The start of the 2024-2025 season for the Colorado Avalanche has been rough one, to say the least.
After dropping last nights game at home to the Boston Bruins by a score of 5-2, the Colorado Avalanche have fallen to 0-4. To make matters worse, it seems as though one of their top-six forwards in Jonathan Drouin isn’t close to returning.
Avalanched head coach Jared Bednar shared earlier today that the 29-year-old Drouin is “going to miss some time.”
Drouin was injured in the teams opening night loss to the Golden Knights. During the 2nd period, Drouin took a hit from Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague along the boards and immediately skated to the Avalanche bench. Drouin would go on to finish the game, logging 21:25 in total ice time.
Aside from Drouin, the Avalanche are already without forwards Gabriel Landeskog, as he continues to try and work his way back from cartilage replacement surgery in his knee, as well as Valeri Nichushkin who is still suspended from the result of violating the terms of the NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program last Srping. Nichushkin is eligible for re-instatement on November 13th.
In addition to those two long-term absences, the Avalanche are still also without Artturi Lehkonen, as he recovers from off-season shoulder surgery, and newly added to the list of injured players in Devon Toews and Miles Wood, who got injured in a collision with Bruins forward Elias Lindholm last night. Although it appears Wood can be an option for tomorrow’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.
With all the injuries the Avalanche have incurred and not getting timely saves from goaltender Alexandar Georgiev it is no surprise the team finds themselves at the bottom of the Central Division at 0-4.
Related: Goaltending Could Pose A Problem For The Avalanche This Season
Despite the slow start out of the gate, the Avalanche still have plenty of time to dig themselves out of the hole they find themselves in. They could get Lehkonen and Drouin back by the end of the month, and Devon Toews likely sooner. Adding those three back into the lineup will give the team a much needed boost.
If Alexandar Georgiev can find his game and start to make those timely saves that they aren’t currently getting, there is no reason to believe that the Avalanche can’t make a rise up the standings in short order.
