Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera skated for the first time on Friday since undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL sustained late in May during the playoffs, notes Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. The blueliner says that his recovery is on schedule but given the varying timelines for players coming back from this surgery, there remains no firm timeframe for his return. At the time of the operation, the team said he’d be out between six and nine months; the six-month mark is still a couple of weeks away (November 18th). Sekera estimates that he won’t be cleared for contact for another two weeks so it’s unlikely that he will get the green light to return until late this month at the earliest.
Other notes from the Pacific:
- The Canucks announced the recall of goaltender Thatcher Demko from Utica of the AHL. This will be his second stint with the team so far this season although he did not get into a game when he was up last month. He will be on standby to take the place of Anders Nilsson whose wife is set to give birth shortly. The 21-year-old Demko is off to a strong start in the minors this season with a 1.85 GAA and a .939 SV% through seven AHL appearances this season; those numbers rank fourth and second respectively league-wide among qualifying netminders.
- Ducks winger Andrew Cogliano is set to become only the fourth player in NHL history to play in 800 straight games when he suits up tonight against San Jose, notes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. He will become only the second player to do so in the first 800 games of his career. The record is held by Doug Jarvis at 964, meaning that if he can stay healthy, Cogliano should have a chance at beating the record in a couple of years.