Another injury changes outlook for Colorado

Avalanche fans held their breath through the night after I reported Mikko Rantanen had gone for x-rays after the game and head coach Jared Bednar provided no update. This morning’s practice brought clarity on that front as Rantanen was described as “fine” by Bednar and will play tomorrow night in Dallas.

Nikita Zadorov, however, is not in the same boat as the hulking defenseman will stay back in Denver to get more tests done to see what’s going on with him. As of now, he is listed as OUT tomorrow against the Stars with no timetable to return from an upper-body injury. Zadorov went hard into the boards last night and was slow to get up. He seemed to be in quite a bit of pain as he made his way to the bench and down the tunnel but he returned shortly after and finished the game.

Here’s video (from @AvalancheReview) of him going into the boards:

This video (courtesy of @AvalancheReview) shows Zadorov appearing to say “I broke my arm” as he got up.

The idea of the broken arm was quelled last night upon Zadorov’s return but him not playing tomorrow and needing more tests to see exactly what’s going on certainly is not a good sign. While he’s listed as “out indefinitely”, that status is subject to change upon receiving an official injury diagnosis.

The injury hurts a Colorado blue line that has been struggling for production and Zadorov’s seven goals were leading the group until Tyson Barrie’s game-tying goal tied the two. The increased willingness from Zadorov to shoot was adding a more dynamic element to his game as his ice time had started to settle in the 20-minute range.

If this injury becomes anything lengthy, it will be the second time in three seasons Zadorov wasn’t able to reach the 60-game mark and given the shoulder surgery he had following last year’s 77-game season, questions about Zadorov’s durability are starting to creep in.

Ryan Graves will slot into the lineup tomorrow to replace Zadorov.

Bednar, per usual, declined to name his starting goaltending for tomorrow’s night massive tilt against the Stars.