Cale Makar has been heating up recently, and that’s a great thing for the Colorado Avalanche.
The Avs’ top defenseman has been on a bit of a tear lately. The Norris Trophy winner has 12 points in his last six games, including five in his last two.
That’s the sort of offensive production that Colorado has wanted to see from its star blueliner.
And it’s coming at a good time. The Avs are finally starting to roll and look like their dominant selves. Despite the embarrassing no-show in Columbus a few games ago, the Avalanche have won five of their last seven. The goaltending has been good, and the defense hasn’t been awful.
But Makar, with an injury scare included, looked a little iffy. Judging from what we’ve seen on the ice, that injury situation was nothing more than a scare.
Moving forward, the Avalanche will need Makar to continue his strong offensive streak. He’s got 23 points in 18 games and has looked increasingly confident out there. That’s good news for the Avalanche and awful news for the rest of the NHL.
Makar may have injury issues behind him
Part of the speculation about Cale Makar this season has been potentially lingering injury issues. There was the shoulder situation from last season that required serious offseason attention. That doesn’t seem to be an issue anymore.
But there was also some chatter about Makar dealing with a lower-body ailment. That’s consistent with last Sunday’s departure from practice. It was evident that something was bothering Makar’s left leg, and, well, as coach Jared Bednar stated, his departure from practice was just a precautionary measure.
Perhaps it was really nothing because, judging from his performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, Makar was looking fantastic.
Moving forward, the Avalanche really need Makar to be as healthy as possible. The grind is still in the early going and the Central Division is not getting any easier. Sure, there’s lots of hockey still to go, but you have to start wondering at what point the season might get away from the Avs.
The good news is that things are hardly dire at this point. But then again, the Avalanche can’t afford to take their foot off the gas at this point. Even if it seems like the Minnesota Wild are running away with the division, the bottom line is that things can change pretty quickly in the NHL.
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