Avalanche Lose Josh Manson for Eight Weeks in Latest Blue Line Blow

The Colorado Avalanche just lost Josh Manson for eight weeks to an ankle injury, which is roughly the amount of time it takes to forget what a healthy blue line even looks like in Denver. Daily Faceoff dropped the news on Friday, confirming the veteran defenseman is officially on the shelf until around Christmas.

Manson left Thursday’s 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils early, leaving a gaping hole on the right side of the penalty kill. Losing a guy who eats pucks for a living is never ideal, but at least this happened while he was playing third-pairing minutes instead of carrying the entire defensive load.

"Jared Bednar noted after the game that Manson is 'going to miss some time.'"

For context, Manson has been averaging just under 15 minutes of ice time this season, a steep drop from the 18 minutes he usually logs. He was skating alongside Brent Burns, forming a bottom pairing that possessed a combined age older than most vintage whiskey collections.

From a betting perspective, this is the kind of depth hit that quietly swings live totals. Manson was logging over a minute and a half on the penalty kill every night, and when you remove 174 hits and 91 penalty minutes from a lineup, opposing forwards suddenly feel a lot braver entering the zone.

Head coach Jared Bednar now has to duct-tape the rotation together. Noah Juulsen is the next man up, but he is another right-handed shot who does not exactly have a PhD in playing his off-side. If the Avalanche want a natural lefty, they will have to dial up the AHL and see if Domenick Fensore or Sean Behrens is ready to pack a bag.

Colorado hosts the Calgary Flames on Sunday, giving Bednar exactly 48 hours to figure out his new defensive puzzle. Until then, Avalanche fans can go back to holding their breath every time a defenseman blocks a shot.