Hossa left Wednesday's game against St. Louis after being hit by Brad Winchester. He played only six minutes, 17 seconds.

"My whole [right] side through the neck kind of stiffened up," Hossa said Friday after the team's morning skate. "I finished the first period, but I just felt I wasn't myself and felt it was getting worse."

Hossa said his neck muscle was "pulled." He will undergo some treatment before playing the Avs and take part in the warmups. As far as Winchester's hit, Hossa said "a couple of guys saw it and they told me it was a little bit late."

Hossa's head did strike the boards during the hit. Defenseman Brent Seabrook went after Winchester immediately afterward.

"Good thing I was a little further from the boards," Hossa said. "So the hit wasn't as strong on the head. That's a good thing."

Hossa had surgery on his right shoulder before the season, but he said he wasn't worried about re-injuring it.

"The shoulder was fine," he said. "It just felt like the [neck] muscles stiffened up on me."

If Hossa doesn't play, Bryan Bickell, a recent call-up from Rockford, will take his place. Tomas Kopecky will return to the lineup after missing last game with an "upper-body" injury.

Troy Brouwer did not travel with the team to Denver. He is still tending to family matters.