UPDATE - Riley Sheahan cleared and will play against Bruins on Thursday.
It’s a safe bet that coach Mike Babcock won’t be inviting one of Oprah Winfrey’s life coaches to Joe Louis Arena to work with his team.
Babcock simply points to the gashed face of Detroit left-winger Drew Miller and then to the lineup for Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins, which includes Miller, and doesn’t understand why any club would think it necessary to go into the woods for a team bonding session or hire a motivational speaker to get them to feel all warm and cuddly about themselves as a group.
Despite taking more than 60 stitches to the face and coming perilously close to losing his right eye when accidentally kicked in the face by a skate in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Ottawa, Miller will suit up as the Wings, third place in the NHL’s Atlantic Division, seek to stave off the Bruins, just two points behind them in the standings.
“Lots of people talk about team building and they say, ‘Let’s go play laser tag’ or ‘Let’s go bowling or do some ropes course,’… Babcock said. “How about block a shot? How about getting your face cut and then playing the next night? That’s team building to me, that’s laying it on the line for your buddies.
“I think Millsy feels good about himself for doing that but I also think that’s what you do. We’re proud of Millsy and we need him.
“That was a big blow to us the other night.…
Miller will wear a full face shield to protect his injury, but feels fairly certain that all systems are go.
“As of right now unless something changes between now and game time tonight I plan on playing,… Miller said. “I feel good. The swelling is going down a little bit, staying under control. That was the main concern.
“It’s a big game for our team and I’m excited to get back out there and help our team out.…
Injury Front The news wasn’t so good in regards to Detroit’s other walking wounded and it could get worse before game time.
Forwards Pavel Datsyuk (lower-body) and Erik Cole (upper-body) are out for certain, and forward Tomas Jurco (upper-body) was added to sick bay and won’t play against the Bruins. Riley Sheahan is penciled in as the second-line center but his status won’t be verified until later today.
“Sheahan’s got to pass a test,… Babcock explained. “Jurco’s out.…
Forward Joakim Andersson, whose girlfriend gave birth to their daughter, missed the morning skate but is expected to play.
“Andy’s (girlfriend) had a baby girl,… Babcock said. “He’s a proud dad. I assume he’s ready to go at game time.…
If Sheahan proves unavailable, the Wings would either have to call up a forward from AHL Grand Rapids or dress Jakub Kindl and go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Waiting Game The lower-body issue that kept Datsyuk out for five games flared up again after he played in two games and now he’ll be sitting out again for the second straight game.
“It’s kind of an old injury,… Datsyuk said. “I feel much better. It’s not ready to go tonight.…
He is targeting Saturday’s game at Minnesota against the Wild for his return to action.
“I’m looking forward to playing in Minnesota and we start from this one,… Datsyuk said.
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