Colorado Avalanche lose Nikita Zadorov to an upper body injury

The Colorado Avalanche announced this afternoon that Nikita Zadorov will not travel with the team to Dallas for their matchup with the Stars Thursday night. The big defender suffered what the team is calling an upper-body injury in a 4-3 overtime victory against the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday.

For now, the Avalanche are only saying that he will miss the matchup against the Stars, but there is a strong possibility that he will miss a longer period of time.

With the Stars only three points ahead in the Central division, the loss of Zadorov is a huge hit to Colorado’s playoff chances. After struggling earlier in the season, Zadorov has looked very comfortable lately and has been rewarded with more ice time.

Ryan Graves will be inserted back into the lineup to replace Zadorov. Graves has 5 points through his first 20 games as a 23-year old rookie with the Avalanche.