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Mike Cook spends much of his time writing about politicians and pucks. In addition to his full-time job covering the Minnesota House of Representatives, he does freelance sports writing – including pro and college hockey – for the Associated Press and other entities. A lifelong resident of the State of Hockey, he grew up a fan of the Minnesota North Stars and still misses Met Center. He looks forward to when his three young children are on skates at 6 a.m. practices.
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| Avs get Stewart, McLeod back |
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| Northwest | |
| Written by Mike Cook | |
| Tuesday, January 18, 2011 12:02 | |
Chris Stewart learned his lesson the hard way: He's more valuable to the Avalanche when he isn't fighting. Colorado figures to get a boost from the returns of both Stewart and Cody McLeod.
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| AROUND THE NORTHWEST |
Although he stayed off the score sheet in his return, Stewart's speed and grit provided a boost to a team that has been teetering on the edge of a playoff spot.
“If anything, I thought my legs were really good,” Stewart said. “Little stuff with my hands, trying to make plays in high-pressure situations and quick, it kind of wasn’t there. When that’s not going your way, you have to keep it simple.”
Colorado started the season 13-9-1, but was just 9-7-5 with Stewart in street clothes, including 3-6-2 prior to Friday’s 4-1 win in Minnesota.
"I feel ready to play," Stewart said after Thursday’s practice. "I got to see a hand therapist three times a week for the last month, and worked on my flexibility and strength. Now I'm just excited to play."The Avs will be thrilled if Stewart plays like he did early in the season. He had 11 goals and 25 points through 23 games before the injury, and was named the Third Star of the Month for October after going 9-7-16 in 11 games. Stewart still ranks sixth on the team in goals and seventh in points.
“I probably would have been considered to make the All-Star Game, but I’m not worried about that,” he said.
McLeod’s return after missing 11 of 12 games with an injured groin was less publicized, but he didn’t look rusty, making hits and forechecking hard.
"It should be a good energy boost for our team," Avs coach Joe Sacco said. "Those two guys are physical players, and that will be good for our lineup right now. With Stewy being out as long as he has, he's very excited to get back in and that adds good energy to your lineup."
O’Reilly left the game on a stretcher after crashing into the boards, with his head and shoulder taking the brunt of the contact. The second-year center was alert and moving his extremities, but was taken to a local hospital as a precautionary measure before flying home with the team. It was announced Sunday that O’Reilly, one of the team’s top penalty killers, only sustained a shoulder injury and is expected to miss a couple of weeks.
“No one really saw what happened, so we were really scared. He didn’t get away completely unscathed, but obviously it could be a lot worse when you’re taken out on a stretcher,” forward David Jones said Sunday. “He’s not the type of guy who stays down. He’s a tough, tough player. Whenever a guy is lying there, not moving, it’s scary. We were all just kind of praying and hoping he was OK. When we found out it was just his shoulder it was a relief for us.”
Defenseman Kyle Cumiskey has been out since suffering a concussion Oct. 30 against Columbus.
Notes
Calgary fell behind 4-0 at Montreal Monday, tied the game early in the third, but lost 5-4 in overtime. Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff was pulled after allowing four goals on 17 shots. It was the second time the Flames starter was yanked in his last three starts. … The overtime loss gave Calgary six of a possible eight points on its four-game road trip, including wins in Ottawa and Toronto. "There's some confidence in that room," said head coach Brent Sutter. "We believe." … The Flames play four of their final five games before the All-Star break at home. … Kevin Colley, coach of the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies, littered the ice with sticks after getting tossed from a game Saturday. The team is a Calgary affiliate. … Edmonton's power play has gone 11 straight games – 38 chances – without clicking. … Injured Edmonton D Ryan Whitney was scheduled to meet with his doctor in North Carolina Monday for an assessment of his injured ankle and further course of action. “It’s looking like he’s going to need surgery,” GM Steve Tambellini said Sunday. “Ryan’s dealt with this surgeon before, he’s very comfortable with him. NHL players have worked with this surgeon before, so he’s quite confident he’ll have a full recovery.” If surgery is required, Whitney, who was leading the Oilers in ice time, points and plus-minus at the time of the Dec. 28 injury, will be done for the season. … Tambellini also addressed rumors the Oilers would be willing to open next season in Europe. He said any talk has been preliminary. … D Bryan Helmer of AHL Oklahoma City was named the Reebok American Hockey League Player of the Week. He was 3-3-6 and a plus-5 in three games for Edmonton’s top minor league team. … G Darcy Kuemper of the Red Deer Rebels was named the Western Hockey League’s Player of the Week after posting a 3-0 road record with two shutouts, stopping 85 of 86 shots. The 20-year-old was selected in the sixth round of the 2009 Draft by Minnesota. … The Wild recalled C Cody Almond from AHL Houston Monday. … Injured goalies Niklas Backstrom and Jose Theodore were on the ice for practice Monday and joined the team for its four-game road trip. Backstrom hasn't played in eight games since Dec. 31 and Theodore has missed the last two games, both with hip injuries. … Minnesota had lost three straight games by a combined 13-2 score before blanking Vancouver 4-0 Sunday. Anton Khudobin earned his first career shutout in just his third career start. “We're a strange team, there's no doubt about it,” said LW Andrew Brunette. “You never know what's going to show up.” … Minnesota is the only NHL team to defeat Vancouver twice in regulation this season. Entering Tuesday’s game in Colorado, the Canucks are 1-2-0 versus the Wild and 10-0-0 against the other three Northwest Division teams. … Vancouver is thin on the blue line. Aaron Rome is out two to three weeks after spraining his MCL Friday and Andrew Alberts left in the first period of the Wild game with an ACL shoulder sprain. He talked about it Monday. Chris Tanev, recalled from AHL Manitoba Sunday, is expected to play his first NHL game Tuesday in Denver. … RW Sergei Shirokov was recalled Monday from Manitoba. … C Alex Bolduc is expected to miss four weeks after re-injuring a shoulder Friday in Washington. A similar injury forced Bolduc to miss 22 games early in the season. … Backup G Cory Schneider made 21 saves Sunday as he suited up for his seventh time in 13 games. He’s gotten zero offensive support in his last two starts. “It goes both ways, maybe not back-to-back, but at some point this year it was going to happen where we wouldn’t get any goals,” Schneider said. “But I’m giving up goals so I could be better at keeping us in the game.”Photos by Getty Images
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