Avalanche without forward Jonathan Drouin, claim goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen off waivers

DENVER (AP) — The banged-up Colorado Avalanche will be without another forward in Jonathan Drouin due to an upper-body injury.

Drouin’s 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 in more than 21 minutes of ice time during a season-opening 8-4 loss at Vegas on Wednesday.

His absence is a big offensive blow for a team that’s already missing forwards Gabriel Landeskog (knee) and Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder). Another forward, Valeri Nichushkin, is serving a suspension that’s in effect until at least mid-November.

“Obviously, every guy that’s missing makes the job more difficult,” coach Jared Bednar said after practice Friday as his team prepares for its home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. “But it forces our team to dig in on the details and the commitment side of the game right away.

“We said it going in — we have to expect that everyone in our lineup has to be on top of their game, not just be in a role, but driving that role in order to have success. That’s a little bit of pressure right out of the gate.”

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

The 28-year-old Kahkonen spent last season with the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils, compiling a 7-24-3 mark. He will join the Avalanche organization once he clears immigration.

Kahkonen is 49-67-15 with 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 elevate their game, great,” Bednar said. “And if Kahkonen and can come in and play well, great. It’s about winning hockey games. If we can get incrementally better in any position, we’ll try and do it, especially when there’s low risk involved.”

Mikko Rantanen, fresh off a hat trick to start the season, was pleased to see the team pick up Kahkonen, another player from Finland.

“I know him pretty well. He’s my age, from Finland — a pretty small country, so I basically know everybody,” Rantanen cracked. “I don’t know everybody, but (as) hockey players you know a little bit about everybody. We skated together in the summers, and we won the World Juniors together. It’s good to have him. He’s a good goalie.”

Rantanen said after practice there have been no developments on the contract-extension front. He’s in the final year of his deal.

“Like I said before, it’s done when it’s done,” Rantanen said. “We’ll see what happens with that. I just try to focus on the ice.”