Defenseman Erik Johnson, who has missed the past eight games with a lower-body injury, said after a long optional practice Thursday that he expects to return to the Avalanche lineup Friday against St. Louis at the Pepsi Center or Saturday in Dallas when the team begins a three-game road trip.
Johnson was one of 10 skaters (along with goalie Calvin Pickard and -- yes -- coach Patrick Roy) to take part in an optional practice that lasted well over an hour.
"I passed the conditioning test on the ice and I should be ready to go any day now," Johnson said. "I haven't talked to the trainer (Matt Sokolowski), but I feel good and it'll definitely be Friday or Saturday."
Roy said he would need to speak with Sokolowski before making any decision.
"I'm certainly not going to jump the case on this situation," said Roy who donned a goalie mask and pads again to practice for next month's outdoor alumni game with Detroit at Coors Field. "Matt will make the decision when he's ready to play."
Johnson was injured Jan. 4 in the second period of the Avalanche's 4-1 win against Los Angeles. Andrew Bodnarchuk, who was claimed off waivers the next day, filled in for Johnson with Francois Beauchemin for four games before Nikita Zadorov and Chris Bigras were recalled Jan. 13 from San Antonio.
Zadorov has been paired with Beauchemin for all four games since then, and Bodnarchuk has been a healthy scratch. Bigras has been on the third defense pairing with Zach Redmond.
"I just took a funny step in the LA game, kind of tweaked a part of my lower body," Johnson said. "It flared up on me and I got an MRI. The doctor said it would be a week or two weeks or something like that. Luckily it wasn't serious because he thought it was going to be much worse."
Johnson missed the final 34 games last season because of a knee injury and the entire 2008-09 season to recover from knee surgery when he was with the Blues. "It wasn't even on my right side," he said of this injury. "It was on my left side where I haven't had my knee surgeries. Thankfully, it had nothing to do with that. I was feeling really good and I kind of thought I put the injuries behind me from last year and just didn't want to go down that road again. But it was out of my control and, thankfully, it wasn't too serious.
"We weren't sure if it was going to be a couple days thing or a two- or three-week thing. It took a little longer than I wanted, but fortunately the guys have been playing great. It makes it easier when they're winning to kind of make sure you're ready to go."
The Avalanche have gone 5-3-0 in his absence and climbed into the second wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference, one point behind Minnesota, which plays Thursday in Los Angeles.
Johnson said he's skated for "eight, nine days" and feels "good, strong, ready to go." He has seven goals and nine assists in 40 games while averaging 23:29 in ice time, second on the Avalanche to Beauchemin's 24:56.
"It's going to be good for us (when Johnson returns)," Roy said. "EJ is one of our best defensemen. It's always nice to see him back in the lineup. At the same time, you want to make sure he's a hundred percent. You don't want to see any setback from coming back too fast. That's the last thing we want."
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Roy said goalie Semyon Varlamov will start Friday against the Blues and probably Saturday against the Stars, with Pickard playing Tuesday in San Jose.
"That's right now the scenario, but it could change," Roy said.
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Roy on how he felt tending goal in practice: "It was OK. I'm struggling with the little play around the net, but overall it's not bad. I mean, when you carry that extra weight you pay the price for it. I've been working hard at it."