Colorado Avalanche fans aren't likely to shed any tears to learn was troubled by lower back spasms during training camp and doesn't expect to receive a positive reception when the Vancouver Canucks go on the road this season.

Wednesday at General Motors Place, Bertuzzi played his first regular-season game since his sucker- punch attack against former Avalanche forward in March 2004.

"Am I going to get it? Absolutely, I'm going to get it," Bertuzzi told Vancouver reporters. "Do I expect it? Whatever. You know what, I go about my business."

Then again, the greeting he receives from fans in most NHL cities should sound like a lovefest compared with what it will be like when the Canucks visit the Pepsi Center for a two-game series Oct. 27 and Oct. 29.

"If people want to go ahead and stand up and do what they do, they pay for their tickets to come to the rink," Bertuzzi said. "So be it. I'll deal with it and contribute the way I know how, and that's on the ice."

"That's when I hope he understands that he can really lean on us and we'll be there for him. On the road, we're a so-called family and he knows he's got a lot of support and it shouldn't be a big issue."

There had been some talk in Vancouver that Bertuzzi might not play as aggressively as he did previously in the wake of the attack, his 17-month NHL suspension and Moore's pending civil suit. League commissioner , when he reinstated Bertuzzi in August, said the player would be "held strictly accountable to a higher standard" than others for his on-ice conduct.

While skating on the Canucks' top line Wednesday with Morrison and , Bertuzzi stayed out of the penalty box but recorded two shots on goal, one assist and five official hits in 17 minutes, 42 seconds of ice time in a 3-2 victory against Phoenix.

"I think he's going to be just as he was before in front of the net and with the puck around the net," Canucks coach said. "Todd has had some very, very big hits in his career, but his game is more about what he does in front of the net, what he does around the net, what he does in the scoring area and what he does to get into those areas."

This isn't how the Atlanta Thrashers planned to begin the season, with star forward in the team's media guide but not on the ice and hot shot rookie goalie unable to play more than one period in the opener after suffering a groin injury.

Kovalchuk, who scored 41 goals in 2003-04, has yet to sign a new contract and could end up playing in Russia. Thrashers general manager spoke this week with Kovalchuk's agent, , but nothing was settled.

The Thrashers could have used the big wing Wednesday when they went 0-for-6 on power plays in a 2-0 loss against Florida; included was a two-man advantage for a full 2 minutes.

Kovalchuk was in New York at the time, meeting his girlfriend and their 6-day-old daughter. Waddell isn't ruling out trying to arrange a meeting with Kovalchuk this weekend.

Lehtonen, meanwhile, aggravated a groin strain in the first period and was placed on the injured reserve Thursday, which will keep him out of the Thrashers lineup for at least seven days. Lehtonen finished the period but told coach he couldn't continue. played the rest of the game and gave up both goals.

, who plays goalie for the Phoenix Coyotes, says it was a mistake to leave Toronto three years ago to sign a three-year, $24 million contract with Detroit.

"In hindsight, it would have been better for me if I had stayed in Toronto," he told Torstar News Service. "As a friend of mine in business says, sometimes your worst decisions work out the best and sometimes your best turn out to be your worst."

Hasek played in only 14 games because of a groin injury, but Joseph spent a brief time in the minors before coming back and playing in 31 games. Now 38, Joseph signed with the Coyotes this summer for $900,000 annually after becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Avalanche defenseman maintains an off-season home in Manhattan Beach, Calif., where he enjoys playing beach volleyball and surfing. He and friends of Boston and of Phoenix took a surfing trip this summer to Mexico, hitting the waves in Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas.

While goalie was surrendering five goals on 24 shots in his Chicago debut after leaving Tampa Bay to sign a four-year, $27 million contract with the Blackhawks, Denver's stopped 24 of 26 shots in the Lightning's opening-night victory against Carolina. "Nik is a tremendous goalie and I'd like to have the same success he had," Grahame, a former Overland High School athlete, told the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times. "But I'd like to do it my way and put my stamp on it. The success is the pressure, not what Nik was."

Former Avalanche forward has signed to play with the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League. Keane, 38, wanted to latch on with an NHL team but didn't find any takers. A Winnipeg native, Keane won Stanley Cups with Montreal in 1993, the Avalanche in 1996 and Dallas in 1999.

Minnesota scored as many as six goals 12 times in its previous 328 regular-season games before accomplishing the feat against defending Western Conference champion Calgary on Wednesday night.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain will miss four to six weeks because of a fractured lower orbital bone. He was struck by a deflected puck Wednesday against Ottawa. If only Sundin had been wearing a visor. "It's one of those sick feelings when you see one of your friends down on the ice and bleeding," teammate said.

The Colorado Avalanche has posted a .625 winning percentage since its first season in Denver, in 1995-96, the sixth-highest percentage among 122 teams in the four major professional sports.

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