Throughout the season, the Avalanche have experienced life without key players like left wing Gabriel Landeskog, right wing Mikko Rantanen, defenseman Cale Makar, left wing Andre Burakovsky and center Nazem Kadri.
But starting Wednesday night against the New York Rangers presents a new challenge: Winning without star center Nathan MacKinnon.
The Avalanche’s leading scorer with 93 points (fifth in the NHL), MacKinnon was injured in Monday’s loss at Los Angeles. Coach Jared Bednar said MacKinnon will miss “1-2 weeks” with an upper body issue.