EDMONTON — Alex Burrows, is like that dog that has walked the same route for all his years.
Even when he takes a few weeks off, he knows exactly which way to turn when he gets back out there.
After missing the entire preseason and the first 10 games of the Vancouver Canucks regular season, recovering from shoulder surgery over the summer. Burrows returned Tuesday night in a 4-3 win at Edmonton, sidling up next to his old running mates Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
"You could see the twins were real happy to have him back. They had a lot of jump to their game," head coach Alain Vigneault said.
Likewise for Burrows, who took about two shifts to start causing havoc in front of the Oilers net, hunting for the kind of rebounds and loose pucks that he turned into a career high, 35 goals last year.
"I thought it would be better actually. I kept my shifts short, kept it simple," he said after a game in which he started strong but predictably faded as the evening wore on.
Burrows ended up with no shots, hits or points. He played 15:29 — the same 5-on-5 time as the Sedins, but without the power play duty.
What was the hardest part about playing catch-up, alongside a bunch of Canucks who are 11 games into their seasons?
"Just the game speed, reading the play and having my legs moving when I get the puck," he said. "I was sniffing a little bit (for loose pucks). There were a few I would have liked to end up on my stick, they might have gone in."
While the Sedins threw the puck around as if it were on a string in the first period, Burrows took defenders to the net, then opened up to bang a rebound or be there for a feed from one of the brothers.
"He plays really hard, and he’s been a great compliment for the Sedins twins," said Oilers defenceman Tom Gilbert, who has played his share of games against No. 14. "He’s a guy who’s going to come in, run you into the boards and get the puck. It’s a good line."
"Playing with those two guys, you just have to get open. But he’s got to see the ice well in order to play with those guys. They’ll get you the puck whenever."
Burrows appeared too preoccupied with his own game Tuesday, to spend much time on his other forte: getting the opponent off of theirs.
"He can gain some momentum by being a chippy player, talking after whistles and things like that," said Edmonton defenceman Ryan Whitney. "You have to play him hard whistle to whistle. The stuff after is kind of pointless with him."
But if you leave him alone too much, he’ll bury you with a goal or two.
"Well, he plays with the Sedins, so…" Whitney said. "As the ‘rat to play against,’ you’ve got to leave him alone. As a player though, he can be very effective."
As the Oilers notched their game up, Burrows seemed to become less of a factor. He averaged 5:10 of ice time per period.
"They won the second period," Vigneault said of Edmonton, which came back with three straight goals to tie the game at 3-3 in the final period. "They’re a good team and they’ve got a lot of skill. They got a bounce on their second goal, and they were comin’ after that."
