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Ein wenig Licht am Ende des Tunnels: Keith Ballard könnte am Donnerstag wieder ins Spielgeschehen eingreifen - hoffentlich verleiht er der Defensive wieder mehr Stabilität. Bleibt die Frage, wen es dafür trifft. Jones zurück in die AHL? Seidenberg ein Scratch? Es wird sich zeigen.
Das schreibt AZCentral:
Ballard may play vs. Dallas
Nick Piecoro
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 7, 2006 12:00 AM
Because Keith Ballard played all 82 games as a rookie last season, it’s easy to understand why the Coyotes defenseman has found it so difficult to watch road games on TV the past month.
But on the day the Coyotes’ points leader, Mike Comrie, underwent foot surgery, there was some good news: Ballard probably won’t be watching the next game. He hopes to play in it.
Ballard practiced Monday morning, his first time out with his teammates since he fractured a bone in his right hand Oct. 9.
“It was a good first day,” Ballard said. “Definitely hard, but it was good to be back in it a little bit.”
Coach Wayne Gretzky moved Ballard to the wing during practice in order to get him some extra skating. Ballard said he felt good but has some progress to make in his conditioning.
“You can skate as much as you want by yourself,” he said. “But once you get out there with other guys, doing drills and all that, it’s different.”
Neither he nor Gretzky was able to say definitively that he would play Thursday against Dallas. Ballard expects to practice today and Wednesday before he hopes to be cleared.
The team would welcome Ballard’s return, particularly his shot-blocking ability. Last season, he blocked 137 shots, second-most among NHL rookies.
“It’s been a long four weeks,” said Ballard, who hurt the hand blocking a shot by Columbus center Manny Malhotra. “I’ve been here the whole time skating. . . . It’s so boring (watching games). You just sit there by yourself, and you can’t be around the guys, in the hotels and out to dinner. It’s kind of frustrating.”
Comrie out a month
The Coyotes announced that Comrie was scheduled to undergo surgery Monday to repair a fracture in his right foot and is expected to miss four weeks. Dr. Gary Waslewski was to perform the surgery.
Comrie, who leads the team with 11 points (four goals, seven assists), was hit by a slap shot in the last shift of Friday’s game at Anaheim.
Though the Coyotes made no immediate roster move to replace Comrie, Gretzky said the team would need smarter play and more varied contributions in his absence. He also said he hopes the defensemen would be more active offensively, starting with Ballard’s return.
Ice chips
General Manager Mike Barnett will attend the general managers meetings this week in Toronto, where other GMs will likely approach him about trading with his struggling team…. Forwards Josh Gratton and Dave Scatchard missed practice because of flulike symptoms, Gretzky said.
Quelle: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes//articles/1107coyotesnb1107.html