Slowly but surely, the old gang is getting back together.
The Colorado Avalanche practiced Sunday for the fourth time since reconvening from a 10-day, Winter Olympics-imposed hiatus, and the team finally welcomed some of its returning heroes back to the ice.
The Avalanche's goaltenders returned to the nets, as Peter Budaj and David Aebischer practiced with the club for the first time since their personally successful experiences in Turin, Italy. Rookie winger Marek Svatos, Budaj's teammate on the Slovakian national team, also returned.
The nine Colorado players who participated in the Olympics were not required to return to the team until today.
"It was kind of strange going from one day to another with a whole different atmosphere and different team," said Aebischer, who recorded 40 saves in Switzerland's upset win against the Czech Republic and went 2-0 with a .940 saves percentage at the Olympics.
"But it's good to be here and I'm looking forward to the last stretch of the season. I had time to go back to Switzerland for a day and a half and I had a chance to come here on Saturday. (Saturday night), I decided I had to do something. For two, three days, I didn't do anything but traveling. So it felt good (Sunday) to move the legs."
Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said he expects at least half of the team's remaining six Olympians to participate in this morning's practice, including forward Milan Hejduk (Czech Republic), defenseman John-Michael Liles (United States) and defenseman Karlis Skrastins (Latvia).
Because the Canadian team could not change its charter flight out of Italy, captain Joe Sakic and defenseman Rob Blake probably will not rejoin the team until Tuesday. Sakic and Blake were scheduled to fly today to Denver from Toronto and should participate in the Avalanche's morning's skate-around Tuesday preceding the team's game that night against the Minnesota Wild at the Pepsi Center (7 p.m., OLN).
Quenneville also believed forward Antti Laaksonen, whose Finnish team lost the gold medal game Sunday against Sweden, might not rejoin the club until Tuesday.
"It was good to see Peter and David and (Svatos) return. Having a few more bodies helped the practice flow," Quenneville said. "I thought practices have gotten a little bit better each and every day. We were trying to do more of a refresher course the last few days, touching all the bases as far as reaffirming our positioning in all areas of the ice. The guys have been good.
"The guys that played all those games (at the Olympics) need a break. But they are pros and we expect them to be ready for a very meaningful game. Joe and Blakey, hopefully they are thinking about Tuesday now."
Today's practice will be the Avalanche's final one of a five-day stretch that focused more on conditioning and refining fundamentals than game-planning. That probably will begin in earnest today, as the Avalanche prepares for its final 23 games, each of which likely will impact the playoff race.
Colorado begins the stretch run ranked sixth in the crowded Western Conference, but the Avalanche is only three points behind Northwest Division-leading Calgary. Minnesota is last in the division but is only five points out of the playoff picture.
"At least we've made it fun," winger Ian Laperriere said. "We've played some games out there, so it's nothing like boot camp or anything like that. It's more like it's been good to get in shape, but at the same time you can make it fun, and that's what they've been doing. It's getting old right now. We want to get back at it and play."
