In the early weeks of the offseason, Logan O’Connor was easing his way back after undergoing a second hip surgery in as many years, but his recovery has since stalled. The setback, however, is unrelated to his hip. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar remained tight-lipped regarding the new issue. Logan O'Connor appearing in an injured skate on September 2. O’CONNOR HAS SETBACK IN RECOVERY “He’s had a couple things pop up, like, not hip related,” Bednar told reporters earlier this week. “As he’s gotten a bigger workload, different things have sort of bothered him a little bit. Was making really good progress and looked like he’d probably beat [the projected] return date. But things have kind of slowed down for him a little bit as he’s working through other issues in his return to play. “It’s not his hip at all. That feels really good. He’s just got some other soft tissue issues he’s been working through that kind of has slowed his on-ice progression a little bit. Nothing too serious that we worry about but we’re just trying to get him back to as close to full strength as we can before getting him into games. AVALANCHE STILL THE BEST IN THE LEAGUE The Avalanche are atop the NHL with a record of 13-1-5 but are currently navigating a host of injuries. Valeri Nichushkin, who sustained a lower-body injury against the Anaheim Ducks on November 11, has returned to the ice in a red, non-contact jersey and remains on a week-to-week timeline. Joel Kiviranta, sidelined since October 16 with a lower-body injury, was originally projected to be out six to eight weeks. He is back skating in a non-contact sweater, which he is expected to wear for at least the next couple of weeks before being re-evaluated. As for the 29-year-old O’Connor, who signed a six-year, $15 million contract last season, the hip surgery he underwent in June typically requires five to six months of recovery. Reports in August suggested he was progressing ahead of schedule, raising hopes among Avalanche fans and coaches that he could return by early November. Now we just don't know. While the team certainly misses his trademark two-way game—his speed and agility make him one of Colorado’s premier penalty killers—the Avalanche have held up well in his absence. They enter Thursday night riding a six-game winning streak as they prepare to host J.T. Miller and the New York Rangers at Ball Arena. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. local time. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/3bdb1e5e-304e-4549-8033-4cc19f8384f9.jpeg] For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
