UPDATE (9:10 a.m. ET): Cale Makar will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for his hit on Jared McCann, the league announced Tuesday morning.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Avalanche already have their hands full with the Kraken, and it could get even tougher for the defending Stanley Cup champions if they lose Cale Makar.
The superstar defenseman might be looking at a suspension following a controversial play in Monday's Game 4 of the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series between Colorado and Seattle.
The play came in the first period with the Avalanche on the power play at Climate Pledge Arena. Kraken leading scorer Jared McCann was able to secure a turned-over puck and took off on a breakaway. His shorthanded chance was denied, and the puck was deflected out of play. As McCann skated away from the net along the boards after the shot, a trailing Makar drove him into the boards.
McCann went down hard and was on the ice for a few minutes before being helped off. He didn't return to the game.
Things got perplexing after that. At first, officials handed Makar a five-minute major penalty. But after reviewing the play, that was reduced to a two-minute minor.
Not only did the Kraken lose McCann for most of Game 4, but it's also likely he'll miss time moving forward. Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said McCann will miss Game 5 and potentially more action down the road. Unsurprisingly, Haskol wasn't pleased with how things transpired.
"I believe the puck is being caught by a fan as (McCann) is being run into the end wall. Late hit. Really late," Hakstol told reporters after the game, per ESPN.com. "No puck in play. Like I said, our 40-goal scorer was not available for the rest of the game and not going to be available going forward here."
There was one rather large silver lining for Seattle, though. The Kraken won the game in overtime, evening the series at two games apiece. The best-of-seven set shifts back to Colorado for a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday night. Whether the Avs have their best player in the mix remains to be seen.
