- MacKinnon blocked a Shea Theodore one-timer off his right knee at 12:15 of the second
- He limped off the bench and went down the tunnel late in the second period
- Read below for the video and what happened next
Nathan MacKinnon went down hard in Las Vegas.
The Avalanche star center crumpled at 12:15 of the second period in Game 3 against the Golden Knights, dropping to one knee to block a Shea Theodore one-timer. The puck caught him on the inside of his right knee. He cleared it up the boards, tried to get up, and went back down.
Here’s the moment:
MacKinnon got to the bench under his own power and took two more shifts before disappearing down the tunnel. He was clearly favoring the leg.
He returned for the third period and played 4:05, mostly limited to power-play and 6-on-5 shifts. He finished with an assist and five shots on goal in 18:02 of ice time.
Valeri Nichushkin also limped off late in the second with what looked like a lower-body injury. Two top-six forwards banged up on the same night.
Colorado was already swimming upstream, down 2-0 in the series even after Cale Makar returned to the lineup earlier in the night. Losing their best player on top of that would be a brutal turn. MacKinnon led the NHL with 53 goals during the regular season and tops the Avalanche playoff scoring chart with seven goals and 15 points in 12 games.
Status for Game 4 is not yet clear. More from Jared Bednar in the morning.
