- Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson left Wednesday’s win over the Devils with a lower-body injury
- Jared Bednar said Manson is going to “miss some time” with no timeline yet
- Read below for how Colorado’s blue line shakes out without him
The Avalanche are going to be without Josh Manson for a while.
Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said after Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the Devils that the veteran defenseman has a lower-body injury and will be out for an undetermined stretch.
Bednar was asked about Manson’s status after the game and kept it short.
The injury happened at 15:19 of the first period. Manson fell awkwardly after a missed body check, struggled to get off the ice and went down the tunnel with help. He didn’t return, and the Avalanche confirmed his absence at the start of the third.
He played just 4:06 before leaving. Manson had one goal and three assists in 13 games this season and had just been bumped up to the second pair next to Brett Kulak.
Colorado doesn’t have a timeline yet. With two straight games at home, including Saturday against the Flames, the team should get a better read on the injury soon.
Noah Juulsen was the lone healthy scratch Wednesday and looks like the likely replacement. Kulak bounced between Brent Burns, Cale Makar and Sam Malinski once Manson went down.
The Avs still got the job done. Parker Kelly started the third-period surge with a goal, and Burns collected two assists to reach 950 career points, which we covered in our look at the milestones to watch this season. Watch Kelly’s shot:
Colorado is 7-5-1 and holds the first Western Conference wild card. Losing a steady right-shot defenseman hurts, but the Avs got through the night without him.
