Alex Burrows returns to Canadian lineup for game against Finland
Posted May 11, 2012 8:06 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Alex Burrows will be back in the lineup when Canada faces host Finland at the IIHF World Hockey Championship on Friday.
The winger suffered a concussion in the tournament opener last week after colliding with two Slovak players.
“He’s playing tonight,” Canadian coach Brent Sutter said after Friday’s morning skate. “Every day has been really good for him since the initial play. Since then he’s been good.”
Burrows didn’t report any post-concussion symptoms after being left wobbly by the incident and has been eased back into action. He practised Tuesday in a no-contract sweater and was put through an intense body checking session on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old is representing Canada for the first time in an international hockey event and indicated earlier in the week he was anxious to return to the lineup.
Sutter will also be faced with another lineup change as defenceman Kris Russell officially joined the team in Helsinki on Thursday and was expected to suit up Friday. He would take the place of junior prospect Ryan Murray.
The team is expected to dress 13 forwards and seven defencemen, which means some players will see less ice time than they are used to.
“We’ll still roll over four lines and use our defence as needed,” said Sutter. “That’s part of it when you come over here. You’ve got to understand that roles change here and that’s just the way it is.
“Every guy here has been great, they’ve all been fantastic with all of it. They’ve handled it all really well.”
Forward Andrew Ladd sat out Friday’s morning skate, but Sutter indicated it was just for maintenance. He was expected to play against the Finns.
Cam Ward was scheduled to get the start in goal against Finland’s Kari Lehtonen.
