- Cale Makar is out of the Avalanche lineup against the Stars because his wife, Tracy, is about to give birth to twins
- Sam Malinski moves up to the top pair with Devon Toews while Noah Juulsen re-enters the lineup
- Read below for what Jared Bednar said and when Makar could return
Cale Makar won’t play tonight because his family is about to get a lot bigger.
The Avalanche defenseman stayed home in Colorado to be with his wife, Tracy, who is set to give birth to twins at any moment. Head coach Jared Bednar confirmed Makar is out for Tuesday’s game at Dallas (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) as part of the 16-game Frozen Frenzy.
Bednar was asked about Makar’s absence and kept the focus on the family.
“Hopefully everything goes good for him and Tracy and the family,” Bednar said.
We shared the news on our timeline, and here is the post confirming twins:
There’s a chance Makar suits up Wednesday when the Avalanche and Stars play again in Denver, depending on how the birth goes.
Without him, the Avs need to shuffle the blue line. Devon Toews takes over on the top power play unit and Sam Malinski runs the second unit. Those two also make up the top defensive pair. Malinski was a healthy scratch two games ago in Calgary, so this is a real chance for him.
Bednar said the pairings will move around quite a bit. “We need other guys to sort of step in in different areas of the game,” he said.
Noah Juulsen returns after sitting in Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Maple Leafs, which gives Colorado its usual 12 forwards and six defensemen. Nathan MacKinnon took a maintenance day Monday, skated this morning and will play. Mackenzie Blackwood starts in net against Jake Oettinger.
Makar has seven points (three goals, four assists) in five games and averages 21:30 of ice time. Colorado (3-2-0) leads the league at 5.20 goals per game, so the offense will be tested without its top defenseman for a night. Our Frozen Frenzy schedule rundown has the rest of the 16-game slate.
