Archives for October 7, 2009

‘"If Toni can’t play, Toni can go on IR.”’

‘Lydman injured his thumb before the start of the season and has been day-to-day up until now. Head coach Lindy Ruff told the media the blue liner is doubtful for tomorrow night’s game against the Phoenix Coyotes. Ruff is not encouraged about Lydman’s chances, saying he "progressed to a point, but still isn’t where he feels he’d be able to play."’

‘So what happens? Do they simply send a youngster down? Might they make a trade? Could they sneak a veteran through waivers to the minors?’

‘"Basically, that’s what we tried to do," he said. "Give them a day off, go to a couple practices [Monday] that were real hard. [Tuesday] was all special teams and [today] will be that 45 minutes high tempo to get ready for Thursday."’

‘”With the amount of work that Millsie went through it is about getting Patty some work. At the same time, Millsie didn’t have a lot of work. We’ve toned down our practices and he probably sees one third the rubber that he saw last year. In an action sense, he’s seeing more game like simulation stuff so we’re going to weigh where we’re at by the weekend and Patty could go in.”‘

‘“Practicing the power play in this rink is a little bit more frustrating. I didn’t tell them that, but I noticed it. I could see some frustration,” he said. “I think practicing here in the zone with four-feet less, and less room behind the net, is an opportunity to do things quicker. You feel that when you don’t have the extra ice or the extra time.”’