from Adam Kimelman of the NHL,

Nathan MacKinnon will miss four weeks for the Colorado Avalanche because of an upper-body injury.

MacKinnon, a forward, left a 5-3 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday with 8:13 remaining in the first. He appeared to be in pain after taking a shot that was blocked by Flyers forward Scott Laughton moments before leaving the ice.

"[He's] a guy that plays 25 (minutes) a night and in every situation, so you have to juggle everything," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said after the game. "Do the best you can. You've just got to keep grinding and find guys that contribute. … Guys are going to have step up. It's going to be a challenge. It's been a challenge for us and seems to be getting worse at this point."...

Colorado is also missing forwards Valeri Nichushkin (ankle), Evan Rodrigues (lower body) and Shane Bowers (upper body), and defensemen Josh Manson (lower body), Bowen Byram (lower body) and Kurtis MacDermid (lower body).

Forwards Gabriel Landeskog (knee) and Darren Helm (hip) have yet to play this season after each had offseason surgery.

"[Helm and Nichushkin] both skated early again, and then first day joining the team," Bednar said Wednesday. "So looks like they're getting close. ... [Manson is] going to be out a month, too. (Rodrigues) skated today. First time. Three to four weeks is what we were thinking. Looks like he's on that timetable."

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