NHL Injury: Valeri Nichushkin surgery, Filip Zadina out, and more
The Daily Goal Horn
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Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin underwent surgery on his ankle and will be sidelined at least a month, head coach Jared Bednar announced Tuesday.
Bednar also said defenseman Bowen Byram is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Nichushkin, 27, sustained the injury in Colorado’s 3-2 shootout victory over the New York Rangers on Oct. 25.
“So Val is having surgery on his ankle. He’s going to miss approximately a month, give or take,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said following practice Tuesday. “Bo Byram has an injury and he’s week to week, lower body. Girard, same thing. He’s going to be day to day as well. … All three of them are new injuries.”
NHL.com
NHL Injury: Valeri Nichushkin has surgery
He had enjoyed a sizzling start to the season by registering then-team-leading totals in both goals (seven) and points (12). That was quite the start in the first season of an eight-year, $49 million contract he signed with the Avalanche this past summer.
Nichushkin has 186 points (78 goals, 108 assists) in 412 career games with the Dallas Stars (2013-16, 2018-19) and Avalanche. He was selected by the Stars with the 10th overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft.
Byram, 21, has five points (two goals, three assists) in 10 games this season.
He has 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in 59 career games since being selected by Colorado with the fourth overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Red Wings lose Filip Zadina
Detroit Red Wings forward Filip Zadina will miss six to eight weeks due to a lower-body injury.
“So obviously not positive,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said Tuesday, “but it’s a little more optimistic than we originally thought.”
Lalonde didn’t disclose the diagnosis of the injury, which occurred when a puck aimed for the goal hit Zadina on his right leg with 5:19 remaining in the third period of Saturday’s 3-0 win over the New York Islanders.
“Lower body, not good,” Lalonde said immediately after the game. “I don’t think we’re going to see him for a while. Haven’t gotten the complete word but it’s not good.”
The early season has been a struggle for Zadina. The 22-year-old has played nine games but hasn’t scored and is minus-3.
The No. 6 overall selection of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Red Wings, the Czech set career highs last season in games played (74), goals (10), assists (14) and points (24).
The Red Wings are close to the return of forward Oskar Sundqvist (upper body), who hasn’t played since Oct. 25. Lalonde said forward Tyler Bertuzzi, who has played just two games this season because of an upper-body injury, could join the team for a West Coast trip that begins Saturday in Los Angeles.
Detroit will host the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
Wild place two on IR
The Minnesota Wild placed forwards Jordan Greenway and Ryan Hartman on injured reserve Sunday.
In corresponding moves, the Wild recalled forwards Adam Beckman and Joseph Cramarossa from AHL Iowa.
NHL players on injured reserve must sit out at least seven days before returning.
Greenway aggravated a shoulder injury in his season debut Oct. 20 against the Vancouver Canucks and has not played since.
Hartman came away with an upper-body injury during a fight last Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks’ Jarred Tinordi. He had one goal and four assists over nine games before sustaining the injury.
Beckman appeared in three games for Minnesota last season and tallied one assist. Cramarossa is a 30-year-old veteran who has played in five games for Minnesota in the past two seasons, recording two assists.
UPDATED: Mackenzie Blackwood out
The New Jersey Devils will need to adjust to life without goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and forward Ondrej Palat.
Blackwood will be sidelined three to six weeks with a MCL sprain, the Devils announced Tuesday. He sustained the injury in New Jersey’s 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers last Thursday.
Palat, 31, is expected to miss eight to 10 weeks after undergoing groin surgery on Nov. 1.
“He’s eight to 10 weeks but I think if you saw him in the gym, he would argue with that statement and look at me like I’m crazy, but that’s where he’s at,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “So let’s hope that he can put that through fruition.”
Blackwood, 25, is 4-2-0 with a 2.79 goals-against average and an .880 save percentage in seven games this season.
He is 59-53-16 with a 2.93 GAA and .907 save percentage in 137 career appearances (130 starts) with New Jersey.
Vitek Vanecek will serve as the primary goaltender for the Devils, while Akira Schmid is expected to serve as the backup. Schmid was recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League on Saturday.
Palat has three goals in six games in the first season of a five-year, $30 million contract.
A two-time Stanley Cup winner with Tampa Bay, Palat has totaled 426 points (146 goals, 280 assists) in 634 games with the Lightning and Devils.
–Field Level Media