Makar to miss at least two games following Carter hit

Cale Makar will miss at least two games with an upper-body injury caused by Jeff Carter’s hit to the head area Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters in Tampa and a team spokesperson confirmed to The Post.

During the third period of an eventual 2-1 loss, Makar was standing near the edge of Colorado’s goal crease with his back to Carter when Carter skated past and made contact with his shoulder to the side of Makar’s head.

The Avalanche defenseman immediately dropped his stick and grabbed his helmet with both hands.

Makar went to the dressing room for evaluation but was able to return to the ice with about four minutes remaining in regulation.

He’s now out for the remainder of Colorado’s road trip, with games Thursday at Tampa and Saturday at Florida.

Carter was not penalized on the ice, and he was not issued a suspension or any further punishment by the NHL’S department of player safety. The department reviews all hits or collisions that can potentially impact a player’s safety, but its policy is to not comment on individual plays when no supplementary discipline is imposed, a league spokesperson said.

Makar viewed the incident as a blindside hit. He told The Athletic’s Peter Baugh after the game: “The ref said apparently we ran into each other. I don’t know how that’s possible. He was coming down the ice. I’ll have to take a look at it. … Maybe he wasn’t looking. But (it was) straight to the side of my head. So that was fun.”

These will be the fifth and sixth games Makar has missed this season. He was out four games with an upper-body injury in January.