Kariya was bent over at times from a hard workout – his first full workout with his teammates – since two hip surgeries. He looked sluggish at first, but got better after he warmed up. And he was flying at times at the end.
Kariya, a North Vancouver native who last played Nov. 5 in Anaheim after getting two goals and 13 assists in 11 games, had surgery on his left hip January 5 and felt so good he went back and had the right hip done as well, is likely to play tonight. His surgeon was Dr. Marc Philippon, who you might recognize as the same physician who recently operated on the hip of New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez.
When he came off the ice, Kariya was asked if he'd be in the lineup to help the Blues who had only one goal in the first two games, said, "We'll see."
Not, "No way." Not, "Maybe."
So a question was posed to St. Louis coach Andy Murray: What does it say to you if Paul Kariya says, "We'll see."
The coach got a big smile on his face and didn't hesitate in saying, "If Paul tells me he can play ... he's in."
Kariya has been skating on his own while the Blues were in Vancouver for the first two games of the series.
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