Gagne

Gagne said he has felt much better since Thanksgiving when he went on medication that he said relieved the pressure he had been feeling in his head after strenuous workouts. Head athletic training Tommy Mulligan said the medication is to relief nerve inflammation. "The last five days have been really good," Gagne said. "It's a good sign. I'm looking forward to coming back. There's still a lot of hockey left in the season, and I'm looking forward to coming back and playing my way back to where I can be." Said Boucher: "I just want him to feel he's coming back to where he makes the decision, not us." ... Interestingly, Gagne again said his problems began with a preseason hit in Calgary by Flames defenseman Mark Giordano. Still, he said, looking back, he would not change anything in how he handled the situation by continuing to play. He also said knowing he was being closely watched because of his previous injury history was not a factor in wanting to stay on the ice. "Not really," said Gagne, who finally sat out after an Oct. 21 hit by the Islanders' Michael Grabner. "It's easy now because you might think it might be the case. But I was okay to play. It's early in the season. You battle through a lot of things."