ATLANTA — Paul Stastny’s return to the Avalanche lineup can’t come soon enough, so his “probable” status for Tuesday night’s game with the Atlanta Thrashers is the team’s best news in a while.
One of the NHL’s better young players, Stastny had scored goals in four of five games when an Olli Jokinen slap shot broke a bone in his right forearm in a Dec. 23 game against Phoenix.
Stastny went through another full practice today in Duluth, Ga., and is expected to play against a Thrashers team playing its first home game after a Western road trip.
Avs coach Tony Granato is hoping for the same kind of boost from Stastny’s return that his team got from Adam Foote’s return last weekend in Detroit.
“When you get players with great leadership abilities, along with great skill, it’s big for a team,” Granato said.
“We’ve missed Paul, let’s face it. We’ve done a lot of experimenting at the center ice position. We’ve had a lot of guys play a lot of minutes at that position that normally don’t. To get him back in there would certainly give a boost to us. He’s a big part of our team, we all know that.”
