Colorado Avalanche's Cale Makar returns to play after second round of concussion protocol

Mar. 4—Cale Makar is back to playing games after consecutive stints in concussion protocol.

The Avalanche defenseman reflected on high-contact collisions last month from Pittsburgh's Jeff Carter and St. Louis' Alexey Toropchenko that led Makar to miss nine combined games.

"Both hits, I've never had that (happen) in my life," Makar said from his dressing room stall Friday after rejoining the team in full-contact practice. "I've never taken a hit straight to the head before. That second one, I've never had someone try to reach over me before. It was just unfortunate. A couple of unlucky bounces."

Makar, in his return to play Saturday afternoon in Dallas, logged 22:27 of ice time with one shot on goal and two blocks. A quiet performance.

It's still reassuring after his back-to-back head injuries led to scrutiny of the NHL's concussion protocol. Makar came back in to play against the Penguins and Blues after enduring apparent head injuries. He was cleared for return with symptoms that did not appear until the next morning. Makar believes each situation was handled correctly by the Avalanche medical staff.

"You have to be really careful with these things and make sure that you handle them right," Makar said. "Kudos to the team. We've done a good job so far. Knock on wood, hopefully, these things don't come back this year."

Makar's second round of concussion protocol was a precautionary decision. Makar said that his symptoms were "very, very mild" but "just kind of lingered and stuck around." The Avalanche rely on players to determine when they are ready to exit the final stage of protocol. It seems Makar didn't take any chances.

"I would have been more inclined to feel like playing if I didn't have that first collision. ... I think it would have been fine," Makar said. "But obviously you don't want these things to compound. I can't put myself in positions to take those kinds of hits. But, at the same time, stuff happens."

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Stars 7, Avalanche 3

What happened: The Avs were blown out in an important divisional road matchup. Dallas brought more physicality and toughness in a game with multiple player skirmishes.

What went right: Colorado's penalty kill went 3-for-3. In the first period, Sam Girard scored on a long slapshot (his fifth goal of the season). Devon Toews helped save a would-be-goal in the second period. The Avalanche scored twice in garbage time from Andrew Cogliano (redirect at the net front) and Evan Rodrigues (on the power play). It ended an 11-game streak without a goal for Rodrigues.

What went wrong: Dallas led 2-0 midway through the first period with goals from Jason Robertson (top shelf from the circle off an Avs giveaway) and Miro Heiskanen (wrister through traffic). When Colorado cut into the deficit, the Stars responded with a nifty skate-to-tape goal at the crease from Joe Pavelski. Dallas kept scoring in the second period with goals, aided by net-front traffic, from Mason Marchment and Radek Faska. The Avs pulled goalie Alexandar Georgiev trailing 5-1. In the third period, a Denis Malgin turnover near the crease led to the Stars' sixth goal of the afternoon from Wyatt Johnston. Robertson later scored an empty netter. Mikko Rantanen was penalized three times in the game.

Between the pipes: Georgiev made 14-of-19 saves. He was replaced in the second period by newcomer Keith Kinkaid who made eight-of-nine. Dallas' Jake Oettinger stopped 32 of Colorado's 35 shots on goal.

What's next: The Avalanche (34-21-5) host the Seattle Kraken (35-21-6), 7 p.m. Sunday (Altitude) at Ball Arena.

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