As usual, there’s good and bad news on the Avalanche injury front

The Colorado Avalanche have had a roller coaster first quarter of the season on the injury front, and that will continue.

As usual, there was good and bad news on Wednesday for a squad that is still hoping to play at full health at some point this season.

Let’s start with the bad, which is that forward Jonathan Drouin is “week to week” with an upper-body injury, meaning we won’t see him in the next few games at the very least.

Head coach Jared Bednar said after morning skate this is the same injury that happened to Drouin in the very first game against the Vegas Golden Knights. He returned for four contests earlier this month and even had a couple of goals against the Florida Panthers, but was a late scratch on Monday versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Bednar confirms that Drouin’s absence is related to whatever kept him out of the lineup for a month.

“It’s part of what he was dealing with before.”

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) November 27, 2024

Meanwhile, on the good side of things, Ross Colton skated on Wednesday exactly four weeks after suffering a broken foot. Colton is expected to miss six to eight weeks overall, but this is a big step in the right direction.

Ross Colton is on the ice ahead of the #Avs morning skate at Ball Arena.

He hasn’t played since Oct. 28 because of a broken foot. Timeline for his return has been 6-8 weeks.

— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) November 27, 2024

Colton was on a tear before he got hurt, posting eight goals in 10 games. With so many other injuries to guys like Artturi Lehkonen, plus Valeri Nichushkin’s suspension, Colton skated with the top power play and made the most of his chances.

Luckily, Lehkonen and Nichushkin have both returned, and Colton should be back at some point in December. Still, the Avs will be without Drouin for a while and it remains to be seen if captain Gabriel Landeskog will play this season.

Colorado is 12-10-0 on the year, so they’re surviving this stretch, but maybe not thriving. Monday’s 8-2 loss to the Lightning was marred by a couple of ugly broken stick meltdowns.

The Avalanche return to action for a contest on Wednesday night with the Vegas Golden Knights at Ball Arena.