Avalanche All-Star Nathan MacKinnon may return Sunday at Stars

Colorado Avalanche star center Nathan MacKinnon missed three consecutive games and this past weekend's All-Star festivities due to the concussion and facial fracture he suffered back on Jan. 26 as the result of a hit delivered by Boston Bruins forward Taylor Hall. 

As noted by TSN, MacKinnon ultimately underwent surgery on his nose and won't play in Thursday's matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters MacKinnon skated on his own Tuesday and may be available for this Sunday's contest at the Dallas Stars. 

"We wanted to give him the time through the break to make sure he was feeling good so when we came out of the break, he can start ramping up to play," Bednar explained, per the NHL's website. "We got into the break and we kind of started targeting Sunday for his return date. Now everything's going to have to go smoothly and he's going to have to make the right steps here over the next few days in order to be ready to go.

"We were hoping it could be Tampa on Thursday, but as we got into the break we kind of felt that maybe he'd need a little bit more time." 

MacKinnon was voted Central Division captain for the All-Star Game and is fifth on the Avalanche with 43 points (nine goals, 34 assists) tallied across 31 games this season. 

Meanwhile, Colorado begins Tuesday evening atop the Central Division standings and holding an eight-point advantage over the second-place Nashville Predators.