Just when the Avalanche should be getting healthier, they’re not

The Colorado Avalanche can’t get healthy.

That’s a sentence we’ve been typing all season. And unfortunately, it remains true now more than ever.

Star defenseman Cale Makar will miss his third straight game on Tuesday night when the Lightning come to town. His fellow defenseman, Erik Johnson, who got hurt against the Panthers on Saturday is out as well. Don’t expect to see Pavel Francouz in net, either, nor a Josh Manson return. Head coach Jared Bednar shared all of that news after practice on Monday.

#Avs will have to make call-ups before tomorrow, Jared Bednar said. Cale Makar, Erik Johnson, Pavel Francouz and likely Josh Manson are all out.

No timeline for Makar, Johnson, Francouz and Landeskog, Bednar said.

Valeri Nichushkin missed today for maintenance.

— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) February 13, 2023

The other name on that list that is significant is captain Gabriel Landeskog. The hope was he’d be skating by now as he tries to return from knee surgery, but there’s no indication that’s happened yet. Landeskog hasn’t played a game for the Avs this year.

It’s starting to feel like we should be asking if the Avalanche will be getting healthy this year as opposed to when. Every time it feels like they’re going to be at or close to full strength, several more injuries seem to pile up.

The good news is they still have another couple of months before the playoffs get here. The bad news is it’d be nice to play the at some point in March with everyone on the ice, and that’s feeling more and more like it won’t happen.

If they want to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, they’re going to need some injury luck to start breaking their way. Because for now, that’s the story of the season.

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