Report: A key Avalanche forward will ‘miss some time’ after an injury

The Colorado Avalanche got a nice win on Monday night in Los Angeles.

They beat the Kings 4-2, with Nathan MacKinnon setting up a brilliant game-winning goal to Devon Toews with the score tied late in the third period. Martin Necas would add an empty-netter after MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog scored earlier in the game.

Unfortunately, it’s not all good news.

Colorado forward Artturi Lehkonen suffered an upper-body injury in the first period after taking only three shifts that totaled 3:21 on the ice.

And after the game, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar provided an update, already ruling Lehkonen out for Tuesday night’s contest in Anaheim against the Ducks.

Artturi Lehkonen will not play tomorrow in Anaheim.

Bednar says he’s going to miss some time.

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) March 3, 2026

“Miss some time” can mean a lot of different things in a hockey, a sport notoriously secret about injuries. It’s possible that Lehkonen needs some testing done before the Avalanche know the exact nature of what happened.

The play looked harmless enough in the first period, but Lehkonen quickly went to the Colorado locker room and did not return against the Kings.

On the season, Lehkonen has 19 goals and 23 assists, good for 42 points. He also played hero for Team Finland in a memorable Olympic moment last month.

The Avs are still rolling with 89 points, the most in the NHL, but the Dallas Stars have won nine games in a row and are on their tails with 83 points.

Hopefully, the issue with Lehkonen isn’t a severe one, and he’ll be back soon as Colorado tries to lock down the No. 1 seed for the postseason.

(Update 6:45 p.m.) –

It will be weeks, not days for Lehkonen.

Artturi Lehkonen is week to week, per the Avs.

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) March 4, 2026

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