In the Nick of Time?

One day after his injury status was upgraded to week-to-week, Calgary Flames forward Matt Stajan was back on the ice taking part in full practice this morning.  He traded in the yellow "no contact" jersey for a regular, black practice jersey and seems to be very close to making a full return to the Flames lineup.

Here are the lines from Tuesday’s practice:

Alex Tanguay-Olli Jokinen-Jarome Iginla
Niklas Hagman-Matt Stajan-Brendan Morrison
Curtis Glencross-Mikael Backlund-Tim Jackman
Craig Conroy-Stefan Meyer-Brett Sutter

Stajan hasn’t played since the first game of the preseason when he suffered a seperated shoulder in Vancouver.  He was listed as out indefinetely for most of his time on the shelf, but the word seems to be that Stajan is a gametime decision for Thursday night at home to the Florida Panthers.

Head Coach Brent Sutter said he was "really close" to returning, and will be evaluated closely over the next couple days with a determination to be made on gameday.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Flames recall a forward from the American Hockey League, but it may only be for precautionary reasons.  If it were to happen, I’d expect it to be on Thursday morning sometime, ahead of their game with the Panthers.

Regardless, it’s good news.  Forward Rene Bourque was not on the ice this morning and left the rink early with skates in hand.  It has yet to be confirmed, but the speculation is he’s suffering from a concussion.  At this point, all the team has said is that it’s a potential head injury, which is to be expected.

On another note, there wasn’t any immediate indication as to who will replace Adam Pardy on the Flames blueline.  It’ll either be Cory Sarich or Steve Staios, and I’d lean towards the former.  I think Sarich has shown a solid positional game through the preseason and has some familiarity with T.J. Brodie, as he spent time with him through training camp.