Anticipation is mounting as the Colorado Avalanche faces a challenging situation with Cale Makar, who is sidelined due to a recent injury. As the team’s star player, Makar’s absence has raised questions about how his potential recovery timeline might affect Colorado’s performance.

"He's getting close," coach Spencer Carbery said. "We'll see what the plan is for him tomorrow. I'm not sure on the back-to-back (against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, at St. Louis Blues on Saturday), but we'll see where we go. I'll talk to the training staff after we wrap up this morning. -- Tom Gulitti