Avalanche's Nazem Kadri misses practice, may not play Saturday vs. Penguins

The first-place Colorado Avalanche are about to get a good look at the Pittsburgh Penguins, as those clubs will meet Saturday afternoon in Colorado and then face each other again Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. 

Colorado forward Nazem Kadri may miss at least one of those matchups. 

As Kate Shefte explained for The Gazette, Kadri did not practice Friday and is questionable for Saturday's encounter. The 31-year-old was banged up in the third period of Thursday's 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks when San Jose's Tomas Hertl checked Kadri into Timo Meier of the Sharks. 

Per the NHL's website, Kadri managed to return and finish Thursday's game, but it's unclear what he's dealing with heading into the weekend. 

"He's getting evaluated today, so we'll see about him for tomorrow," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters Friday. "We'll see when he gets back from his appointments today."

According to ESPN stats, Kadri leads the Avalanche with 83 points and 57 assists tallied across 65 games this season. 

Colorado, meanwhile, sits atop the Central Division standings and holds a commanding 15-point lead over the second-place Minnesota Wild. The Penguins are third in the Metropolitan Division but trail the second-place New York Rangers only by a single point.