yet another injury on their hands. Andre Burakovsky will miss Friday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago with an upper-body injury. Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic announced the news early Thursday afternoon.
Andre Burakovsky remains day to day with an upper-body injury and will miss tomorrow’s game.
Jared Bednar says Mikko Rantanen will still return Saturday and that they will sort through lines tomorrow ahead of playing the Blackhawks. #Avs
— Ryan S. Clark (@ryan_s_clark) November 28, 2019
Andre Burakovsky Out
Burakovsky’s injury came at some point during the teams’ 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. He had played 13:40 prior to his injury but did sit out the entire third period. Given the unknown nature of what the injury or when it occurred, it could be that Burakovsky just tweaked something and needs a short rest over the weekend.
The former Washington Capital was off to an incredible start this year. Burakovsky has 11 goals and 21 points through 24 games. This would put him on pace to demolish his previous career-high in points which was 38 in the 2015-16 season. There is clearly something about the Colorado system that benefits Burakovsky as the team has plenty of talent even with its numerous injury woes.
What This Means for the Future
The team has recalled forwards A.J. Greer and Sheldon Dries for Friday’s game against the Blackhawks. Burakovsky had been skating next to Nathan MacKinnon but the first-line wings will likely be Joonas Donskoi and J.T. Compher. That will push someone up to the 2nd line that isn’t there normally but desperate times call for desperate measures.
However, there is still good news coming out of Colorado. Star forward Mikko Rantanen will miss the Friday game but is projected to return Saturday. Expect some heavy shuffling for Saturday if both Rantanen and Burakovsky are back in action. The coaching staff has done an excellent job with the number of injuries the team has suffered. The team is still without Gabriel Landeskog and Colin Wilson but they are getting closer to full strength every week.
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