Breaking: Samuel Girard done for the season.

The Colorado Avalanche have just been dealt a terrible blow.

National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman is now reporting that his sources have informed him Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard is done for the season after suffering a serious injury in Game 3 of the Avalanche's second round Stanley Cup playoffs series against the St. Louis Blues. We reported earlier tonight that Girard had been taken to a local hospital following a huge hit he received courtesy of St. Louis Blues forward Ivan Barbashev in the very first period of tonight's game, and thanks to Friedman we are now learning the reason for that visit to the hospital, a broken sternum.

Update: The Avalanche have now officially confirmed the news:

This means that the Avalanche will now have to advance through the remainder of the Stanley Cup playoffs without an important part of their roster, regardless of how deep of a run they go on. The Avalanche did walk away from Game 3 with a 2-1 series lead, but it has come at a terrible cost.

If you haven't seen the hit, here it is: