Music: {allcanada} Nothing but bad luck for Ballard

Keith Ballard (notes) easily swats away the lighthearted, locker-room arrows accusing him of faking sick.

A teammate slinging jibes about playing hooky aren't getting under his skin. He has already weathered an improbable string of snags that have made his first steps as a Canuck awkward ones.

He laughs, with everyone else, at the notion he'd now fake a fever. It was the last thing he needed.

The flu knocked Ballard out two days after he knocked down Evgeni Malkin (notes) with a beautiful open-ice hip check during his most reassuring game of the season. It was typical of his luck, or lack of it, this season.

"I don't think I've ever had it in my five years," Ballard said. "The timing wasn't great, but that's been part of it. I've hardly ever been hurt and all of a sudden, I get hurt. I've hardly ever been sick, and I get sick."

Ballard missed the last two games but is expected to be back in the lineup tonight at Rogers Arena against the Colorado Avalanche.

"It's a little adversity, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not that bad," he said. "It's a little unfortunate, a couple bumps in the road."

In a word, the last six months have been different. During his first five seasons in the NHL, Ballard played every game in four of them, averaging 21:40 in ice time overall. Since the spring, however, he's had hip surgery, a concussion, and the flu. He's been a healthy scratch in four games, played more than 16 minutes in two and has only spent five games in the lineup with Dan Hamhuis (notes), the Canucks other premium offseason blueline addition.

Hamhuis missed eight games of his own with a bruised foot he suffered Oct. 17. Even now he continues to manage the injury, playing through pain and discomfort.

Together in the summer, Ballard and Hamhuis promised to elevate a defence that looked impoverished against the Blackhawks to end last season.

When they were acquired, Hamhuis and Ballard were continually labelled durable. They had the potential to bring much more to the organization than an excellent record of health. Both are skilled, can move the puck, push offence and play the game at a high velocity. Hamhuis is the smoother, faster skater. Ballard is the grittier one; and the bigger hitter. They seemed an intriguing combination to add.

But the intrigue has been dulled. The excitement of adding two top-four defence-men, and $8.7 million in blueline salary, has been taken out at the knees by injuries and coach's decisions. The pair have combined for 20 games played, three points and a minus-4 rating. It's not all a fault of their own, but because of it, the defence has suffered.

The Canucks' blueline has been disjointed and mistake prone. During the past two weeks it hasn't looked any better than it did in May when Willie Mitchell (notes), and Alex Edler were injured while Sami Salo (notes), with his damaged testicle, was a shell of his former self.

Head coach Alain Vigneault has changed up his pairings regularly. Even with the team was winning, he broke up his best one, Christian Ehrhoff (notes) and Alex Edler. He made the unusual decision to sit Ballard in favour of Aaron Rome (notes), whose game tops out at average. By his own admission, Ballard was underachieving but, generally in any sport, playing while struggling is a basic right afforded veterans.

Vigneault suggested Tuesday he will now give the core defensive group opportunity to play together—and that includes Ballard.

"It's not just him, but I'd like our whole team to get together a little bit here," Vigneault said. "I'm hoping to put a couple of strings together of games where guys start to feel a little bit more comfortable with themselves."

How important a role Ballard will play continues to be a mystery. He's always been a defenceman who's played big minutes (20 or more). But in Vancouver, he's averaging 13:49. He's always been a defenceman who's contributed on the power play. But in Vancouver, he's been on the ice for 59 seconds with the man advantage.

"It's different," Ballard said. "It's not up to me how many minutes I should be playing. Ultimately, I haven't done enough to play more than 13, 14, 15 minutes a game. It's been a number of things factored in, but regardless of the factors, I'm a professional and I need to play better.

"We're 20 games in, and I need to play better. I need to play well when I'm in there."

No one has to worry about Ballard getting an enlarged sense of self-importance. He is harder on himself than any fan or member of the media. No one has to worry about him becoming unbearably selfish. He is a team guy to the core.

But maybe the Canucks should be concerned about his lack of confidence.

"I don't think you can win during an 82-game schedule and then the playoffs if you just ride four guys," Ballard said. "To be successful, you have to have depth.

"My role might be less minutes, and if that's what it is and I'm playing to my capabilities, that's OK.

"It's not the minutes I'm worried, about. I need to play to my capabilities."

The Canucks need that, too. Maybe more minutes will help get him there.