When the Avalanche blew a third-period lead in their 4-2 loss to Edmonton on Sunday, they lost more than the game.
Defenseman Anton Lindholm, who had an assist in the second period, didn’t return to the ice for the third. In the third period, Erik Johnson, one of the Avs’ most consistent and stalwart players this season, got tangled up with Edmonton’s Anton Slepyshev and fell to the ice, legs kicking in obvious pain after it appeared to the naked eye that Johnson suffered some sort of injury to his arm.
“The couple injuries in the backend could hurt us more than this loss tonight,” coach Jared Bednar said after the loss. He proved to be correct when the team released on Twitter that both players would be out indefinitely. No further details were given at the time.
Anton Lindholm and Erik Johnson are out indefinitely. pic.twitter.com/33F1U2aJAu
— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 19, 2018
The Avalanche, left with only four defensemen, surrendered three third-period goals to the Oilers, including a pair to Connor McDavid, who completed a hat trick with his 26th gal of the season to salt the game away — and give the Avalanche one of their most frustrating losses of the season.
The loss of two of the Avs’ most physical defenders could be a devastating blow to their playoff hopes if either misses significant time. On Monday afternoon, the Avalanche announced that they would recall Andrei Mironov and David Warsofsky from the San Antonio Rampage.
Fortunately for the Avalanche, Nathan MacKinnon returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing eight games with an upper-body injury, and while he did not register a point, he was able to skate all his shifts without incident, finishing with 22:20 of total ice time and managed four shots on goal.
“It’s a 100%, it feels good,” MacKinnon said after the game.