Nichushkin's Impact as 'He Makes Every Line That He's On Way Better'

Valeri Nichushkin keeps chugging along.
By collecting an assist in the Colorado Avalanche's 3-2 loss at Seattle on Wednesday night, the versatile winger established a new career-best point streak at six games where he has compiled eight points (3G, 5A) in that span.

But it's not just his welcomed point production that's garnered complimentary remarks from Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar and his teammates. Especially in the wake of injuries to Colorado's top-six forward group, Nichushkin has embraced a larger offensive role, while continuing to execute to his strengths that make him a reliable all-around winger with abilities and earned trust to be deployed in nearly all situations.
"No question, I thought he stood out in a good way," Bednar said of Nichushkin following Colorado's loss at Seattle. "We were skipping the puck around quite a bit tonight, in my opinion, but he was the guy that stood out to me as one of the only guys that was able to transport the puck from the defensive zone to the offensive zone. He tried to create chances, he drove to the net a few times, he was strong in the battles. I think that's something that's been coming for him here in the last little bit. He's been getting better and better."

Despite Colorado dropping losses in back-to-back games - after rattling off a nine-game winning streak from March 29-April 16 where the team clinched a berth to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and claimed the top seed in the Western Conference - Nichushkin has still been one of the Avalanche's most consistent and dynamic forwards in this recent stretch.
During the 3-2 loss to Washington on Monday, he scored on his fellow Russian countryman in Ilya Samsonov with a low sizzling wrist shot taken from a dominant drive into the left faceoff circle and also fired off four shots on goal.
Against Seattle on Wednesday, he screened the net front to allow a long-range shot from Nathan MacKinnon to find its way to Artturi Lehkonen on the doorstep. Nichushkin also logged the second-highest ice time among forwards behind MacKinnon in that game, with 23:26 minutes and a game-high of 3:37 minutes on the power play.
The 27-year-old - who hit the 400-career NHL games milestone on Monday - has showcased the offensive uptick to his game, while still providing consistency with his relentless forechecking, straight-line speed and physical presence.
"He's a really good all-around player," Mikko Rantanen said. "He's a smart player, he's strong and very fast on the skates. He creates a lot of space with his body and he finds some soft spots where he can get open. He's really fun to play with."

Similar to the nearly dozen players on this year's Avalanche squad who have established new career-highs in some capacity, Nichushkin has shattered his previously established career-bests across the board with 48 points on 22 goals (including five on the power play) through 58 games. He is also just three shy of matching his career-high of a plus-26 rating, which he set in the 2019-20 season and ended up finishing eighth in the Frank J. Selke Trophy voting, which is annually awarded to the best defensive forward in the NHL.
"He's really aware of what's going on around," Burakovsky said of Nichushkin. "When there's a lot of switches up top on the blulines from other teams and when [defensemen] are jumping down to the net, I think he's really aware of where his guy is all the time and recognizing it really quick. He's one of the guys that's been taking massive steps into the defensive side and the offensive side too."
With Nazem Kadri just returning to the lineup on Wednesday after being sidelined since March 31 and with Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog still out with a lower-body injury, Nichushkin, has provided Bednar with some flexibility among his lineup as he's been able to slot the left-shot winger on his offside and alongside various linemates including; MacKinnon, Andre Burakovsky, J.T. Compher, Lehkonen, and Kadri.
Nichushkin has also filled vacancies of Kadri and Landeskog on one of Colorado's power-play units while continuing to take reps on the penalty kill as needed. And no matter the line he's playing with or special team unit that he's a fixture on, Nichushkin utilizes his sturdy 6-foot-4, 210-pound frame and sharp intellect to find ways to benefit his team with or without the puck.
"He makes every line that he's on way better," Bednar said. "His puck pursuit, his checking abilities, his abilities to check the puck back and he's so big, strong and fast that he's a lot to handle. He's doing everything [for us]."