Valeri Nichushkin Involved in Car Accident, Misses Capitals Game

The Avalanche did not have Valeri Nichushkin in the lineup on Monday against the Washington Capitals. The 30-year-old was a late scratch, as the team announced an upper-body injury just as they took the ice for pre-game warm-ups. Head coach Jared Bednar said the 30-year-old forward was involved in a car accident. “He got in a car wreck on the way to the rink, to the game,” Bednar said. “He had some minor injuries, came to the rink, got checked out, and everything seems to be okay, just not good enough to play, just a little bit of a precautionary day, and we’ll see what tomorrow brings for him.” The team called up Alex Barre-Boulet to replace him in the lineup. Barre-Boulet got the call roughly two hours before puck drop and made the trek from Loveland to arrive in time for the game to make his Avalanche debut. Nichushkin will be re-evaluated on Tuesday. “It was a fender bender, but serious enough to keep him out of the lineup today,” Bednar said. “The roads were icy when the guys were coming in this morning and slick, and there was a multiple vehicle accident.” This is the second injury for Nichushkin this season. He missed eight games earlier in the year with a lower-body injury. Nichushkin has 11 goals and 27 points in 38 games.