DENVER – The struggling Colorado Avalanche will be without another forward, Jonathan Drouin, due to an upper-body injury.

Drouin is expected to miss at least two games before his injury is reassessed. The 29-year-old left winger didn’t have a shot on goal for more than 21 minutes in Wednesday’s 8-4 opening defeat in Las Vegas.

His absence represents a major attacking decline for a team already missing forwards Gabriel Landeskog (knee) and Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder). Another striker, Valeri Nichushkin, is serving a ban that lasts at least until mid-November.

“Obviously every player missing makes the job more difficult,” coach Jared Bednar said after practice Friday as his team prepares for Saturday’s home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets. “But it forces our team to immediately address the details and commitment of the game.”

“We said it right from the start: we have to expect that everyone in our lineup has to do their best, not just play a role, but advance that role in order to be successful. “That’s a bit of pressure.” of the goal.”

The Avalanche added another goaltender on Friday by claiming Kaapo Kahkonen off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets. This follows a tough outing from Alexandar Georgiev, who allowed five goals on 16 shots against the Golden Knights, and Justus Annunen, who conceded two goals on four shots.

The 28-year-old Kahkonen spent last season with the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils, posting a 7-24-3 record. He will join the Avalanche organization once he is cleared to enter the country.

Kahkonen has a 49-67-15 record and a 3.33 goals-against average since entering the NHL in 2019-20.

“We’ve seen better from our goalies than we’ve seen here recently, and if they can step up their game, that’s great,” Bednar said. “And if Kahkonen comes in and plays well, that’s great. It’s about winning hockey games. If we can gradually get better at any position, we will try to do it, especially if the risk is low.”

Mikko Rantanen, who scored a hat-trick at the start of the season, was pleased that the team had signed another Finnish player, Kahkonen.

“I know him pretty well. He’s my age and comes from Finland – a pretty small country, so I basically know everyone,” Rantanen said. “I don’t know everyone, but as a hockey player you know a little bit about everyone. We skated together in the summer and won the Junior World Championships together. It’s good to have him. He’s a good goalkeeper.”

Rantanen said after training that there had been no developments regarding the contract extension. He is in the final year of his contract.

“Like I said, it’s done when it’s done,” Rantanen said. “We’ll see what comes of it. I just try to concentrate on the ice.”