Forward PA Parenteau was huffing and puffing long after passing his skating test Monday, which followed practice, and he's all set to return to the Avalanche lineup Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Pepsi Center.
Parenteau sustained a sprained medial collateral ligament in a Dec. 29 game against Winnipeg and it was thought he'd miss about six weeks, so he's coming back much earlier than expected.
"I'm good to go," said Parenteau, who has nine goals and 15 assists in 38 games. "I'm looking forward to coming back. The team's been playing really well, put a lot of wins together, and I'm looking forward to helping them get more wins. I'll ease into it and we'll go from there. The most important thing is my knee. It felt pretty good. It's strong. I have the brace on and it's not bothering me at all.
"Sometimes it's good to be out for a little while, to refresh yourself and to watch from upstairs, but three weeks was long enough. You feel like you're not really part of it. At the same time, it's a long season and things happen. I'm just glad I'm back sooner than I thought I would be."
Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said he wasn't certain how he'd tinker with line combinations and is reluctant to change them too much with the team playing so well. But he said Parenteau would begin on the fourth unit with Marc-Andre Cliche and Patrick Bordeleau.
John Mitchell was ill and didn't practice. His status won't be known until the morning skate Tuesday.
"He passed the last test, the skating test, and he'll play," Roy said. "It's hard to make big changes in the lineup the way the guys have been playing. This is a good problem. I'm very happy with everybody. It's good for our team. It will force PA to play really well if he wants to get his place back in the lineup."
Right wing Alex Tanguay is getting closer to returning. He's been sidelined since hurting his knee and hip Nov. 2 against Montreal and has been skating hard in practices.
"When guys went down we talked about giving guys an opportunity to show what they could do, and they've been doing just that," Roy said. "Now guys are coming back and they're going to have to do the exact same thing the other ones did and be patient and work hard and get their place back. I'm sure they're not afraid of that."
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Semyon Varlamov will start in goal Tuesday and Friday in Florida. Jean-Sebastien Giguere will start Saturday in Tampa. He hasn't played since Jan. 6 when he allowed four goals on 19 shots in the Avalanche's 4-3 loss to Calgary.
Varlamov has a 24-8-5 record with one shutout, a 2.34 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. He's tied with Tampa Bay's Ben Bishop for third among NHL goalies in wins and is sixth in save percentage.
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Roy and Avalanche players are excited about the Denver Broncos having advanced to the Super Bowl, and the team will open a four-game road trip in New Jersey on Feb. 3, the day after the football game is played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Avalanche will arrive the day of the Super Bowl, but Roy won't attempt to snag a ticket.
"I'm going to watch it on TV," Roy said. "We have a tough week, four games in six days. It will be important for our team to rest. Yes, we're going to be behind (the Broncos) and we're going to watch the game."