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Plan is for Wilson to return Tuesday in Dallas |
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Rick Sadowski
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Ryan Wilson, remember him?
The Avalanche defenseman has been cleared to play and the plan is for him to return to the lineup Tuesday night in Dallas. Wilson has missed 17 games with a back injury he sustained in a Nov. 6 game against Nashville.
"He looked good," coach Patrick Roy said after practice Sunday. "He looked good in the practice and we'll talk with (trainer) Matt (Sokolowski) and see how he feels after the morning skate (Monday). If he feels good, I'm planning to use him in Dallas."
Roy said he'll use the same lineup for Monday night's home game against the Stars that he did for Saturday's 2-1 shootout loss to Minnesota, with Semyon Varlamov making his fourth consecutive start in goal.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere will start in goal Tuesday.
The Avalanche spent considerable time working on a power play that has gone 0-for-26 in the past 10 games, and Wilson was given some time on the point with Nick Holden.
"This is something we're going to do when they're going to be in the lineup," Roy said. "The guy that I would love to see there is (Alex) Tanguay, but Tanguay being out we're going to give a chance with Holden and Wilson to do that job."
Wilson could be forgiven for thinking a dark cloud has been hovering above him since he joined the Avalanche in 2009-10. He's been plagued with injuries and has never played in more than 67 games.
He missed seven games with a head injury as a rookie; five games with a leg injury and four with a knee injury in 2010-11; 13 games with a head injury, two with a groin injury and one because he was ill in 2011-12; and 36 games with an ankle injury last season.
Wilson missed most of training camp, all the exhibition games and the first four regular-season games this year after sustaining a knee injury in the Burgundy and White Game.
He played in 10 games before hurting his back against the Predators, an ailment that didn't allow him to do much to stay in decent physical condition for a couple of weeks.
Wilson said he never had injury problems until he turned pro in 2008-09 after being signed by Calgary as a free agent.
"I think part of it is a little bad luck," he said. "With my back, I caught a piece of the guy's skate and the next thing I know I have to decide whether to go head first into the boards or try and brace myself. You go into the boards 10 times like that and nine times you'll be all right. I was going back for the puck and battling with the guy. My skate hit his skate and my first instinct was to brace myself and take (the impact) with my back."
Wilson, a 6-foot-1, 207-pounder, plays a physical style, making him more prone to injury. He isn't about to change how he plays; it's what got him to the NHL in the first place.
"It's hard to stay positive when you're missing a lot of games," he said. "I hope my luck is getting better and I hope to play as many games as possible. I just have to stay positive and not think about the injuries. You have to keep reminding yourself that you can play this game without getting injured. The plan is to play the rest of the regular season without any major setbacks."
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