Avalanche share some good injury news for a nice change of pace
Jan 23, 2025, 1:52 PM
The injury news from the Colorado Avalanche has generally not been good this year.
Whether it be Valeri Nichushkin, Artturi Lehkonen, Jonathan Drouin, Josh Manson or even Gabriel Landeskog, a lot of key players have missed time.
That includes forward Miles Wood, who’s been out since November with an “upper-body injury.”
Head coach Jared Bednar indicated Wood would miss significant time, but after two months of not playing, the third-line winger is on the verge of a return. It’ll likely happen at some point in the next week, after Wood has been dealing with a back injury.
Jared Bednar confirmed that Miles Wood is going on the road trip with the expectation that he'll play (at least at some point).
— Meghan Angley (@megangley) January 23, 2025
The Avalanche’s road trip will take them to Boston on Saturday, followed by a game with the Rangers on Sunday and then the Islanders on Tuesday. We should see Wood skate in at least one of those three games, if not more. It’s rare for a guy to travel if he’s not going to suit up.
In 16 games this year Wood has two goals and one assist. He’s not thought of as a high-powered offensive player, but can add stability and depth on an Avs team that is currently playing a handful of guys who might not be NHL caliber.
Wood also scored a dramatic OT goal agains the Dallas Stars in the playoffs on the road last year, showing he can come up big in clutch moments.
This news from Bednar is a nice change of pace, after he dropped the bomb on Wednesday that there’s no timeline for Nichushkin’s return and the forward is “week-to-week.” Couple that with the uncertainty on whether or not Landeskog plays this year at all, and it’s been a frustrating season on the injury front.
Still, Colorado sits at 28-19-2, good for 58 points and the top wild card spot in the Western Conference. The Avalanche hope to get healthy and make another Stanley Cup run. Adding a player back like Wood will help.
