Colorado Avalanche hit with horrible injury news as key player faces lengthy absence
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Josh Manson is expected to miss about eight weeks with an ankle injury, per Jared Bednar, and the Colorado Avalanche now have a hole on their blue line.
The Colorado Avalanche just got the kind of news no contender wants this early in the season.
Josh Manson is expected to miss about eight weeks with an ankle injury, according to head coach Jared Bednar.
The veteran defenseman went down late in the first period of Wednesday's 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils after taking a weird hit.
He needed help getting down the tunnel and never came back.
The team called it a lower-body injury that night, and Bednar filled in the rest on Friday.
Manson had played all 13 games this season, scoring one goal and adding three assists while averaging just under 15 minutes a night.
He had also been bumped up to the second pair next to Brett Kulak, so the timing really stings.
What eight weeks means for Colorado
Eight weeks puts his return right around the holiday break.
That is a big chunk of the schedule without one of the steadiest, most physical defenders on the roster.
Noah Juulsen is expected to slide into the lineup, and the Avs host the Calgary Flames at Ball Arena on Saturday without Manson.
Who steps up on the blue line
Bednar will have to lean harder on Cale Makar, Brent Burns, Kulak and Sam Malinski, while Juulsen gets a real chance to show he belongs.
Pairings will probably keep changing until the group finds a rhythm.
Colorado is also dealing with Zachary L'Heureux, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
It's nothing close to Manson's situation, but it adds to the early bumps.
The Avalanche have the talent to survive this stretch.
Still, depth gets tested fast, and if more injuries pile up, the front office may have to look at outside help on defense.
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