On the results of his doctors appointment:
Good. Nothing’s changed. Just going to get a good week of practice here, that’s for sure. See how everything goes.

On people saying Friday may be the day he makes his return:
I guess they know more than I do, because I haven’t really thought about that. I’ve thought more about just getting through this week. That’s a possibility, just like another however many games left there are. Their guess is as good as mine.

On if he would like it to be this Friday:
I’d love it to be, but I would have loved it to be on the West Coast trip too. I didn’t play there. So there’s a lot of different guesses, but like I said, everyone else’s guesses are as good as mine.

On the next step:
I think I just tell them how I feel. That’s usually how it goes, giving feedback and let them know how I’m feeling. They usually have tests or ways of evaluating. They use that too. It’s kind of a combination of what I’m telling them and their expert opinion.

On possibly playing during this last West Coast trip:
I wanted it to be before that, too. Not any more than the other games played this year.

On the nature of his doctors appointment:
Just to make sure we got the appointment in. These next few days we’ve got team building and stuff like that. We’re going to be busy. There’s no point in staying out there for a morning skate when I can get in and get an appointment and get some good days in here.

On ramping up contact:
We’ve got a few practices, so I think whether I was trying to get contact in or not, I think this was a good week of practice to get some intense practices in and make the most of it. We don’t get stretches like this too often. So yeah, it’s a good time to really go hard and see how things go.

On returning on 11-11-11:
I’m superstitious, but I wouldn’t let that affect whether I came back that night or not. When I’m ready, I’ll be back as soon as I can – no matter what the date is.