Unless there’s a surprise setback before game time, Danny DeKeyser (foot ligaments) will return from the injured list and make his regular-season debut for the Detroit Red Wings Saturday as they face the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
“Well, I'm excited,… DeKeyser said. “It's been a little bit since I played a game, it's been a few weeks, so I'm chomping at the bit to get back out there and help the team.
“I’m itching to get back in there.…
Brendan Smith will come out of the lineup to make room for DeKeyser, who will pair with Mike Green, while Kyle Quincey drops into a pairing with Jakub Kindl.
“I think once we're both healthy and moving out there, I think we'll be a pretty good D pairing together,… DeKeyser said. “We haven't played much together yet, a little bit in training camp and then to start the pre-season but then he went down and then came back, then I went down.
“We'll just have to get that chemistry as the game goes on.…
Knowing what he knows about Green’s talent and offensive upside, DeKeyser is thrilled to be skating alongside him.
“I've seen him play many times before,… DeKeyser said. “He moves the puck really well, he's a great skater. It seems like he's a guy who's easy to play with out there so for me, it's just about moving the puck and getting him the puck and just making easy plays out there.…
DeKeyser also realizes that finding game condition will be a challenge for him as he seeks to get up to speed again.
“I might not feel the greatest right at the start there so it's just something you've got to battle through and try and get better as the game goes on,… said DeKeyser, who is healthy ahead of schedule. Hurt Sept. 30 in an exhibition game at Pittsburgh against the Penguins, DeKeyser was expected to be out close to a month.
Instead, he’ll be back in the lineup just 18 days after his injury.
“I just kind of took it as it went,… DeKeyser said. “Every day it felt a little bit better so I was able to do a little bit more and be back a little bit earlier than expected.…
DeKeyser might not be the only returnee for the Wings Saturday. Forward Darren Helm (concussion) has not been ruled out and will be a game time decision.
“We're hoping that Helmer will be able to play tonight,… Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “It's a little bit a matter of him getting to a spot where he's ready to say, ‘I'm ready to go’ and he's going to go out there and play without any reservations.
“We're hoping that's the case tonight.…
Helm is certain that this is in fact the case.
“We were just waiting to see how I felt last night and this morning," Helm said. "Things feel good, so I’m good to go.…
Helm indicated he'd discussed his place in the lineup with Blashill. “He’s going to start me with Millsie (Drew Miller) and Andy (Joakim Andersson) and just see how things go, get my legs moving and get into the game slowly, get into the season slowly and pick up the pace.…
Looking To Rebound The Wings will seek a bounce-back effort against the Habs after turning in their worst performance of the season Friday in a 3-1 home-ice loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
“It just wasn’t good enough,… Detroit forward Gustav Nyquist said of Friday’s performance. “We didn’t win enough battles out there.
“Way too many turnovers, we lost too many battles and gave up way too many chances. We’ve just got to find a way to be better.…
That won’t be easy against the Canadiens, especially in Montreal.
“We're going to have to do a real good job of skating,… Blashill said. “We want to be a team that can pressure the other team and spend as much time in the O-zone as possible and we haven't done a good enough job of that.
“In the reverse, we want to make sure we're skating back as a five-man unit and connected so we can get out of our zone well. We cannot give up easy chances, we're going to have to make Montreal earn their chances.…
Detroit is 0-1-2 in its last three visits to the Bell Centre, last winning there via a 2-1 overtime verdict on Oct. 21, 2014 in which Nyquist netted the deciding tally.
The Wings last took a regulation-time triumph at Montreal on Dec. 4, 2007, a 4-1 victory.
Blashill’s only previous visit to Montreal, as a Detroit assistant coach to Mike Babcock in 2011-12, ended in disaster.
“I've been on the bench once before in Montreal and it was not a good result,… Blashill said. “It was a tough night. If I remember, they had seven, and we didn't have very many.…
Detroit lost 7-2 to the Habs on Jan. 25, 2012.
“We're hoping it's a better night for us,… Blashill said. “This is obviously a special place, very, very special place. I totally understand that. I'm somebody who does believe in enjoying the journey and certainly when I step on the bench, I'll take a second to say, ‘This is really neat.’…
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