Lubomir Visnovsky was skating and battling as hard as anyone else during an impromptu mini camp on the weekend.
That was good news to the Edmonton Oilers.
Having twisted his ankle in a New Year's Eve loss to the Calgary Flames, the mobile defenceman is ready to return to the lineup.
"I feel really good, really well," Visnovsky said.
TIME TO RECOVER
"The coaches gave me time to recover; they didn't put any pressure on me and now my ankle is OK.
"I'm skating, and every practice it's feeling better and better."
As Edmonton's most offensive defenceman this season, getting Visnovsky back in the lineup is key in order to try to reverse the team's fortunes in the second half of the season.
In 39 games, the Slovakian native, who will represent his country at the upcoming Winter Olympics, has eight goals and 18 assists.
Visnovsky will be a welcome addition to the lineup when the Oilers host the Nashville Predators tomorrow night at Rexall Place.
He hopes it will mark a fresh start for the club.
"We've been able to put in new systems and better systems during this mini camp," Visnovsky said.
"Hopefully, it'll be like a new season, because the last season was very bad.
"We're all very mad how the first 44 games of the season have gone.
'VERY MAD'
"The media is mad, the players are mad, the coaches are mad and the fans are very mad.
"They're not very happy with the situation, but we have to try to stay positive in the dressing room and try to turn the situation around."
