Young Colorado Avalanche forward Alex Newhook left Game 4 against the St. Louis Blues with a lower-body injury. Newhook played only two shifts before leaving the game in the first period and did not return.
Alex Newhook (lower body) will not return to the game.
— Avalanche PR (@AvsPR) May 23, 2021
Alex Newhook Injured During Game 4 Against St. Louis
The Colorado rookie was pushed into the boards during his first shift of the game. He went to the bench in some pain, but went out for a quick second shift before leaving to the locker room. Newhook didn’t come back to finish the period. Later, the Avalanche announced that Newhook sustained a lower-body injury and was not returning to the game.
Newhook scored his first NHL goal (and game-winning goal) in Game 3 against the Blues on Friday in a 5-1 victory. The 20-year-old player had three assists in six games during the regular season and has suited up for all three playoff games with Colorado. Newhook has been a great addition for Colorado playing in the fourth line with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Carl Soderberg.
What This Means For The Future
The injury curse has followed them into the playoffs and keeps taking out their youngsters. They lost both Logan O’Connor, who had to go through surgery and is out long term, and the rookie Bowen Byram late in March. Now they have also lost Newhook who just arrived and has been helping the team a lot.
Of course, this is not the most alarming situation since their best players are still healthy. Most importantly, Philipp Grubauer has continued to be flawless. However, losing players to injuries is never good.
Right now, the Avalanche injury list is formed by defenceman Erik Johnson, goaltender Pavel Francouz, and forwards Matt Calvert, O’Connor and Newhook. Goalie Devan Dubnyk has been taken off the COVID Protocol List, but is still working on conditioning.
With Nazem Kadri suspended for eight games and Newhook now injured, the Avalanche fans might see Liam O’Brien or Kiefer Sherwood in the lineup sooner rather than later. On the bright side, the rookie defenceman Bowen Byram has been cleared from his concussion and is ready to play. Maybe the youngster can see some playoff ice during the run for the Stanley Cup.
