West Injury Notes: Thornton, Nichushkin, Avalanche

The Sharks received some good news regarding center Joe Thornton.  Although he was placed on injured reserve with knee troubles, head coach Peter DeBoer told Paul Gackle of the Bay Area News Group that the issue is actually an infection on his surgically repaired knee and not an actual injury.  He’s expected to be placed on antibiotics and if that clears up his swelling, he shouldn’t be out of San Jose’s lineup for too long.  Considering how much time he has missed with that knee issue last season, that’s a huge relief for the Sharks.

More injury notes from the West:

• The Stars should have winger Valeri Nichushkin available for Tuesday’s game against Toronto, notes Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News. He suffered a lower-body injury partway during the preseason and has been out of the lineup since then.  When he does make his debut, however, it may be on a lower line than expected; although he was on the second line before the injury, head coach Jim Montgomery likes the look of the current lineup.  Nichushkin is returning to the NHL following a two-year stint with CSKA Moscow of the KHL.
• Colorado may be without winger Gabriel Landeskog for tomorrow’s game in Columbus, reports Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. He missed practice today due to a lower-body issue and if he’s unable to go, center Vladislav Kamenev could make his season debut after being recalled on Sunday.  Meanwhile, Chambers adds that Avalanche defenseman Patrik Nemeth is expected to be cleared for contact on Tuesday and could return to action later this week.  They are carrying one player under the maximum roster size at the moment so they won’t need to make a corresponding roster move when they activate him off injured reserve.