Nichushkin to Play Against Capitals; Drouin and Wood Back in Lineup

Reinforcements are on the way — Valeri Nichushkin, Jonathan Drouin, and Miles Wood are expected back in the Avalanche’s lineup against the Washington Capitals on Friday night. This is exciting news for the team, which has improved its game since Artturi Lehkonen’s return last week.

The young players who filled in the lineup have been impressive, but Colorado needs its heavy hitters back. I was worried there may be an adjustment period with Lehkonen’s return but was proved wrong in the Finn’s first game back. He has tallied six points in five games and has not skipped a beat since returning from offseason shoulder surgery. So my angst of an imbalance upon the trio’s return is quite low.

Nichushkin’s absence is a moot point for the team as it welcomes him back with open arms. The 29-year-old forward has not played since he was placed in Stage 3 of the NHL’s Player Assistance Program and suspended for six months on May 13, during the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Jonathan Drouin had a career season last year with 56 points in 79 games playing mostly on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. He was injured in the first game of the season and has been recovering since. His playmaking skills, shot accuracy and speed will be impactful to the top six.

Miles Wood will solidify the bottom six with his grit and hard-hitting style of play. He was successful on the third line with Ross Colton at center and Logan O’Connor on the opposite wing last season. While Colton is out with a broken foot until mid-December, the 29-year-old forward brings energy to whatever line he plays on.

The timeline for Gabriel Landeskog’s return is still unclear but the team remains adamant that he’ll be back in the lineup this season.

The Avs are coming off a 4-2 win over the L.A. Kings with a natural hat trick from Rantanen and Lehkonen’s lone goal. The team is 9-8-0 and has had solid goaltending from Alexandar Georgiev, as of late.

Around the NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas announced the team sent Joel Blomqvist to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. This opens up the tandem of Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic as the two remaining goalies who will battle for starts.

While Blomqvist stopped 32 of 34 shots in the 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Nov. 8, he allowed a couple of bad goals in the opening minutes of the Pens 7-1 loss to the Dallas Stars and didn’t finish the first period before being pulled.

The team recalled former Avalanche forward Matt Nieto to help the team’s production. He needs to be activated off long-term injured reserve before he can play, as he has been out with a knee injury he suffered in November last year.

Philly Hockey Now: Former long-time Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson is at 999 games as of Friday and he could play his milestone 1,000th game against his former team.

Colorado is only two points ahead of Philly so it will be an intense and emotional game for both clubs — especially if EJ is scratched against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night and plays his career-achievement game against the Avs.

League Milestones: Connor McDavid earned his 1,000th point in his 659th game, making him the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach the milestone, behind Wayne Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656).

Andrei Vasilevskiy became the fastest goalie to reach 300 NHL wins on Thursday night in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. The Russian netminder achieved the W in 490 games and is the 40th goalie to hit the milestone — breaking the record set by Jacques Plante who did it in 521 games.

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