In a play that went viral as a result of it, Colorado Avalanche Star center Nathan MacKinnon dropped in the first phase of Wednesday’s extra-time win over the Boston Bruins after a brutal strike by Bruins forward Taylor Hall left MacKinnon bleeding:
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan early Thursday reported that, as expected, MacKinnon had been diagnosed with a broken nose. The 26-year-old is still being evaluated by team doctors to determine how long he will be out of action.
The upcoming All-Star game is scheduled for February 5.
As Rick Sadowski Noting on the NHL’s website, Hall was initially given a five-minute teen but that was later reduced to a mild one after video replays showed MacKinnon being hit with his own cane.
Each ESPN Stats, MacKinnon is third with 43 points and second with 34 assists.
“It’s unfortunate the way it happened,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog told reporters watching the competition. “I feel a little bit responsible for letting him play lightly in the middle, but everything happens and happens quickly. Unfortunately, Nate is injured and we don’t know for how long, just hope Hope he’s okay.”
Avalanche improved to 30-8-3 through the win and are currently top of the Central Division standings with six points ahead of second-placed Nashville Predators. Colorado next plays at the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night, and MacKinnon’s standing for that contest is clearly very good.
