It took Avalanche coach Patrick Roy longer than usual to give an update on his injury-riddled team following an optional practice Wednesday. He even brought a piece of paper to glance at to jog his memory.
Defenseman Erik Johnson, who hurt his back Tuesday in the Avalanche's 3-2 overtime win in Chicago, will skate Thursday morning to see how his back reacts and if he's capable of playing that night against the New Jersey Devils at the Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche recalled defenseman Karl Stollery from Lake Erie of the AHL. Stollery, who made his NHL debut Saturday in the 4-2 win in Minnesota, will play if Johnson can't.
Defenseman Cory Sarich, who was a late scratch Tuesday when he had back problems, underwent an MRI Wednesday and the team was awaiting the results.
Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who didn't dress Tuesday because of back spasms, took part in practice Wednesday and will skate again Thursday to see if his back is well enough for him to back up Semyon Varlamov against the Devils.
Sami Aittokallio, who was the backup in Chicago, also practiced Wednesday and is available if Giguere isn't.
Center Paul Stastny remains day to day, Roy said, with a leg injury. If he can't play against the Devils, the Avalanche will dress 11 forwards and six or seven defensemen.
Defenseman Nate Guenin, who has missed five games because of an ankle injury, will be sidelined for another 7 to 10 days. "It's a bruise, not broken," Roy said. "But it's a pretty bad bruise and it's going to take a little more time than expected."
Right wing Alex Tanguay, who sustained knee and hip injuries Nov. 2 against Montreal, practiced and later did some hard skating with right wing PA Parenteau, who suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament Dec. 29 against Winnipeg.
Roy said Tanguay "is very happy" with his progress. "He seems to be improving, but he wants to see how he's going to be when he's skating with the team (at a full practice)."
Parenteau could be back sooner than expected. "He might be back next week or the following week depending on how he's doing in practice with the guys," Roy said.
Forward David Van Der Gulik is on injured reserve with a head injury.
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Roy couldn't be happier with the Avalanche's sweep of Minnesota and Chicago to solidify its third-place standing in the Central Division. The Avalanche has 63 points in 46 games, while fourth-place Minnesota has 55 points in 49 games.
"It was a very important trip for us," he said. "It's funny, because a big game without a doubt was the win against Minnesota. The day after, they beat Nashville and if we lost that game we'd be two points ahead of them. It was a very important trip for us. It was important to play well and that's exactly what our guys have done. Today we're eight points ahead of them with three games in hand.
"There's key moments in your season, and those seven games at home it was important for us to play some good hockey, which we did. Winning those two games on the road, especially the one in Minny, was also an important moment in our season. I guess we're going to have more and more, but so far I feel that our team has been able to win key games, and that's positive to me.
"It shows the character of the team and the leadership that we have. It shows that the guys care and that they want to do well and they want to get better and they're not satisfied. It makes me really proud of them."
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Defenseman Nick Holden logged a team-high 25:11 Tuesday and also saw some time at left wing on the fourth line.
"He was outstanding," Roy said. "I'm so happy for him. Early on he had to be patient and he was. He was just working hard and it pays off. I thought it probably was one of the biggest games of his career and I thought he played really well. The more minutes we were giving him, the better he was playing. We're all curious as a coaching staff to see how far can he go."
Roy said defenseman Ryan Wilson, who played 18:09, played "one of his best games" but still "has a long way to go to be where I think he wants to be and where we think he should be."
Wilson was supposed to play five games during a two-week conditioning stint with Lake Erie but was called back after he played in one game there because of all the Avalanche injuries. He also played Saturday in Minnesota.
"It's a tough call for me because when we met our scouts (before training camp) they presented him as one of the top two or three defensmen on our team," Roy said. "Injuries have slowed him down."
Roy had plenty of praise for defenseman Tyson Barrie, who scored twice Tuesday, including in overtime. He said Barrie is "making better decisions" and getting more involved in the offense.
Roy said Varlamov, who made 46 saves against the Blackhawks, is playing as well as he has because of his work ethic.
"He's been working extremely hard on and off the ice," he said. "I always believed you play as well as you practice, and he practices hard. Without him last night without a doubt it would have been hard to win that hockey game. The guys rallied around him."