ANAHEIM, Calif. -- There was a familiar face working out with the Calgary Flames Saturday afternoon as they prepared to try and even up their Western Conference semifinals series with the Anaheim Ducks -- captain Mark Giordano.
The team's best player and inspirational leader has not played since Feb. 25, when he suffered a torn biceps and was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Flames coach Bob Hartley said Saturday that there’s nothing to suggest the initial timeline needs to be altered and that having Giordano practice with his teammates and take limited contact was "just a normal step of his rehab."
Still, Giordano’s work on the ice, including taking line rushes and doing some limited battle drills, could hardly be seen as anything other than good news for a Flames team that has continued to surprise in their captain’s absence.
"It feels great sort of getting out there and getting that timing and speed down with the main guys. Happy that I think maybe another little step getting closer," Giordano told reporters after practice.
"I think at times it gets frustrating, but as you go through it and you get closer and closer to the end, it’s a lot better for sure. I think being out there with the guys was a lot of fun for me. It’s my first time in a long time and just being able to participate in some drills like I did today was nice."
As for whether Giordano thought he was ahead of schedule -- doctors initially cited a four- to five-month window for recovering from the biceps tendon injury, which required surgery to repair -- he didn’t offer any suggestion of a miracle return to the Flames' lineup.
"I don’t know," he said. "I think overall, rehab’s gone really well so far. You can’t really put a timeline on it, you’ve got to see how you function out there and how you feel. But so far everything’s gone really smoothly. So hopefully it keeps going that way.
"We haven’t really talked about putting a date on it. It’s going to be a lot more of this stuff and ramping it up more before I can even think of playing."