Colorado Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin missed Monday’s game against Washington after he suffered minor injuries in a multi-vehicle accident. Steph Chambers / Getty Images
Colorado Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin was involved in a multi-vehicle accident Monday, leaving him unavailable to play in the Avs’ 5-2 home victory over the Washington Capitals, Colorado coach Jared Bednar said.
Bednar told reporters after the game that Nichushkin had suffered “minor injuries” in the accident. The Avs listed the winger with an upper-body injury as he was made a late scratch before their pre-game warmup skate.
“He got in a car wreck on the way to the rink, to the game,” Bednar said, according to Colorado Hockey Now. “He had some minor injuries, came to the rink, got checked out, and everything seems to be OK. Just not good enough to play. Just a little bit of a precautionary day, and we’ll see what tomorrow brings for him.”
Bednar did not have many details about the accident other than noting that roads in the Denver area were icy in the morning hours after snow fell in the region late Sunday night into Monday.
The Avalanche called up Alex Barré-Boulet from the Colorado Eagles, their AHL affiliate, to fill Nichushkin’s spot. Nichushkin, 30, has 11 goals and 16 assists in 38 games this season. He missed eight contests earlier this year because of a lower-body injury.
In the Avs’ victory Monday, Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and added an assist to reach the 1,100-point milestone as Colorado improved to an NHL-best 34-5-8.