Bigras closer to playing again
Blueliner recovering from concussion may be on Vancouver ice.
While discussing the NHL’s concussion protocol and the status of Avalanche defenseman Chris Bigras, coach Patrick Roy recalled an incidentwhen hewas playing for the Montreal Canadiens.
“I’d like to think it’s always been something that teams always have been aware of and have taken care of, even in my day,” Roy said of concussions after practice Monday.
He added,“I hitmy head on the ice when I was skating with my son ( Jonathan) andwewere playing in Montreal the following game. There was no way I was missing that game. They told me thatmaybe itwas not a good idea to play, but it was my decision. Now, it’s more the team decision to say you’re not playing, period. It stops there. In every sport, everybody’s doing a good job to make sure that the players are not playing with some symptoms.” Did Roy play that game? “Yes,” he said. “You know I would not miss a game in Montreal. Obviously, we won.”
Yes, it’s different now. When Bigras, 20, reported to team personnel in the wake of the Avalanche’s March 5 home game againstNashville that hewas having headaches and slightly blurred vision, hewas shut down. After missing three games, he rejoined his teammates at practice Monday andwas closer to returning to the lineup, perhaps for Wednesday’s game atVancouver.
“He’s going to have to pass one more test, and if it’s good, he’ll play the next game,” Roy said.
Said Bigras: “I’m feeling better. There’s still a couple of steps left in thewhole process. ... I just have to pass the tests and stuff. I’m not getting any symptoms right now. We’ll see how that goes and go from there.”
The odds of him playing Wednesday?
“It’s something you don’t want to mess with, your head, for sure, but I’m feeling pretty good out there, had a good day out there. It’s the first time skating and it felt good to get back on the ice.”
Bigras couldn’t pinpoint when he was injured.
“It was a pretty innocent play,” he said. “It wasn’t a huge hit or anything. Sometimes those things just happen, get you in the wrong spot. The important thing now is that I’m feeling better.”
Bigras played 11minutes against the Predators.
“I ended up finishing the game,” he said. “But it was something that I wasn’t exactly sure ( about); I’ve never had one before. So I’m not sure exactly how it felt like. But once I did bring it to them, they assessed it and it turned out to be one.”
Bigras, 20, has one goal and one assist in 23 games. ZachRedmond replaced him in the third pairing with Eric Gelinas.
Footnotes.
Roy said SemyonVarlamov will start in goal Wednesday at Vancouver and Friday at Calgary. Calvin Pickard will play Sunday at Edmonton. ... Defenseman Tyson Barrie didn’t practice Monday; Roy said he came out of theWinnipeg game with aminor hamstring injury. Roy also said Barrie’s absence was more about “maintenance” than an injury. ... TheAvalanche will practice again Tuesday at Family Sports before leaving for Vancouver.