MacKinnon to miss approximately 4 weeks with upper-body injury

Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon is expected to miss approximately four weeks with an upper-body injury, the team announced Tuesday.

MacKinnon appeared to be in discomfort after taking a shot in the first period of Monday's clash against the Philadelphia Flyers. He also took a couple of hits from Scott Laughton next to the Flyers' bench.

The star didn't return to the contest after logging just five minutes of ice time. The Avs lost the game 5-3.

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told reporters postgame that he had "no idea" how MacKinnon got hurt, according to the Denver Gazette's Kyle Fredrickson.

Bednar added that the Avalanche's recent run of injuries is "probably as bad" as any he can remember.

MacKinnon's absence is another blow for the injury-riddled reigning champions, who are now missing five of their top six forwards: MacKinnon joins Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, Artturi Lehkonen, and Evan Rodrigues on the shelf. Colorado is also considerably thinner on the blue line without Josh Manson and Bowen Byram.

Landeskog has yet to play a game this season after undergoing knee surgery. If the captain stays on track with his initial 12-week recovery timeline, he'll hit the ice again in mid-January.

Nichushkin hasn't played since Oct. 25 due to an ankle injury, but he rattled off seven goals and five assists in seven games before going down. Colorado said he'd miss approximately one month on Nov. 8.

Meanwhile, Lehkonen and Rodrigues have combined for 13 goals and 27 points on the season. Lehkonen sustained an upper-body injury on Dec. 3 and is considered day-to-day. The Avalanche announced on Nov. 26 that Rodrigues would miss two-to-four weeks with a lower-body injury.

Mikko Rantanen is the team's sole star remaining up front, and the Avalanche will likely rely on him while they wait for their other key players to get healthy. He leads the team with 15 goals in 23 contests.

A major loss for the Avalanche, MacKinnon paces Colorado with 34 points this campaign.