Basha played on the left side of the Tigers’ second line, beside Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Cayden Lindstrom at centre and Florida Panthers prospect Hunter St. Martin on the right wing. (Lindstrom was playing his first game in 13 months, so St. Martin was entrusted with helping the returning duo ease back into WHL playoff hockey.) Basha had his goal and a plus-1 rating to show for his effort and was named the game’s first star.

The trio ended up getting secondary ice-time in the win, as Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins leaned heavily on his top line of Gavin McKenna, Ozzy Wiesblatt and Minnesota Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie. Basha’s line played about as much as the Tigers’ third line, which make sense give the circumstances.

For Basha, it represented a return to action for the first time since Dec. 28 following surgery to deal with an ankle injury. When Basha’s surgery was announced, there was chatter in hockey circles that maybe he’d be back if the Tigers went on a lengthy playoff run, but also a healthy dose of skepticism – a common line of thinking was that if his injury was bad enough that it needed surgery, it would be a big ask to expect him back this season.

Well, it sure seems like Basha set his mind on being back at some point during the post-season.

“When we had the surgery, it was just be ready for dev camp,” said Basha to the assembled media after morning skate on Friday. “And, to be honest, that probably wasn’t going to work for me. Like I said before, we kind of knew we were going to get to this point. And, I told them right away, I said I’m really going to do anything I can to just be where I’m standing right now. So it took a lot. It was certainly a grind and just full days of rehab for the past few months. But it paid off. And so just really happy to be here.”

Did Basha look like his old self against Spokane in Game 1? Not entirely. Did he look like somebody that hadn’t played a game of high-level hockey in over four months? Also no, and that’s probably a good sign for Basha and the Tigers going forward. Basha looked like he was trying to get his rhythm back after a long layoff, but he also made some nice plays during the game – including the goal.

Game 2 of the WHL Championship series goes Sunday night in Medicine Hat, with the broadcast starting at 7 p.m. MT on TSN. We’ll see if Basha can build off his Game 1 performance.