Renney studied up over All-Star break

--While most of his players jetted off to tropical vacations during the All-Star break, coach Tom Renney didn't feel it would be right to take a holiday. So he spent most of the week breaking down film in the video room.

"Watched our games, watched the front end of our season, what we were doing well," he said. "Watched our special teams. Watched other teams.

"I was down the hallway during most of the break. Where else should I be when we're in 29th place?"

--Rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, out a month with a shoulder injury, is very close to making his return. He wants to be in by the end of the week, but the team is being very careful.

"He wants to play on Thursday. I don't think that's realistic," Renney said. "We're really close to a full-contact practice. If it's not Wednesday, it'll be shortly after that."

The sooner, the better as far as the kid is concerned.

"I want to get some strength back into it, but for the most part it's feeling really good," he said. "My shot is feeling pretty good; I just have to get a little stronger on that, too, but it is feeling a little better.

"The sooner for me, the better. I definitely want to get back out there."

QUOTE TO NOTE
"You lose tons of guys to injury and it's tough on the team. You've got guys playing in roles they don't normally play. At one point I was scared I would have to go out there for the power play." -- defenseman Theo Peckham.

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