Alfredsson makes triumphant return for Senators

Oct 18, 2008 - 3:24 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Daniel Alfredsson returned to action sooner than the Ottawa Senators expected. The club certainly is glad he did.

Just one week after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, Alfredsson was back in the lineup Friday when the Senators skated to a 6-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes.

The captain, who was expected to miss two weeks after having a bone chip removed from his right knee, immediately made his presence felt, picking up two assists in the first period. The first assist, which came on a goal by Jason Spezza, was his 850th career point.

"It felt good," Alfredsson said of his knee. "I didn't really feel anything at all, actually. It was nice.

"I didn't know what to expect. I just tried to take a few days off after I had the surgery and then see just how much I could push it each day. If it doesn't get any worse the next day, you push it a little bit further. I was able to get skating pretty quickly, which is nice, and obviously, I am very happy I could play tonight."

Spezza and Senators coach Craig Hartsburg also were happy.

"Alfie played great," Spezza said. "He's always really smart out there. It'll take him a couple of days to get his jump back, but as for decision-making, he's always on cue, and it's good to have him back."

"I would have never thought he would be back that soon, but when they saw that there was no swelling, they knew there was a good chance (his recovery time) wasn't going to be very long," Hartsburg said. "No surgery is minor, but there wasn't a lot there, so in hindsight, I can see how he was able to get back so quickly. But you've got to hand it to him - most guys would be out longer."

Phoenix's Olli Jokinen claimed he was not shocked to see Alfredsson on the ice.

"There's a reason why he's a captain and a top player in this league, and he carries a lot of load on this team," said Jokinen, the former captain of the Florida Panthers. "He leads by example. Maybe some guys would stay out for a couple of weeks, but not him.

"But that's the way he is. He's usually one of the hardest-working guys out there, and you knew he'd be back as soon as possible. It didn't surprise me."

The 35-year-old Alfredsson, who notched a pair of assists during Ottawa's two-game series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Stockholm, Sweden as part of NHL Premiere 2008, missed just one contest following his surgery - a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings last Saturday. And he fully expects to participate in the Senators' contest against the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

"I felt really good today, and we won't skate tomorrow, so I'll have a bit of rest before I'm ready to go tomorrow night," Alfredsson said. "I'll definitely be able to play."

A five-time All-Star who won the Calder Trophy in 1996, Alfredsson reached the 40-goal plateau for the second time in his 12-year career last season. The 5-11, 205-pound Swede has collected 331 tallies and 520 assists in 856 career games, all with the Senators.