Brouwer ready to return from injury
Johnny Gaudreau could only squirm and spectate for nearly three weeks as he recovered from surgery on a broken pinky finger.
Ditto for teammate Troy Brouwer.
Gaudreau was eventually greenlighted to return to the Calgary Flames lineup in early December and made an immediate mark, scoring on his very first shift. So … uh … no pressure, Troy. “I’d love to be able to do that, but we’ll see exactly how it goes,” Brouwer said. “(Gaudreau) got off to a good start with that little muffin goal. It always gives you a good feeling when you’re able to produce right away.
“But for me, I just want to get back into it, make sure that I’m not making mistakes, make sure that I’m not a liability out there and just play hard.”
Brouwer has been cleared for takeoff and was a full participant in Thursday’s practice, and although bench boss Glen Gulutzan wants to have another chat with the doctors before confirming his return, the 31-year-old right-winger certainly hopes to be back in the lineup Friday when the Flames welcome the New Jersey Devils to the Saddledome (7 p.m., Sportsnet West/ Sportsnet 960 The Fan).
Brouwer, who has missed eight contests due to the busted pinky, was reunited during Thursday’s practice with centre Sean Monahan and right-winger Kris Versteeg.
It’s the first time in Brouwer’s career that he has been forced to sit out because of injury, but the Flames alternate captain and veteran voice was encouraged by what he witnessed while waiting for the fractured finger to heal.
“You obviously have a little bit more of an outside perspective, rather than seeing it from the ice and only seeing the clips that we watch in here,” Brouwer said. “There are parts of our game you see that you really like and are really good. And there are a few parts that you notice that need to be cleaned up a little bit.
“But all in all, I think our team is trending the right way.”