I've got some kind of bug and couldn't go to Avalanche practice Monday, but there was plenty of news:
One day after sustaining a head injury in the Avalanche's 2-1 overtime loss in Winnipeg, defenseman Erik Johnson practiced and is expected to play Tuesday night against San Jose at the Pepsi Center.
Center Jesse Winchester practiced without a red non-contact jersey for the first time since sustaining a concussion in a preseason game in Calgary and might make his season debut Thursday against the New York Islanders.
Then there's goalie Semyon Varlamov, the defendant in a civil suit filed Monday in Denver District Court by attorneys representing his former girlfriend, Evgeniya Vavrinyuk. The suit alleges several incidents of abuse between November 2012 in Russia and October 2013 in Denver.
Pro Hockey Talk obtained a copy of the complaint and jury demand.
Varlamov spoke briefly with reporters after practice Monday.
"It is what is, I can't say much about it," he said. "I've been asked so many questions about it. No comments right now about the situation."
Varlamov was charged in October 2013 with felony kidnapping and assault after he allegedly attacked Vavrinyuk at their Denver apartment. He spent one night in jail, was free on a $5,000 bond and continued to play.
The kidnapping charge was eventually dropped and Denver prosecutors dismissed the misdemeanor assault charge in December, saying they didn't have enough evidence to gain a conviction.
The NHL suspended Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov earlier this month after he was arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse in an incident involving his wife Marta Varlamova, who has since said she doesn't want him to be charged.
The Los Angeles County District attorney office has asked the Redondo Beach Police Department to do more investigating and the NHL is doing its own investigation. Voynov's first scheduled court date is Dec. 1.