Avalanche Could Have Cale Makar in Lineup Saturday vs. Blues
Cale Makar is traveling with the Colorado Avalanche, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports.
Cale Makar will make the trip to St. Louis, Jared Bednar said. He might play tomorrow.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) February 17, 2023
Pavel Francouz will miss three or so weeks.
Gabriel Landeskog will return to Denver ?soon? and will start skating when he?s back in town.
Makar is dealing with a head injury after being hit by Jeff Carter of the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 7. That hit has cost him the past four games, but there is a chance that he could return Saturday versus the St. Louis Blues. That chance looks likely because if he weren’t going to play Saturday, the team could’ve just left him in Colorado to play Sunday versus the Edmonton Oilers.
Makar might be the best skating defenseman in the NHL and is a big reason the Avalanche are still the favorite to reach the Stanley Cup from the Western Conference.
Another piece of good news for the Avs is that Gabriel Landeskog is expected to return to Colorado shortly to begin a skating program. Landeskog has been out all season due to knee surgery but could return to the team in mid-March.
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Avs at +700 to win the Cup, trailing only the Bruins on the NHL championship futures board.
