Some of the issues that looked fixed two days ago in a decisive win against the Dallas Stars were again troubling for the Colorado Avalanche in a loss to the Minnesota Wild.

Nathan MacKinnon is in a tight race for the Hart Trophy (MVP), but the Colorado Avalanche center likely added another bullet point to his strong résumé on Wednesday night.

Missing this many games all but eliminates him from contention no matter how well he has played or how much he has produced this season.

The Colorado Avalanche put up a short performance against division rival Minnesota Wild in their fourth of a five-game homestand. Nathan MacKinnon scores Colorado's lone goal in the 3-1 loss.

Ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs' game on Wednesday against the Minnesota Wild, there are reports of a heavy scout presence in the arena raising trade speculation.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, left, loses control of the puck while driving between Minnesota Wild defenseman Jake Middleton, front right, and center Marco Rossi in the first period of an NHL hockey game Monday ...

MacKinnon is the most likely Avalanche player to take advantage of a Wild defense that is bleeding shots. Not only is he the best shot-generator on the team, but the Wild have allowed the second-most shots to centers in the NHL over the past few weeks.

Yakov Trenin and Brock Faber scored goals 1:35 apart early in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 in Denver on Monday.

“We’ve got to help him out more.” Minnesota Wild left wing Marcus Foligno, front left, passes the puck as Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, back left, and goaltender Mackenzie ...

The 4 Nations Face-Off is now less than two weeks away. It begins Feb. 12 at Bell Centre in Montreal. Most NHL teams have six, seven or eight games remaining before the League breaks for the first best-on-best hockey tournament since the World Cup of Hockey 2016.

The United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden will play in the Feb. 12-20 4 Nations Face-Off. Here are the rosters and captains.

Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There are 10 games on the schedule for Thursday, including two nationally televised in the United States. Thursday also marks the 16th week of “NHL Coast to Coast,” a weekly whip-around studio show on Prime Video in Canada.