Avalanche's Nail Yakupov: Inactive on Thursday

Yakupov (illness) will not be active for Thursday night's home game against the Panthers.

Yak's about to miss his fifth consecutive game for an Avalanche team that is fading into obscurity after blazing a trail to start the season. Still, provided he doesn't miss a bunch more games, the man who's been labeled a bust since the Oilers drafted him first overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft has a legitimate chance of reaching 20 goals for the first time in his career. Keep him on the bench for now, but the Russian often makes for a solid value play when healthy.