Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Khabibulin's recovery (update)
By Victoria Matiash
UPDATE: According to the Edmonton Journal, goalie Nikolai Khabibulin is pegged to back up Devan Dubnyk on the Edmonton Oilers' pending three-game road trip. There's a decent chance the veteran netminder may even start one of the three away contests. The Oilers face the Coyotes and Sharks back-to-back, Wednesday and Thursday.
"... Head coach Ralph Krueger said he doesn’t have a fixed plan for the netminders, only that Khabibulin will go from the injured reserve list to the roster on Wednesday. Yann Danis, the backup for the last five games after being called up from the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League, was placed on waivers with the intention of re-assignment ..."
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Veteran goalie Nikolai Khabibulin could be ready to go for the Edmonton Oilers in the not-too-distant future. The Edmonton Sun reports Khabibulin feels well enough to look forward to his first start of the season.
"I feel pretty good in practice now, I guess whenever there's a chance to start again, I'll probably be able to do that," said Khabibulin. "But it's tough to tell just with practice. That's why usually we get to have exhibition games to really tell where we're at."
The Oilers' netminder warns the first few minutes of his return to game action might not be pretty for Edmonton fans.
"With timing it's hard to really know when you’ll be ready," said Khabibulin. "The game is being played at a faster pace. Whenever I get to play, the first, probably 10 minutes to a period, is going to be an adjustment period. Hopefully there isn’t too much damage done."
The Oilers' goaltender has been rehabilitating a hip injury after enduring surgery last spring. Yann Danis would be sent back to the AHL once Khabibulin is fully capable of supporting No. 1 Devan Dubnyk.
