MacKinnon To Return Sunday Against Oilers

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--The wait is over. MacK is back.
Nathan MacKinnon will return to the Colorado Avalanche's lineup for Sunday's game versus the Edmonton Oilers after being out for nearly three weeks.
Head coach Jared Bednar confirmed after Saturday's practice at Family Sports Center that the Colorado center will suit up for the Sunday matinee. MacKinnon missed eight full contests with an upper-body injury.

"He's good to go," Bednar said. "Full practice today, everything went well, had some body contact again, so he's in tomorrow.
"You get your best player back, it's positive. There is no question about it."
MacKinnon got hurt in the second period of the team's outing at the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 30 after he collided with Alexander Edler near the end boards. The timetable for his return was set for two-to-four weeks, and this Tuesday would have marked three weeks since the injury.
The timing of it all was unfortunate for the Avalanche, as the team was in the middle of a playoff race. Colorado has done a decent job of staying in the hunt without MacKinnon and is only two points out of a postseason spot following Friday night's contests.
"It's only eight games, the boys did a great job. We battled hard," MacKinnon said. "Obviously, a couple tough losses, but I think we're over .500 when I was out. Obviously, it's going to take a little more than that. We know that, and I'm excited for the last 25 (games) here."

Prior to getting hurt, MacKinnon was second in the NHL in scoring with 61 points, which now ranks tied for 15th in the league. His 24 goals this year already ties his career high that he set during his rookie campaign in 2013-14 while his 37 assists are two shy of his personal best.
Mikko Rantanen says the addition of the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native should provide a boost throughout the Avs lineup.
"I think it brings confidence for everyone," Rantanen said of the return of MacKinnon. "If he has a couple good shifts right away, it builds momentum for us. The crowd gets going and that way. It's a big piece for us, and we're happy to have him back."
MacKinnon was reunited on a line with Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog for 5-on-5 drills on Saturday, and Colorado is aiming for that group's chemistry to pick up where it left off.
Since being put together on Oct. 28 and up until MacKinnon's injury, the trio had almost exclusively played together and had been one of the most dominating lines in the NHL, combining for 55 goals and 75 assists (130 points) in 39 games.

"He drives our offense in a lot of different ways, 5-on-5, power play," Bednar said. "He's been doing it all year, and he has a chemistry with that group, those three guys. I think they complement one another and I think that is why they have had a real strong year together… Offensively, it helps us with some matchups on the road and at home. It's a big addition to our lineup, no question, but we can't rely just on MacK. We all got to go play."
The Avs' offense has been rocky at times over the last eight games, with the club having contests with outbursts of four and five goals and others where it produced one or fewer markers.
"I try to do my job, play how I was playing when I was healthy," MacKinnon said. "I think Gabe and Mikko, they help me a lot, and hopefully we can find some chemistry right away."

Not everyone was on the ice Saturday for the Avalanche as forward Sven Andrighetto and defenseman Mark Barberio missed another practice due to lower-body injuries, and goaltender Jonathan Bernier also wasn't present.
Bernier started in Friday's 6-1 loss at the Winnipeg Jets, but he didn't play in the third period. Bednar said the goalie is in concussion protocol, which is likely a result of a collision that he took from a Jets player and the goalpost during the second period of the outing.
Semyon Varlamov was already scheduled to play versus the Oilers, and it appears as if he'll be backed up by Andrew Hammond for the contest. Colorado recalled Hammond from the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League on Saturday.
The Avalanche is nearing the end of a stretch that has the club playing 13-of-16 games on the road. Sunday's outing at Pepsi Center is the third of three, one-contest homestays for the Avs during this portion of the schedule
"We've been playing pretty well at home. We've found different ways to get the job done, different guys stepping up at home," Bednar said. "To be at home on home ice tomorrow, trying to bounce back from last night's game I think is really important to us. We got to keep this thing going. It's a big one. Every game is going to get bigger and bigger as this thing kind of runs down the stretch. Tomorrow is a good opportunity for us to redeem ourselves from last night."
Following the outing, the Avs will head to Western Canada for three games to end this road-heavy stretch. Colorado will have a more balanced schedule to finish the regular season, with 12 games at home and nine on the road.

PRACTICE LINE COMBINATIONS

Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen
Colin Wilson - Alex Kerfoot - J.T. Compher
Matt Nieto - Carl Soderberg - Blake Comeau
A.J. Greer - Gabriel Bourque - Tyson Jost - Dominic Toninato - Nail Yakupov
Nikita Zadorov - Erik Johnson
Patrik Nemeth - Samuel Girard
Anton Lindholm - Tyson Barrie
Duncan Siemens
Semyon Varlamov