The Colorado Avalanche were without winger Valeri Nichushkin on Monday after he was involved in a car accident on his way to the arena. Head coach Jared Bednar held him out as a precaution, and it appears he is on the verge of playing on Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
Nichushkin has played in 38 games this season, recording 11 goals and 16 assists. He is on pace for 23 goals and 34 assists. He is sixth on the team in goals and tied for seventh on the team in assists with Brent Burns.
He is a huge piece to the Avalanche both offensively and defensively, being able to use his big frame to go and fight for the puck in amongst multiple skaters. He can drive to the net similarly to Nathan MacKinnon because nobody wants to attack him. He also has 99 shots on the season.
With Nichushkin out of the lineup, Victor Olofsson slotted in at second-line right wing. He put up a goal and an assist while shooting the puck twice in 14:26 of ice time. Olofsson has nine goals and 14 assists in 47 games this year, which the Avalanche probably want a little bit more out of him, as he is not a very consistent scorer.
The name of the roster game is depth. When Nichushkin is out of the lineup, others have to help out not only in scoring/assisting, but also the physicality part of the game. According to MoneyPuck, the Avalanche area dead last in hits given at 793. The Penguins are the next-closest team with 824 hits.
While the Avalanche aren’t starving in terms of getting the puck into opposing nets, it is very noticeable when Nichushkin is off the ice. The team is 26-5-7 with Nichushkin on the ice. Though the team is 8-0-1 without him, he’s proven to be a key top-six forward for the Avs since he was signed in 2019. His play with the Dallas Stars was very uninspiring, but he’s since been a major cog for the Avs.
Hopefully Nichushkin will be able to record some goals in the next couple of games.