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BREAKING: Avalanche Has been suspended following his…
The Colorado Avalanche are without high-scoring forward Valeri Nichushkin for what’s left of the playoffs — again.
The Colorado Avalanche are without high-scoring forward Valeri Nichushkin for what’s left of the playoffs — again.
The 29-year-old Russian was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in stage 3 of the league’s player assistance program just hours before the Avalanche lost Game 4 of their second-round series with Dallas on Monday night.
It is the second time this season he has been in the program. Stage 3 means Nichushkin violated terms of the program, which provides help for everything from mental health needs to substance abuse. Nischuskin will miss the rest of the postseason and the first month next season at a minimum.
The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association announced the news about an hour before the start of the game. His teammates heard the news as they arrived at the rink before a lackluster 5-1 loss to the Stars that pushed them to the brink of elimination. They were outshot by a 16-2 margin in the first period and trail the best-of-seven series 3-1.
Game 5 is Wednesday in Dallas. Nichushkin leads the team with nine playoff goals this season.
Details of Nischuskin’s struggles have not been disclosed. In a first-round playoff series last spring against Seattle, Nichushkin abruptly left the team and missed the final five games of the postseason.
“Val is obviously struggling with something,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. ”Yeah, it sucks for our team. We’ve got to turn the page. We’ve got to go play way better than we did today. There’s still 20-plus guys in that room that care and want to win and that are here. That’s what we have to focus on. It hurts our team. There’s no question. He’s a great player.”
Bednar wasn’t willing to travel down the path when asked if Nichushkin may have let down the team.
