Keith Ballard was playing left wing at practice on Friday at Rogers Arena, but the Canucks are hoping the defenceman doesn't have to play there on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Colorado Avalanche in Denver.

With just 11 healthy forwards due to the absence of ailing Chris Higgins, head coach Alain Vigneault said the club is trying to get minor-league winger Byron Bitz into Denver to fill that gap — but severe winter weather around the Colorado city is making that problematic.

“[Higgins] is not travelling today with the team,” said Vigneault. “He's still feeling under the weather so we're going to keep him behind. When he feels better, we're going to have him join the team.”

Red flags flew before Thursday's game with the Red Wings when Higgins was an unexpected no-show in the pre-game warm-up. The team said he was ill, but had not suffered a third occurrence of the staph infections that caused his foot and then hand to swell dramatically on separate occasions in early and late December.

“Our doctors feel that the antibiotics he's been taking are affecting his immune system a little bit, so it might be easier for him to catch the flu bug from someone else right now,” said Vigneault.

In the meantime, Ballard is Plan B.

“Bally's been harassing me lately, saying he's a great left winger, so I tried him today at practice,” said Vigneault. “I thought he looked all right. I think he's played there in minor hockey. We'll see what happens.”

Ballard said he's played forward at times in the NHL and did so as well in minor hockey.

“Chip it in, get some forechecks, bump into some guys,” said Ballard. “I played a couple games there in Phoenix my first year when we had some injuries. I'm perfectly fine with it. Who knows, maybe I'll get a couple goals and become a winger.”

At practice Friday, Ballard was playing left wing on the third line with Cody Hodgson and Jannik Hansen — taking the spot of Mason Raymond, who was moved up to the second line to fill in for Higgins.

Otherwise, the Sedins were back together as expected with Alex Burrows, after Vigneault split them up and made wholesale changes to start the third period on Thursday. The other lines went back to where they were to start Thursday's game.

Bitz, a free agent signing who's undergone four surgeries to his hip/abdominal area in the past year, will likely play on the fourth line, so further juggling will be required if he's able to get to Denver for Saturday's afternoon game.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Bitz, who doesn't require re-entry waivers, has just returned to the AHL Chicago Wolves lineup after a long and frustrating rehab and has 1-2-3 in 10 games. He is on a two-way contract that pays him $700,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the minors.

jjamieson@theprovince.com