Before boarding a flight for Dallas on Saturday, Nathan MacKinnon returned as the Avalanche’s top-line center and member of the No. 1 power play in an hour-long practice at Family Sports Center.
MacKinnon, who has missed the last four games with a broken nose and concussion, is scheduled to play in Sunday’s pre-Super Bowl matinee against the Stars to begin a two-game Central Division set between the clubs.
“It’s been pretty smooth,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said of MacKinnon’s recovery from Taylor Hall’s dangerous cross-ice check Jan. 26 against the Bruins. “You have a six-day (concussion) protocol that you have to go through, plus he has a fracture and that all goes smoothly, too.