Fourth line decisions; the goalie

DETROIT — Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said he knew what he was going to do with his fourth line for the opener with the Blackhawks, but also said he was going to hold off on it for another day before revealing it.

“I’ve decided. No, you know what. I’ve decided but I’m not going to tell you until (Wednesday),” he said. “Because I’ll wait and see what happens. We’ve got some guys bumped, so we’ll make that decision at our skate.”

Detroit’s fourth line in Game 7 against Anaheim was made up of Patrick Eaves, Mikael Samuelsson and Todd Bertuzzi. Samuelsson left practice early.

On Tuesday, Cory Emmerton, who was a healthy scratch Sunday, centered Bertuzzi and Eaves at practice.

Drew Miller could also be available.

Jimmy Howard left midway through practice, but is expected to start Game 1. He’s been bothered by a hamstring and has seen him practice minutes limited by the team.

Babcock sticks with same D for Game 7, but still undecided about fourth line

Wings coach Mike Babcock said Saturday that the same six defensemen will play in Game 7, but he hasn’t made a decision on his fourth line.

“The D is playing,” Babcock said. “We made mistakes on the back end, but (we’re using) the same D, I’m just thinking about what I’m going to do on my fourth line. I haven’t figured that out.

“We didn’t manage the puck good enough on the back (in Game 6),” Babcock continued. “We had too many turnovers, both from our forwards and our D that led to opportunities for them. I don’t mind when they generate them but I hate when we generate for them.”

Babcock could try to get Patrick Eaves back in the lineup for either Mikael Samuelsson or Todd Bertuzzi. If Eaves goes in it’ll probably be to replace Bertuzzi since Samuelsson gets time on the power play.

Babcock admitted he didn’t have a good reason why Eaves was a healthy scratch in Game 6.

Colaiacovo in for Lashoff; Eaves out, Cleary OK to play

DETROIT – Quick update from the Detroit Red Wings’ morning skate at Joe Louis Arena prior to Game 6 tonight against the Anaheim Ducks.

Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo will replace Brian Lashoff in the lineup and with Justin Abdelkader returning from suspension, forward Patrick Eaves will be a healthy scratch.

“We didn’t move the puck (in Game 5),” Wings coach Mike Babcock said about his decision to sit Lashoff. “We struggled, in particular that pair a lot that game, opening shift and a number of other shifts. We weren’t good enough so we’re making a change.”

Lashoff was paired with Jakub Kindl.

“You’re a pro, you’ve been practicing, here’s your opportunity, you can decide for yourself,” Babcock said. “If you’re mentally tough it shouldn’t be an issue.”

Colaiacovo was told he would make his playoff debut on the plane ride back from Anaheim on Thursday.

“I don’t know what the word is to use, I think excited is a small word,” Colaiacovo said. “It’s real gratifying obviously. This is the biggest reason why I wanted to come here, to play at this time of the season for this team. It’s been tough watching, but I think the team has done a great job in getting us to this point. We’ve got a real good group in here, a real resilient group. It’s taken a lot of patience and hard work for me to get this opportunity and I just want to make the most of it tonight. It’s a game that’s really important to us. It’s do or die and there’s no better feeling than playing playoff hockey.”

As far as Babcock’s decision to sit Eaves over Mikael Samuelsson or Todd Bertuzzi, that was much tougher.

“Real good question and I ask myself the same question,” Babcock said when asked why Eaves was sitting. “He played good, does what he’s supposed to, runs over people and a real competitive guy. But because I know more insider information that I’m not sharing with you, I have to have other guys to cover up for other people just in case they can’t survive. I did the same thing you just asked, it makes no sense for me.”

That player could be Daniel Cleary, who was checked from behind against the end boards by Daniel Winnik in Game 5.

“I feel good,” Cleary said. “It’s playoffs. I feel good. I was happy about that this morning.”

Cleary left the game on Wednesday in Anaheim with a shoulder injury, but did return for the start of the third.

“I didn’t see him at any point,” Cleary said of the incident. “It’s a dangerous play, what happened to me on the ice with my shoulder. Hockey’s a fast game, decisions are made quickly.
It was as bad as I anticipated. I was … it’s fine. I got a little bit of help from the doctors, was able to come back and I feel good today.”

Samuelsson, Bertuzzi filling in key roles after injury-riddled regular seasons

DETROIT – Between Mikael Samuelsson and Todd Bertuzzi, they combined to play 11 regular season games.

As the Detroit Red Wings head into Game 5 tonight in Anaheim, the two veteran forwards will look to build off their Game 4 performances.

“I don’t have any expectations,” Samuelsson said. “I took it as it came and went with it. I thought it was great, I thought it was fun. It’s a little different role for me, like go a little more to the net, stand there and battling a little bit, more than I’m used to. I played with two great players and it’s always fun.”

Samuelsson, who played just four games this regular season due to injury, started Game 3 on the Wings’ fourth line and moved up to the top line for Game 4 after Justin Abdelkader was handed a two-game suspension.

“As important as Abby is to our club, Sammy played with Pav and Z and had a good game,” forward Daniel Cleary said. “It’s not a rallying cry for the club but we understand the importance of him.”

Detroit coach Mike Babcock didn’t know if he’d stick with Samuelsson on a line with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk in Game 5.

“I liked everything about him except the net-front presence,” Babcock said of Samuelsson said. “He makes good plays, he’s big, he’s strong, he skates, but they need someone at the net. That’s not his nature, he’s never been that guy on any line, but if you’re going to play with those guys you have to be in front of the net.”

Bertuzzi is in a bit of an unfamiliar role, playing on the team’s fourth line with Cory Emmerton and Patrick Eaves.

“I had been out for three months so I kind of understand what it takes in order to come in,” Bertuzzi said. “The other lines have been pretty much playing pretty well so it’s just something you got to adapt to.

“You have to change your game,” Bertuzzi added. “It’s a little bit different. You can’t afford to make those high-risk plays in our end. You’ve got to keep it simple and go from there.”

Bertuzzi, who played seven games during the regular season, played Game 2 for Jordin Tootoo before going back to being a healthy scratch for Game 3. He got back in the lineup due to Abdelkader’s suspension.

“I felt better,” Bertuzzi said. “It’s slowly coming. It’s not easy coming in after three months out and playing in a playoff series. It took an adjustment but most important is the wins.”

Babcock was quite pleased with the fourth line’s performance in Game 4.

“I thought they were our third line,” Babcock said. “Just because you start the game one stop doesn’t mean you have to stay. They were better than the other line so they got to play more. I thought Bert was good, we played him with different people throughout and I thought he was real effective.”

If Wings lose Abdelkader to suspension they could easily turned into a one-line team

DETROIT – Things could go from bad to worse sometime Sunday afternoon for the Detroit Red Wings.

It will all depend how a hearing goes, if there is one, for forward Justin Abdelkader.

Abdelkader was given a five-minute charging penalty and a game misconduct for a hit on Anaheim defenseman Toni Lydman with just under five minutes left to play in the second period of Game 3 Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena.

If Abdelkader is suspended for any length of time it’ll throw the Wings’ forward lines in complete disarray. And you saw an example of it over the last part of the second and all of the third period.

“It’s not as good,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said when asked what happens with the team’s top line if Abdelkader isn’t on the ice. “We don’t have anyone with weight to play there. That’s the bottom line.”

The Wings tried a trio of players to play alongside Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg – Damien Brunner, Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson.

What they may have to do is bump Johan Franzen up there, but that won’t be Babcock’s first choice.

“Then we’re kind of a one line team,” Babcock said. “When you’re really deep and you lose people it’s no big deal. When you’re like us and not as deep it’s a hard thing to deal with.”

Detroit’s other options would be Mikael Samuelsson or Todd Bertuzzi, who was a healthy scratch after playing in Game 2.

“I think obviously Abby’s played real well for us,” Daniel Cleary said. “He’s an important part to our team, plays well with Pav and Z.”

Babcock doesn’t think the hit was illegal.

“He’s a physical guy that’s taking the body hard,” Babcock said. “His shoulder hit his shoulder and the kid went down hard and they called it a major. He hit him hard. He’s a big guy. He hit him hard.

“I’m not involved in the next part of the process,” Babcock added.

Wings coach Mike Babcock: “The guys that got us here are getting in Game 1.”

ROMULUS — Wings coach Mike Babcock said he’ll go with the same lineup for Game 1 that has won four straight to finish off the regular season.

“They’re not getting in,” Babcock said of the injured guys that are healthy enough to return to the lineup. “The guys that got us here are getting in Game 1 and we’ll adjust after Game 1. I already told them that they’re not in, get themselves ready and be there to support the guys and help the team. But for Game 1 those guys that got us here are getting a chance to play.”

Forwards Todd Bertuzzi and Mikael Samuelsson have been cleared to return to action.

Defensemen Carlo Colaiacovo, Ian White and Brian Lashoff will continue to be healthy scratches.

Forward Darren Helm is also on the trip, but has yet to be cleared to return.

Forward Drew Miller (broken hand) is also the trip.

Mursak clears waivers; heading to GR

DETROIT — Forward Jan Mursak cleared waivers on Saturday afternoon, and was subsequently assigned to Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.

The move was not completely unexpected, as Mursak had appeared in only two games this season, and had yet to record a point. Mursak, one of only two players from Slovenia to play in the NHL, originally was drafted by Detroit in 2006. He was placed on waivers last Friday, giving any other club the opportunity to claim him.

In 46 career games with the Red Wings, Mursak, 25, had recorded two goals and two assists.

Detroit now has 12 forwards on its active roster. Todd Bertuzzi, Mikael Samuelsson, Darren Helm and Johan Franzen remain sidelined with injuries.

Ins and outs; Quincey and Franzen out for Saturday

DETROIT — Defenseman Kyle Quincey won’t play Saturday, but isn’t expected to miss too much time with an injured left ankle.

“It’s day to day right now, but I’m hoping for the best,” Quincey said. “Pretty much just get it good enough, tape it up and get in the skate and go from there. The pain level is pretty high right now. Once that goes down it’s good to go.”

Forward Johan Franzen (hip flexor) is out Saturday and probably Sunday. He hopes to return Wednesday.

“It sucks being out, especially when we’re losing,” Franzen said. “It hasn’t been easy sitting on the side.”

Jakub Kindl will go back in for Kent Huskins on the blue line.

“We need a big game out of everyone,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said.

When asked if forward Patrick Eaves was in Babcock said, “I don’t know what I’m doing exactly.”

Defenseman Brendan Smith is also eyeing Wednesday as a possible return date.

“I haven’t done any contact or anything,” Smith said. “I have to have full mobility and strength.”

Mikael Samuelsson has begun to get frustrated after his latest setback, a broken left index finger.

“I want to play, that’s the most frustrating part,” Samuelsson said. “It shouldn’t really happen, but sometimes it does. It’s a bad break.”

Holland feels team and coaches doing a great job ‘battling and scuffling’

DETROIT – When Wings general manager Ken Holland was asked for his assessment of his hockey team one-third of the way into the season his answer was one that could have been expected.

“We haven’t played one game with our team,” Holland said during a phone interview. “We’re a work in progress, but we’ve got a lot of good going on.”

The Wings have yet to play with the lineup they had counted on in a week-long training camp when the lockout was settled.

Just 10 players have played in all of Detroit’s 16 games this season.

“I think our coaches and players are doing a great job of battling and scuffling,” Holland said. “We’re finding a way to stay afloat.”

Detroit leads the league with 101 man games lost due to injury.

The Wings were hit hardest early on the blue line, where they had to recall rookie Brian Lashoff once the season began and then sign free agent Kent Huskins when Carlo Colaiacovo went down.

And this came on top of an offseason that saw them lose Nicklas Lidstrom (retirement) and Brad Stuart (trade) and then ben unable to attract a high-end free agent blue liner to come in despite having a nice chunk of money under the salary cap.

Then the injuries up front began, most notable Darren Helm and Mikael Samuelsson, who have combined to appear in four games. Todd Bertuzzi and Johan Franzen are also on the shelf.

“We’re trying to get younger people experience,” Holland said. “With youth comes up and downs. This is the NHL. They’re not going to win at the same clip.

“We’re probably a couple of wins short of where we’d like to be but there’s some good stories going on,” Holland continued. “I think we’ll be a deeper team than we were a month ago.”

With the injuries some of the younger players in the Wings’ organization have begun to emerge, most notably Lashoff, Tomas Tatar and Petr Mrazek.

“At the end of the day, I think there’s some good things going on that will pay dividends down the road,” Holland sad. “We’ve just got to stay in this race.”

The team has been carried all season by Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.

“They’re two superstars who are keeping the team in the race,” Holland said. “People were saying they were declining, but they haven’t stopped and they have even gotten even better. They’re the real deal.”

Zetterberg leads the team with 16 assists and 21 points, while Datsyuk is tops in goals with eight and second in points with 18.

Damien Brunner, who the Wings’ found in Switzerland, also looks like he’s the real deal.

He’s third on the team in scoring and second with seven goals.

The bottom six forwards are also starting to heat up and Daniel Cleary is playing better.

After a lopsided loss in the season opener in St. Louis, the Wings began the do the right things.

But of late the wheels seem to coming off again and it’s happening in spurts.

“Anaheim scores two quick ones on us in the third period at home and then we fall asleep the first 15 minutes of the second period in Minnesota,” Holland said. “We’re doing a lot of good things, but we’ve beaten ourselves a lot.”

The other major disappointment this season has been the special teams.

The Wings’ power play ranks 25th in the league (13.5 percent), while the penalty kill ranks 24th (76.1 percent).

“I think the PK has been getting better, but the stats aren’t showing it,” Holland said. “But when you give up four power play goals in your first game it’s going to take at least 10 games to get the percentage back to where it should be.”

The Blues did just that in the opener on the Wings and also scored one time shorthanded.

“I think the penalty killing is getting more aggressive,” Holland said. “The power play is a work in progress. The power play hasn’t got us that timely goal, like when we had a four-minute advantage against Minnesota.

“Those two (power play) units haven’t produced the way we expected them to produce,” Holland continued. “You need to have good specialty teams to win consistently in the NHL.”

Detroit, which hasn’t missed the postseason since 1990, is currently in ninth place in the Western Conference.

The Wings, who are 0-2-2 in their last four games, embark on a three-game home stand beginning Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets before hosting Nashville (Saturday) and Vancouver (Sunday).

“We have a big home stand coming up,” Holland said. “Every two points is critical. We’ve got to get back on the winning ways.”

Six of Detroit’s next eight games are on home ice.

“We’d like to have a couple more wins, but given everything that’s transpired the last nine months, to expect more is to disrespect the rest of the league,” Holland said.

Samuelsson ready to go; Helm out first two games; MacDonald back at JLA

DETROIT – Quick update from Wings practice at Joe Louis Arena.

Mikael Samuelsson returned to practice after missing the last couple of days with a tender groin.

“It feels good,” Samuelsson said. “No feelings at all. Good first part of the day.”

Samuelsson said he could play Saturday in the Wings’ opener on the road in St. Louis.

“First it’s got to feel good on the ice,” Samuelsson said. “After that I don’t think I will have a problem. But the day after also is important, especially if you go twice here today. So far, so good.

“I’ve been on the ice for two months,” Samuelsson added. “Still, when you come here, you don’t want to miss anything. You want to be out there and do extra work. Is it frustrating? Maybe a little bit. You got to be smart about it as well.”

Darren Helm (back) didn’t skate and Wings coach Mike Babcock has ruled him out for the first two games of the season and quite possibly the home opener Tuesday against the Dallas Stars.

“He can touch his feet,” Babcock said.

Wings backup goalie Joey MacDonald was also back, but didn’t skate.

He’s still suffering from a bad back.

“I’ve still got my back problem still from last year,” MacDonald said. “I had an injection last week and things are going well. Maybe by next week I start skating and get going back at it again. It’s just one of those things that got good probably by July and just acted up with the same kind of thing. It’s frustrating, but we’re back playing, everyone’s excited and it just gives you a little extra motivation.”

MacDonald lost his backup job to Jimmy Howard when the team signed Jonas Gustavsson this offseason.

“It’s just like every other year,” MacDonald said. “Come in and battle. Last year was a great year for me. I was right up there. I got a chance play during the run here. I don’t think I could have done any better as a goalie coming in. My main goal is to get back, get healthy. It’s going to be a quick season, 48 games, not a lot of time off. There’s going to be injuries. Right now it’s getting may cardo going and once I get out on the ice it’s not going to take long for Jimmy B and Oz to get me back.”