Veteran defenseman Ossi Vaananen, who hadn’t played since suffering a fractured ankle Feb. 2 at Nashville and undergoing surgery, was in the Avalanche lineup for Game 4.
Rather than scratch a defenseman who had played in Game 3, coach Joel Quenneville instead went with a Game 4 lineup of seven defensemen and 11 forwards. John-Michael Liles played the point on the power play, but also moved up from defense to play wing on a fourth line.
After the morning skate Thursday, Vaananen pronounced himself ready.
“Obviously, it’s not an easy spot to jump in,” said Vaananen, 25, who had been scheduled to play for Finland in the Winter Olympics when he suffered the injury.
“But it’s a challenge,” he said. “It’s a hockey game, and I’ve got plenty of hockey games under my belt. I’m sure it will work out fine.”
Vaananen originally was pronounced to be out for the season, and he said he wasn’t worried about the possibility of rushing his return.
“I don’t even feel my ankle, and I don’t think it’s a matter of coming back too soon,” he said. “The doctors cleared me, and I feel good, so I don’t think it’s any problem with my ankle.”
Also, center Brett McLean, a healthy scratch in Game 3, returned to the lineup Thursday. Veteran forward Pierre Turgeon, who took three minor penalties in the Tuesday loss, and rookie Wojtek Wolski, who struggled after getting off to a strong start in the series against Dallas, were healthy scratches.
Mr. Norris?
Until this season, his first with Anaheim after leaving New Jersey as an unrestricted free agent, Scott Niedermayer played the bulk of his NHL games against Eastern Conference opponents. While some of the Avs previously were on Eastern teams, the series against Anaheim has given them renewed appreciation for the work of the defenseman, who came into Game 4 averaging more than 31 minutes of ice time, including one overtime game.
“After playing against him over the years, I think I knew he was this good,” Avalanche winger Andrew Brunette said. “If anything, Jersey was Scott Stevens’ team for many years, and this is his team. I think he’s relished that role, and he’s playing as good as anyone in the game right now.”
“I watch a lot of hockey, and I’ve seen him play his whole career,” said Avalanche winger Ian Laperriere, who has spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Kings.
“He’s a (great) player. He’s the heart and soul, and he’s everything to that team. They made a great move when they went and got him. Power play, penalty kill, 5-on-5, he’s their guy. Playing against him this year maybe makes you appreciate how great he is. We all knew he was a great defenseman, and the guys on Team Canada knew there as a big piece of the puzzle missing for Team Canada at the Olympics when he decided not to go.”
Niedermayer withdrew from the Canadian team for Turin because of a troublesome right knee. He didn’t miss any Mighty Ducks games this season, but skipping the Olympics enabled him to undergo minor surgery during the break.
McDonald is Kariya-like
Trading Sergei Fedorov to Columbus in November opened the door for Andy McDonald to become the Ducks’ No. 1 center. McDonald hasn’t disappointed Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle, who has compared McDonald to a young Paul Kariya, a former Ducks captain.
“He historically was an offensive player and the new rules had a big impact on that style of player, that quickness (and) offensive speed outside,” Carlyle said of McDonald, who went undrafted.
McDonald, who finished second on the team in scoring during the regular season and tied for 20th in the NHL with 85 points, played with Kariya in Anaheim for parts of three seasons.
Footnotes
Joe Sakic’s goal in the first period was the 82nd of his playoff career, tying him with Maurice “Rocket” Richard for seventh on the NHL all-time list. … The Avs had won at least two games in each of their previous 25 playoff series since moving to Denver. … Avs defenseman Kurt Sauer played 4:34, the least time of any player in the game. … Todd Marchant of Anaheim was a plus-7 in the last two games of the series. … Rob Blake had a game-high nine shots on goal.
