The Colorado Avalanche and Jonathan Drouin just can’t catch a break. The 29-year-old forward is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Head coach Jared Bednar said what Drouin is dealing with is part of what kept him out for five weeks.
The Ste-Agathe, Quebec native returned on Nov. 15 and lost his first game back but won the next three. He scored two goals and had two assists in the short stint he was back in the lineup. He played on the top power-play unit and averaged 20:40 time on ice in the five games he played all season.
“Sometimes unfortunate things happen in hockey and sports, injuries, but trying to battle without him. He’s a good player, but we’ve been in this situation before, so it’s nothing new to us,” Mikko Rantanen said.
The rotating lineup for the team started from the get-go this season without Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin. Drouin was injured in the first game of the season. Ross Colton broke his foot on Oct. 28 and Miles Wood was injured in the same game.
Lehkonen sparked the team upon his return on Nov. 5 who won four of its next five games. Nichushkin and Wood returned in the same game as Drouin — a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals.
“I think every experience you have, the next one comes, it’s easier to adapt and you know what to expect and how it’s going to be. So for us, it’s been since I’ve been here the whole time — nine, 10, years. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s crazy, injuries and stuff. We lose guys — I don’t know if it’s bad luck, but hopefully you can stay healthy after he comes back and hopefully (Ross) Colton come back soon too.”
The Latest on Ross Colton’s Return Timeline
Colton is four weeks into his six- to eight-week timeline and skated for the first time on Wednesday.
“He had the check-up yesterday morning. Things are looking good. He’s progressing well. He’s able to skate now lightly on his own, and then there’ll be a pain tolerance thing. And as you know, with the lower body injury, the conditioning is going to be a factor,” Bednar said. “So hopefully he can continue to do more and more on the ice as this week goes along, and then we can get him up to speed, and hopefully by the time he gets cleared, he’s good to go.”
Colton played on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Rantanen during Drouin’s absence and notched nine points in 10 games. He is second on the team for power-play goals with four, one behind Rantanen.
