Jared Bednar denies Gabe Landeskog report, Valeri Nichushkin has a setback and more Avalanche injury updates

So many players were on the ice at Colorado Avalanche practice Monday that callup Jason Polin didn’t have a stall in the team’s locker room.

In total, eight players who hadn’t been available two days ago when the Avs played in Winnipeg were on the ice at Family Sports Center. Goaltender Scott Wedgewood, activated from injured reserve Sunday, went through practice and will be available to either start or back up Tuesday against the New York Rangers.

Wedgewood sustained what looked like a serious ankle/foot injury Jan. 2 against Buffalo, but the MRI offered relatively positive news and he’s made a quick recovery.

“We’re getting a busy schedule again here now,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “You’ve got to have two guys, and he’s been good for us, so we’re glad to get him back.”

It wasn’t all good news on the injury front, though. Samuel Girard skated, but he’s still not ready to return from an upper-body injury.

Valeri Nichushkin skated before practice, but he’s going to need longer than the original timeline of 7-10 days.

“It’s a lower-body injury. Started to work through it, things were going good,” Bednar said. “Went on the ice a couple of times and then didn’t feel great, so he had to back off a bit and build it back up again.”

Bednar was asked about recent reports from ESPN and Daily Faceoff on captain Gabe Landeskog’s recovery from cartilage transplant surgery. Emily Kaplan of ESPN said during a recent broadcast that Landeskog has been unable to skate on back-to-back days because of swelling in his knee.

Landeskog did skate with the team a couple of times during the most recent homestand, but not with anything close to the regularity he did during the playoffs last season.