The Colorado Avalanche began Monday night in Philadelphia with 11 forwards.

At the end of the first period, they were down to 10. Martin Necas was injured and went to the locker room before the period was over.

It wasn’t immediately clear how long Necas would be out, but it wasn’t the kind of thing the Avs needed to see after already falling behind 1-0 on the road.

Martin Necas Injury Update

Necas took a puck off the mouth that forced him to leave for the locker room.

He was positioned in close as a teammate took a shot, but it turned out he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The puck was first saved by Flyers goalie Joseph Woll, then deflected off the post, which banked it up to Necas’ mouth.

It likely could’ve been worse if it hit a different part of Necas’ head — like a couple of recent injuries to Minnesota Wild players who went down after getting hit in the side of their helmet — but this wasn’t going to be pretty.

Necas’ mouth was immediately bleeding, and it’s hard to imagine that his teeth were doing great after what happened.

Martin Necas heads down the tunnel after taking a puck to the face. https://t.co/BTgUBoJhBH

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 19, 2026

Martin Necas is not on the Avs bench right now. Avs are playing with 10 forwards.

— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) October 19, 2026

Martin Necas Stats

Necas is a costly player for the Avalance to lose for any stretch of time.

The 27-year-old Czech forward already has 10 points through eight games this season entering Monday night — 4 goals and 6 assists.

Necas had 100 points last season in 78 games with 38 goals and 62 assists. That was his career-high.

He came to the Avalanche from the Hurricanes in the 2024-25 season, and he had 28 points in his first 30 games with Colorado that year.

So he’s been better than a point per game with the Avs. He’s not a guy Colorado will want to lose for long.

Most likely, his mouth will be in some pain but it’ll be something Necas can eventually play through. It didn’t look fun, though.