Cale Makar Out Against Stars for the Ultimate 'Upper Body' Excuse: Twins

Cale Makar is out for the Colorado Avalanche's upcoming game against the Dallas Stars, but for once, it is not an undisclosed lower-body injury shrouded in NHL secrecy. He is having twins.

Daily Faceoff reported the news on Tuesday, meaning Colorado is suddenly down the best defenseman on the planet for a tough Central Division matchup. Having one baby is a perfectly valid reason to miss a hockey game. Having twins is a valid reason to miss a game, a practice, and maybe ask the league for a temporary salary cap exemption to hire a night nurse.

"Daily Faceoff reported the news via Twitter."

The timing is a tough break for an Avalanche squad trying to find its footing. Colorado is heading into a weird home-and-home back-to-back against Dallas. They play in Texas on October 14, then turn right around and play in Denver on October 15.

Coming off a messy 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, losing their blue-line anchor right now is less than ideal for anyone holding an Avalanche moneyline ticket. Makar is not just a guy you replace by shuffling the defensive pairings. He runs the power play, logs half the game, and covers up a massive amount of defensive sins.

Without him on the ice, the Stars get a massive break at home. Dallas is coming off a tight 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins and will be looking to capitalize on a Colorado defense that suddenly looks a lot more human.

Expect Makar to be back soon, possibly even for the second leg of the Dallas series back in Denver. Until then, the Avalanche are going to have to figure out how to survive without their cheat code, while Makar figures out how to assemble two cribs at the same time.