"The frustration of rehab and watching teammates from the sidelines is over for Alex Burrows.

Now comes that other kind of frustration - the hands a nano-second slower than he's used to, the lungs not quite as large, the legs a tad shakier than memory serves.

"I'm feeling better, that's a positive," Burrows said the morning after playing his third game since returning from shoulder surgery. "The legs and the cardio are getting better, and I hope my game speed is improving, too."

What Burrows refers to as game speed is hard to over-emphasize and it has nothing to do with threatening Mason Raymond's prominence in the skills competition.

Unless you've had seats behind the glass, you can't really appreciate the split-seconds players have to make decisions with the puck.

Watching a game on TV or high up in the press box turns the action into a game of Battleships, by comparison.

"I hadn't played in so long [May 11], when you get the puck it's pretty fast out there when you're not used to it," said Burrows, 0-0-0 and plus-1 in his three games back, while Alain Vigneault steadily increases his ice time. "It's just going to take a few games.

"I know what it takes and I'm confident I'm going to be able to turn it around."

Burrows played well his first game back, creating space to create scoring chances."