Avalanche Center Nathan MacKinnon on the Shelf Four Weeks

Good morning and happy hump day, Wednesday, December 7th.

Congrats to our wise readers who picked Mitch Marner in yesterday's poll to score more points than Jason Robertson last night 🎉 — more on that below.

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Nathan MacKinnon was injured Monday and his Colorado Avalanche team will feel the pain.

The Avalanche announced Tuesday their leading scorer MacKinnon will be out four weeks with an upper body injury. The Avs scored 76 goals this season and MacKinnon had the goal or assisted on 44.7% of those tallies.

He was injured taking a shot in a 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers Monday.

MacKinnon, 27, is tied with Connor McDavid for the NHL lead with 26 assists. MacKinnon’s 34 points in 23 games places him eighth place in the league’s scoring race.

If the prognosis is accurate, MacKinnon will miss 13 games. The timing couldn’t be much worse for the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche to lose their best player.

Overrun by injuries, the Avalanche (13-9-1) are not scoring as much as they did last season. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and sit in fourth place in the Central Division.

Colorado also recently lost forwards Artturi Lehkonen and Jean-Loudy, although they are day-to-day. The Avalanche injured list also includes Valeri Nichushkin (ankle), Evan Rodrigues (lower body), Shane Bowers (upper body), plus defensemen Josh Manson (lower body), Bowen Byram (lower body) and Kurtis MacDermid (lower body).

Forwards Gabriel Landeskog (knee) and Darren Helm have yet to play this season because of offseason surgery.

🚨 Shane Wright scored his first NHL goal in first game back from the AHL. After lighting up the AHL for four goals in just five games, 18-year-old Shane Wright found the back of an NHL net for the first time in his return to the Kraken line up. Set up by Oliver Bjorkstrand, Wright one-timed his first NHL goal past Jake Allen's glove (watch here). Wright slowly builds his case to stick around with the Kraken this season.

📈 Marner's streak lives on while Robertson's come to an end. Mitch Marner recorded an assist on John Tavares' opening tally (watch here) en route to the Maple Leafs shutting out the Dallas Stars 4-0 last night in Dallas, ending Jason Robertson's 18-game point streak. Marner's 20 game point streak is tied for the 4th-longest point streak in the last 25 seasons.

TRIVIA: Who has the longest point streak in the last 25 NHL seasons?

• Matt Murray 'perfect' in chaotic, character win for Maple Leafs

• Canadiens score two goals in seven-second span, beat Kraken

• Crosby's two goals lift Penguins past Blue Jackets for third win in row

• Connor scores twice, Jets top Panthers in Maurice's return to Winnipeg

• Arvidsson scores twice, Kings trounce Senators

• Husso's 44 saves help Red Wings hold off Lightning

• NHL-leading Devils shut out struggling Blackhawks

• Have $$ to blow on a good cause? Bid on Henrik Lundqvist's chromed goalie skates covered in Swarovski crystals to benefit the King's foundation

• ⏱ Canadiens strike twice in just 7 seconds

• 🕺 Jack Hughes dances through Hawks defense and sets up Hamilton

• 🔙 Crosby, Rust score back-to-back from their backs 47 seconds apart

• 🤸🏻 Pheonix Copley stretches out to make ridiculous toe save on Claude Giroux

• 🏥 Watch Kris Letang back on the ice in full gear just 8 days after suffering a stroke

• 💥 Youth player drops the forechecker with this legendary reverse hit

• Martin St. Louis on why players should shoot to score in practice

• Stop on a dime on your outside edge with this simple drill by Hull Hockey

• The importance of training your feet by Jeff LoVecchio

TRIVIA ANSWER:

Patrick Kane had a 26 game point streak in 2015-16.