Chistov Is Back in as Lupul Sits

It was six degrees of somber in a couple of pockets of the Mighty Duck dressing room Friday after the morning skate.

Rookie forward Joffrey Lupul was down. So was second-year forward Stanislav Chistov.

The difference, though, was that they were going past each other, in a figurative sense. Chistov, after a one-game exile as a healthy scratch, was back in the lineup against Nashville. Lupul, after what was deemed an insufficient showing Wednesday in Dallas, was a healthy scratch for the second time this season.

“He is back in because he’s getting an opportunity,” Duck Coach Mike Babcock said of Chistov. “The reality is we think he dropped the ball here a little bit, and sometimes you need a reminder.

“This is a reminder for him that the game is based on work ethic first.”

One thing in Chistov’s favor is that he has not made excuses.

“I’ve got to score goals,” he said. “Twenty games [actually, 18 before Friday], no goals, it’s not good. If you score, you feel better, you play better, more confidence.”

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Injured defenseman Kurt Sauer is inching back. He has sat out the last five games with an injured left ankle.

He said he hasn’t really pushed it with contact in practice and hopes to return Wednesday against New Jersey.