The Colorado Avalanche have gotten off a shaky start, but more bad news was piled on them. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar revealed that Ross Colton is out injured with a broken foot. He’s likely to miss six to eight weeks with the ailment. It was also confirmed on Wednesday that Miles Wood will be out at least a week with an upper-body injury.
NHL.com Avalanche reporter Ryan Boulding was the first to break the news.
Ross Colton Injured and Will Miss Time
Colton was injured 6:08 into the first period of a 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on October 28. He managed to play nine more shifts and logged 11 minutes, 27 seconds of ice time. This is according to Denver Post reporter Corey Masisak.
Colton has played for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Avalanche during his five-year NHL career. The 28-year-old was off to a good start this season with eight goals and one assist for nine points in 10 games this season. He had a Corsi for of 61.1 and a relative Corsi of 11.8.
The Robinsville, New Jersey native has 72 goals and 60 assists for 132 points in 280 career games. Tampa Bay originally drafted him in the fourth round, 118th overall of the 2016 NHL Draft.
What It Means
This is another injury blow for Colorado. The team is missing Jonathan Drouin, Artturi Lehkonen and Gabriel Landeskog due to injury. Valeri Nichushkin is still suspended at this time and out of the lineup.
The Avalanche are a talented team, but have absorbed so many injury hits. Colorado lost its first four games, but seemed to be getting on track. However, these injuries will cause a lot of headaches for Bednar, who has to scramble to put a lineup together.
Colorado is having to play catch-up with the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets in the Central Division. However, these injuries will hinder that.
Main photo by: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
