When he last played, the Devils still had Andrei Zyuzin and Mike Danton. Three months later, Steve Guolla was making his comeback from disc surgery last night, and he noticed one thing hadn’t changed.
“I was playing in October, and we were going well then, too. We were 6-1 in the first seven,” said Guolla, the 29-year-old center who last played Nov. 5.
Against Atlanta at the Meadowlands last night, Guolla returned to a team that had not lost in regulation, meaning it had not failed to notch at least a point, in 14 straight games, gaining 26-of-28 to move into the thick of the race for the Presidents’ Trophy. They were also trying to set a team-record home winning streak, victorious in their previous eight at the Meadowlands.
Besides Zyuzin and Danton, the Devils were also without Sergei Brylin, who will miss 2-3 months with a broken right wrist suffered Wednesday. Mike Rupp, Jiri Bicek and Christian Berglund were not on the roster when Guolla last played.
“That’s something, that a team can lose some players and get new players and continue to win,” Guolla said. “Even during this streak, the team has changed players and even changed lines and continued winning.”
Rupp was still idled by the flu last night, giving Guolla his return from the Nov. 27 back surgery that shaved a bulging disc in his lower back. He played two AHL games last week to prepare for his return to the Devils, and was to play his 200th NHL game last night.
“I’m excited, very excited,” Guolla said. “I’ve done all the preparation necessary, and everything’s good to go.”
Guolla limped through training camp with what the Devils first called a hamstring injury. He battled Danton for ice time, making his season debut on the night Danton was first scratched this season in Carolina. Danton complained at sitting out that night, and Lou Lamoriello sent him home from the road trip for the first time this season.
Guolla played five straight, sat out once game, and returned for one final try Nov. 5.
“It was just a disc pressing on the nerve, but once we got that taken off, I had to build the muscles back up,” Guolla said.