The Colorado Avalanche have been dealing with injuries all season long, and now they've got worrying news on the eve of the post-season as two key players will miss their regular season finale due to potential injury woes.
For much of the 2024/25 season, the Colorado Avalanche were working to get themselves healthy, and with the recent AHL return of captain Gabriel Landeskog, confidence was high that they'd have him back and the team at 100% for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Unfortunately, they've now got too new injury headaches, with both Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen reportedly out for the season finale with lower-body injuries.
Thankfully for Colorado, this could certainly be a precautionary move, as the team already know that their first round matchup is against the Central Division rival Dallas Stars, with nothing to play for down the stretch.
However, Nathan MacKinnon has also missed a few games with an injury, so there is major cause for concern in Colorado, and if either Lehkonen or Nichushkin find themselves missing time against Dallas, it could be a brutal blow for Colorado.
With Nichushkin in the lineup in 2024/25, the Colorado Avalanche record is arguably the best in the NHL, so if he can get healthy and be on the ice for Game 1 of the series, this is a team that believes they can defeat their fierce, bitter rival in a seven game set.
For now however, Avalanche fans will be praying that both these players and Gabriel Landeskog can all get back to 100% for this highly anticipated series, and if that's the case, it could be one of the best Stanley Cup Playoffs series we've seen in recent memory.
This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.
