The Colorado Avalanche had some injury surprises before Game 4 against the Minnesota Wild.

Luckily, they didn’t matter for the outcome of that contest.

About 40 minutes before puck drop on Monday night it was revealed that both forward Artturi Lehkonen and defenseman Sam Malinski were out with “upper-body” injuries. It was strange because Lehkonen and Malinski had been at morning skate in St. Paul.

But this is postseason hockey and guys are dealing with ailments that have plagued them for months. In the case of Lehkonen and Malinski they couldn’t go, so Joel Kiviranta and Jack Ahcan stepped in.

Josh Manson also returned from an injury and had an eventful night. Colorado took the key contest by a final score of 5-2.

On Wednesday, after morning skate at Ball Arena, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar delivered relatively good news on Lehkonen and Malinski. He said they could both “possibly” play in Game 5.

If either were week-to-week or longer, Bednar wouldn’t consider them options.

It means each guy is banged up, but still has a shot to suit up in a potential series-clincher. The Avalanche lead the Wild three games to one in the second-round and have Minnesota on the brink of elimination.

In the seven playoff games thus far Lehkonen has six points (three goals, three assists) which is tied for fifth on the team. Malinski has chipped in one goal and two assists.

We won’t know until about 5:30 MT when Colorado takes the ice for pregame warmups if they are playing. But the fact it’s possible is encouraging.

A victory tonight would send the Avalanche to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2022, awaiting the winner of the Golden Knights and Ducks for a shot to go the Stanley Cup Final.