DALLAS — During one of the Avalanche’s injury sieges last season, when Wojtek Wolski got off to an impressive start in his first extended run at playing center, it seemed possible his days as an NHL winger were coming to an end.
When Joe Sakic announced his retirement in the offseason, that added to the chances Wol-ski would be in the middle for the rebuilding Avalanche in 2009-10.
That still might happen — but it’s increasingly obvious Wolski, who played center in major junior and considers it his natural position, will open the regular season at left wing. That’s where he played Thursday night as the Avalanche lost 3-2 to the Dallas Stars in their next-to-last exhibition game.
Against the Stars, with Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk among the Avs’ scratches, Wolski skated on the T.J. Hensick-centered line, with Marek Svatos on the right side. Svatos had Colorado’s first goal against Dallas backup goalie Alex Auld, connecting on a power play at 12:58 of the second period.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Wolski, 23, said of playing on the wing. “I think right now we have so many centermen and so many young guys, this might give me the opportunity to play with Paul (Stastny) and Hedgie (Milan Hejduk).
“It’s part of hockey. You have to make room for guys. Some guys struggle more on wing. Luckily, I can play any position at forward now, even at right wing, and that adds a little to my game and will help me in the future.”
Wolski had 14 goals and 42 points for the Avs last season, and those were his lowest totals in his three full seasons with Colorado. He had one terrific week while playing center with Stastny and Sakic both out, then seemed to hit a wall.
“Right now, we have two centermen on our top two lines who are natural centermen,” Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said. “Wolski can play both. He’s versatile, so right now I see him on the wing. I thought he played his best game so far tonight. He’s a skill guy, but he’s got to compete with that skill. When you combine the two, I think you see that he can be a very effective player like he was tonight. For now, he’s going to stay on the wing.”
Against Dallas on Thursday, Avalanche defenseman Scott Hannan made it 3-2 at 9:39 of the third, scoring on a 4-on-4 with rookie Matt Duchene and T.J. Galiardi getting the assists. But the Stars, who got their three goals on only 16 shots on Colorado’s Peter Budaj in taking the 3-0 lead, held on.
Colorado (3-2) concludes its exhibition season Saturday night in Las Vegas against the Los Angeles Kings.
Colorado 0 1 1 — 2
Dallas 2 1 0 — 3
First period — 1, Dallas, Neal 2 (Robidas, Eriksson), 12:51. 2, Dallas, Eriksson 3 (Neal, Richards), 15:47 (pp). Penalties — Koci, Col (boarding, roughing), 14:08; Gazdic, Dal (roughing), 14:08; Tucker, Col (tripping), 14:22; Svatos, Col (tripping), 17:20.
Second period — 3, Dallas, Eriksson 4 (Richards, Skrastins), 10:03. 4, Colorado, Svatos 2 (Hensick, Quincey), 12:58 (pp). Penalties — Stafford, Dal (hooking), 12:38; Stewart, Col, major (fighting), 16:35; Gazdic, Dal, major (fighting), 16:35; Ott, Dal (interference), 18:02.
Third period — 5, Colorado, Hannan 1 (Galiardi, Duchene), 9:39. Penalties — Durno, Col (interference), 1:02; Hendricks, Col, major (fighting), 4:26; Sawada, Dal, major (fighting), 4:26; Eriksson, Dal (hooking), 8:12; Clark, Col (tripping), 9:25; Ott, Dal (interference), 13:05; Jancevski, Dal (holding), 18:03; Duchene, Col (hooking), 19:44.
Shots on goal — Colorado 13-11-10 — 34. Dallas 9-5-2 — 16. Power-play opportunities — Colorado 1 of 5; Dallas 1 of 5. Goalies — Colorado, Budaj 1-1-0 (16 shots-13 saves). Dallas, Auld 1-1-0 (34-32).
Attendance — 16,162 (18,532). T — 2:15.
Referees — Dave Jackson, Chris Rooney. Linesmen — Mark Wheler, Brad Kovachik.
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
