So it goes for Nathan MacKinnon: Last season's Calder Trophy winner won't play again this season because of a broken foot.
It's an inglorious end for MacKinnon, who at 19 was closing out a so-so second year with the Avalanche. Trouble is, he also was showing signs of breaking out.
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As in, the first hat trick of his career against the Lightning. As in, scoring the winning goal in Wednesday's game against the Penguins.
Avalanche coach Patrick Roy confirmed the winger's injury to reporters Friday after an MRI revealed the break. MacKinnon's initial injury came Feb. 22 while blocking a shot against the Lightning. He played with the injury until blocking another shot against the Penguins, according to Terry Frei of the Denver Post.
"It's never good news when you're losing a player like Nate, especially in a key moment in our season," Roy said. "It's been a year like this and we're going to have to win games without him."
MacKinnon also ends a season that has him among the league's high-profile victims of the sophomore slump. His scoring was off, he had been benched and he was moved up and down the lines. And before breaking his foot, MacKinnon had to play with a face shield to protect a broken nose.
Officially, the Avs say MacKinnon will miss at least six weeks. And with their playoff hopes teetering, their young star might not get back into action until next season.
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With 18 games left, the Avs are nine points out of a playoff berth in the Western Conference.MacKinnon's nose was broken last Sunday on a hit from the Wild's Sean Bergenheim. With a rematch on Sunday, don't be surprised to see a bit of payback. Bergenheim was penalized on the play, and the NHL discipline overlords declined to punish him for the hit.
"I think it was his shoulder that hit me in the face," MacKinnon told The Denver Post. "Honestly, I haven't watched the video. I just remember coming off the ice, bleeding on my hand. Whether it was a penalty or not, I'm not sure. Obviously both sides are biased. I'm biased. Minnesota's obviously going to be biased as well. I'll leave it up to you guys. I guess you guys aren't biased."
MacKinnon played about 19 minutes in Thursday's game and was on the team's top line. He has 14 goals and 24 assists, but although leading the team in shots on goal is off last season's pace, when he had 63 points. Still, in his past 10 games he had five goals and four assists.
Cody McLeod will replace MacKinnon on a line with left winger Gabriel Landeskog and center Ryan O'Reilly, Roy said. Daniel Briere, a healthy scratch in eight of the past nine games, will replace McLeod on the fourth line with Joey Hishon and Marc-Andre Cliche.
Barring a surprise, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft will spend the rest of the season mending.