"Milan Hejduk, a late scratch against Edmonton on Sunday with a back problem, didn't practice Tuesday with the Avalanche at the Family Sports Center. But coach Joe Sacco said that primarily was precautionary and he was "hopeful" Hejduk would be able to play against the Blackhawks tonight in Chicago.

"He came in this morning, and he was feeling much better than before the game against Edmonton," Sacco said after practice, which followed Monday's day off for the team. "We decided to keep him off (Tuesday)."

Also, winger Darcy Tucker and defenseman Tom Preissing went through the full practice and are at least possibilities to play against the Blackhawks.

Tucker immediately lost consciousness, suffered a concussion and

was wheeled off on a gurney after taking a scary hit from Carolina's Tuomo Ruutu on Oct. 23. Tucker hasn't played since.

Preissing, 29, a Chicago-area native who starred at Colorado College, underwent knee surgery in September and has yet to play a game for the Avalanche after joining the team from the Los Angeles Kings in the Ryan Smyth trade in the offseason.

Sacco said of Tucker, "If everything remains the same, he'll be in the lineup."

Tucker skated on a line with Matt Duchene and Marek Svatos in practice.

"I'm looking forward to getting back out there in a game situation," said Tucker, who was off to a good start this season with four goals and two assists in 10 games before his injury.

Ruutu drew a three-game suspension from the NHL, but Tucker - who has been involved in his share of controversial hits in this career - said of the hit: "I'd rather not get into the bad part of it. Things in the game happen. It's a fast game, a high-pace game, and it happened. My No. 1 goal from the time it happened until now was to get back on the ice as quick as I could. For me, it was a scary moment for my family and my friends.""