Avs’ starting goalie Anderson clear to play

With John Grahame send back to the Erie Lake Monsters of the AHL, Craig Anderson is healthy enough to at least backup tonight’s game.  More to come later if he is actually taking a turn between the pipes.  Regardless he should see action either today or tomorrow.

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Anderson was out on the ice today and told John Buccigross of ESPN his right knee is getting better.  However, there is still no timetable for his return to the Avs.

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Netminder Craig Anderson wasn’t even scheduled to start tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, but still found himself dealing with a serious injury.

Anderson was taking part in pre-game warmups when he hit the ice suffering an apparent injury to his right knee.  As you can see from this video from All Things Avs, it doesn’t look good for Anderson or his team.

Peter Budaj started tonight and the Avalanche will continue to lean on him the rest of the week.  Anderson will not make the trip with the team to Calgary and is headed back to Denver for further tests on the severity of his injury.

Colorado plays Calgary on Thursday with Budaj likely playing between the pipes against the red-hot Flames.  The Avs are likely to recall John Grahame or Jason Bacashihua to serve as the backup for Budaj.

Anderson is 3-4 over his first seven games with a 3.15 GAA and a .907 SV%.  Prior to tonight’s contest, he was sixth in the NHL with 237 shots against.

Stay tuned for further updates on Anderson’s status.