Kohn Enjoys His Return

Duck right wing Ladislav Kohn played his first game Friday against the Colorado Avalanche since straining his groin Nov. 26.

Kohn skated on the Ducks’ fourth line, joining center Ted Donato and enforcer Stu Grimson and saw only limited duty.

However, he was pleased simply to be playing again after a lengthy layoff.

“The first couple of days after the injury I was making fast progress,” said Kohn, who had one goal and seven points in 24 games going into Friday. “Then every day was like a micro step.”

The breakthrough happened this week, when Kohn began practicing with teammates for the first time since he was injured during the Ducks’ 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars.

“Hartsy told the assistants to put me through a tough skate [in Thursday’s practice] to see how it would hold up,” Kohn said, referring to Coach Craig Hartsburg.

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Kohn said he learned one valuable lesson from watching the Ducks from the press box in the last few weeks.

“When we play intense and hit, we play our best,” he said. “Other teams expect a fast game from us, but when we stick to our grinding game plan we’re going to win.”

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The Ducks hope defenseman Pavel Trnka will be fit to skate today in practice. Trnka suffered a groin strain in the Ducks’ 2-2 tie Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks.

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Friday’s game was Grimson’s 600th in the NHL.