Losing Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar at the same time is about as tough a break as an NHL team can get. The Colorado Avalanche will be without MacKinnon for at least a month and Makar for several weeks. Those are two enormous holes to fill, and nobody in that dressing room is going to pretend otherwise.

But something useful may come out of this stretch. Colorado will find out just how much it has behind its two biggest stars. That’s not a test any team wants, but it could tell management something important before the playoffs arrive.

The Avalanche Can’t Replace Their Superstars

MacKinnon and Makar aren’t just Colorado’s best players. They’re also among the best in the NHL. MacKinnon is a regular contender for the league’s scoring and MVP awards, while Makar has established himself as one of the game’s outstanding defencemen. You don’t simply find replacements for players like that.

The encouraging part is that neither injury is expected to end the season for either player. If the recovery timelines hold, both should be back before Christmas. That’s a long time to play without them, but it also gives the Avalanche a reason to think about the bigger picture. Keeping MacKinnon and Makar healthy for the playoffs matters far more than rushing them back for a few regular-season games.

What Will Colorado Learn About Its Depth?

Here’s where things get interesting. Hockey isn’t a sport where two stars can do everything. Even the best players spend plenty of time on the bench. The rest of the roster has to carry its share of the workload, and that becomes especially important when injuries hit.

Colorado’s numbers without MacKinnon and Makar on the ice offer an interesting comparison. This season, the Avalanche have outscored opponents 23-20 in 528 minutes of five-on-five play without either player. That’s respectable, but last season they had a much stronger 94-69 advantage in those situations.

The Avalanche also lost some depth in the offseason, including Valeri Nichushkin, Jack Drury and Ross Colton. Perhaps the current group can handle the extra responsibility. Or perhaps these injuries will expose weaknesses that weren’t so obvious when the stars were healthy.

That’s the real opportunity here. If Colorado struggles, management will have a clearer idea of what needs fixing before the trade deadline. Nobody wants to lose MacKinnon and Makar, but this stretch could help determine whether the Avalanche have enough around them to make another serious run at the Stanley Cup.

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