Next Step for Kariya in Recovery From Broken Foot Will Be Onto Ice

Duck captain Paul Kariya ditched his crutches last week. The protective “moon boot” went a few days ago.

“It’s in the trash can,” Kariya joked. “It’s being lit right now.”

The next step, literally, is skating Tuesday for the first time since he suffered a broken bone in his right foot Dec. 17 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

If all goes well, Kariya expects to spend a couple of days practicing with his teammates when they return from a three-game trip next week. He doubts he will play next Friday against the Phoenix Coyotes. The Ducks’ game Jan. 21 against the Colorado Avalanche figures to be a better bet for his return.

“We’ll see how I feel Tuesday and Wednesday,” Kariya said. “It’s hard to say. Physically, each day has been a huge improvement.”

Kariya scoffed when a reporter wondered if he would be fit to play in the All-Star game Feb. 4 at Denver. Kariya is expected to be named a starting winger for the North American team today, and he intends to play.

Kariya stayed fit by riding a stationary bicycle and lifting weights during his absence, which stretched to 10 games when he missed Friday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.

“It’s not like I’m coming back from a three-year absence,” he said. “It’s not like I forgot how to play.”

Besides, this is Kariya’s third broken foot in three seasons, so he’s grown accustomed to making comebacks. Each break has happened when he’s blocked an opponent’s shot.

*

Kariya has kept a close watch on the Ducks during his layoff and it paid off for right wing Teemu Selanne. Kariya had a bit of advice for Selanne, who was mired in a career-high 14-game goal drought.

“I told him he’s a scorer and he’s got to trust himself,” Kariya said. “He scores so many of his goals from about five feet away from the net on the left side. He was playing on the perimeter. He was playing like a playmaker. I told him, ‘Go to the net. Pass and go to the net. Shoot and go to the net. After everything you do, go to the net.’

“He’s an unbelievable playmaker, but this club needs him to score goals. Teemu needs to be a scorer right now. He needs to be in the right position to score goals.”

Selanne had four goals and one assist in his last three games before Friday’s game against the Sabres.

“It’s a good sign,” Kariya said of Selanne’s recent production. “He’s going to the right spots [for scoring chances]. No one can finish like he can.”

*

Center Andy McDonald suffered a mild concussion when he was hit along the boards during the Ducks’ 4-2 loss Wednesday to the St. Louis Blues. McDonald did not play Friday and his status for upcoming games at Carolina, Pittsburgh and Atlanta is uncertain.

To bolster the team’s forward ranks, Coach Guy Charron moved defenseman Mike Crowley up front. Crowley played forward occasionally while at the University of Minnesota and in the minors, but Friday marked his NHL debut. He played on the fourth line, joining center Marc Chouinard and winger Jim Cummins.

“We’re going to experiment with that a little bit and see how it goes,” Charron said. “He hasn’t played for a few games. I don’t like to keep a guy out for too long. This [was] as good a night as any to get him in there.”

*

Left wing Mike Leclerc, sidelined for five games because of a sore right knee, has been told to take a week off before trying to skate again. If that doesn’t help his knee, arthroscopic surgery is a possibility.