Avs need Cale Makar’s bad injury luck to stop, or Cup dreams will be derailed

The Avalanche have already lost one of their best players.

They can’t do this thing without another.

With the devastating blow last week that captain Gabriel Landeskog will miss the playoffs, there was some quiet fear that news ended Colorado’s dream of winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. But after gritting through it to win the Central Division on Friday night, anything feels possible.

The Avs thrilling victory in Nashville means they’ll get an inexperienced Seattle Kraken team in Round 1, as opposed to rival Minnesota. That’s big overall, as the Avalanche can hopefully win this series quickly, while the Wild and Stars play a seven-game thriller. Whoever emerges will be in bad shape for a showdown with Colorado in Round 2.

And while the health reports coming out of practice on Monday were all great, injuries could still derail this playoff run. Specifically, to one player — none other than last year’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner in defenseman Cale Makar.

Makar played in just two games in the month of February, suffering concussions in both of them. He was good to go throughout most of March, before playing April 1 then missing Colorado’s last seven games due to a “lower-body injury.” That means the last three months of the season, he only really played in one of them. Talk about some bad injury luck.

“Sometimes you can’t catch a break. This year was one of those years. I’ll play an 82-game season at some point I hope,” Makar told reporters on Monday afternoon.

That’s a telling quote. It’s a guy who’s frustrated with how his season has gone, even though he’s still third on the team in points, despite skating in just 60 games. And oh, he plays defense, making the accomplishment all that much more remarkable.

Look, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen have been absolutely awesome all year, and particularly down the stretch. MacKinnon set a career-high in points while Rantanen broke Joe Sakic’s Avalanche record for goals in a season. Those are incredible achievements, MacKinnon for having the best year of his career and Rantanen for topping a legend.

But they can’t do it on their own. Landeskog won’t be out there. Nazem Kadri isn’t walking through that door. Nope, the Avs need Makar and they need him for the whole playoff run. They won’t win the Stanley Cup for a second straight year if he can’t play night in and night out during the postseason.

To be clear, none of this is Makar’s fault. No one is questioning his toughness or desire to be on the ice. Perhaps it’s just bad luck, perhaps it’s how the Hockey Gods work. Makar’s just 24-years-old and has enjoyed so much success, sometimes these things can come full-circle in the worst way.

In 20 playoff games a season ago, Makar registered an absurd 29 points thanks to eight goals and 21 assists. He led the Avs in scoring, somehow topping Rantanen (25 points), Mackinnon (24 points) and Landeskog (22 points). It’s not to say all three of them weren’t brilliant on the championship run, Makar was just better.

That’s why he was awarded the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP, perfect to put next to his Norris, Calder and Hobey Baker awards in the trophy case. Sure, there’s got to be room for a Stanley Cup ring in there as well, since they don’t let you keep the actual trophy for more than a day.

The Avalanche getting healthy is big. Head coach Jared Bednar will have some tough decisions about who to skate and who to sit in Game 1 tonight against the Kraken. However, with all due respect to guys like Andrew Cogliano, Darren Helm and Josh Manson, no one is more significant than putting Makar back in the lineup.

He’s that skilled, that good and that critical to this team’s shot at another parade. If there was ever a time for Makar’s body to cooperate, it’s the next two months. The Avalanche winning it all (again) depends on it.

***