Connolly looks good. He centered Ennis and Pominville on line 1, which means Tyler Smalls is probably staying up.
(I like the nicknames Tyler Smalls, and Tyler Talls)
Hecht also jumped in and skated on the third line and felt good. Even Drew Stafford was on the ice skating. He says he feels good.
Here's the link to the full article:
http://www.wgr550.com/Connolly-looks-go ... o-/6794669Quote:
Tim Connolly rejoined his teammates after missing nine games with a foot injury. He centered Tyler Ennis and Jason Pominville and looked like he had no trouble keeping up. Lindy Ruff said, "For a first practice I thought Tim did well. We hope to carry on and elevate it. We got involved in some physical stuff and tomorrow a little bit more. I would anticipate him progressing." Connolly said, "I feel good out there, I feel real good. Did some battle drills yesterday, I was able to get in there and work on some tough drills in the corner and it feels good. It feels ready to go." Connolly took the shot in the foot March 18th in Tampa Bay. His foot was too swollen to practice in Florida, but played four more games before having to shut it down, "There was a few games where it was a little bit sore, got to the point where I had to sit down and rest it and just be ready to go for playoffs."
Jochen Hecht tested his finger jumping in on the Paul Gaustad, Mike Grier and Adam Mair line. "Jochen made it through OK, which was good so, I thought he handled it pretty well." Hecht chose to leave the ice and go in back doors to avoid talking to the assembled media around his locker.
Nathan Gerbe remained with the team and alternated into the fourth line with Matt Ellis, Pat Kaleta and Raffi Torres. The Derek Roy line remained the same.
Drew Stafford skated after practice and said he felt pretty good from a concussion and was encouraged.
I chatted with Ennis for awhile. He says the coaches have not told him anything about his future. He doesn't know if he'll stay or be sent back. To stay the Sabres would likely have to use one of their four moves from Portland. They have not use one yet. Ennis did draw encouragment from the fact he skated with Pominville and Connolly. He agreed his last two road games were better from the poor ones he had in Toronto, Montreal and Boston. I would be very surprised if Gerbe wasn't sent back for Connolly to play. He has been spotty at best in his eight game stint.
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