The Colorado Avalanche are hosting the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Heavy favorites, Colorado jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Minnesota. The Avalanche did all that without Cale Makar, who went to the locker room early after taking this hit from Wild forward Marcus Foligno.
Cale Makar has left Game One of the Second Round following this hit from Marcus Foligno pic.twitter.com/gZpbMyQOSU
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 4, 2026
Makar took just two shifts, playing 1:11 before leaving the ice. He missed seven games in April due to an undisclosed upper-body injury. There is no word on the injury that has forced him to miss time in Game 1 against the Wild.
Shortly after going up 3-0, the Avalanche allowed the Wild back into the game with two unanswered goals. Not long after that, Makar emerged from the tunnel. After a whistle, Makar took a lap, testing his right leg. He went right back to the bench with 12 seconds left in the period. But he did not play after taking that hit from Foligno.
Makar scored in each of the final two games of the Avalanche’s opening round sweep of the Los Angeles Kings. He used the final two regular-season games to get back up to speed, and played his normal workload in the first four playoff games. Makar only dipped below 24 minutes of ice time in Game 4, which was decided long before the final buzzer sounded.
That would be a lot of time for the Avalanche to make up with only five defenseman. The second Wild goal came with Devon Toews and Brent Burns on the ice, instead of Toews with Makar. Putting more miles on Burns’ legs at 41 years old could be disastrous for the Avalanche in Game 1.
ClutchPoints will have more on the Cale Makar injury as the story develops.
The Colorado Avalanche are hosting the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Heavy favorites, Colorado jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Minnesota. The Avalanche did all that without Cale Makar, who went to the locker room early after taking this hit from Wild forward Marcus Foligno.
