Cale Makar leaves Game 1 after huge hit from Marcus Foligno.

The Colorado Avalanche may very well be looking at a disaster very early on in their second round series against the Minnesota Wild.

Things have got off to a terrible start for the Avalanche with star defenseman Cale Makar leaving Game 1 with an apparent injury. Makar was on the receiving end of a big time hit from Wild forward Marcus Foligno and it would seem that Makar is feeling the ill effects of that hit.

Less than 5 minutes had expired in the game's opening period when Foligno hunted down Makar along the end boards and briefly sent him airborne with the impact of the hit. Makar may have bounced off the protective glass as a result of the hit, but it is unclear where exactly an injury may have occurred.

Makar would return to the Avalanche bench following the hit but he did not remain there long before heading back to the Avalanche locker room. Makar has yet to return since leaving the bench.

Makar is of course one of the Avalanche's most important players both offensively and defensively and losing him for any length of time in this series would be a massive blow to the Avalanche.

Makar had 2 goals in the Avalanche's 4 game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, with Makar finishing that series with a plus minus rating of +4.

Update: Big news for the Avalanche as Makar has returned to the bench.

Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.