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Dan Cleary and Henrik Zetterberg are back

Odds & News | Webmaster ( Mon 11th, January 2010 )

For the first time in several weeks, the Red Wings will have two legitimate scoring lines as they continue to fight for points in their game tonight vs. the surprisingly good Kings.

Dan Cleary and Henrik Zetterberg both said that they are good to go after they practiced on Wednesday at the Honda Center. Zetterberg has not played since he hurt his shoulder on December 17th and Cleary since he suffered a similar injury on December 9th. Both players will require playing time to get their legs back, so coach Mike Babcock plans on having Zetterberg skate the wing with teammates Tomas Holmstrom and Pavel Datsyuk, as Cleary will play with Todd Bertuzzi and Valtteri Filppula.

Zetterberg said, "To be back with Tommy and Pav, they are 2 guys I have played most of the games with, so of course this will help a little bit. I am going to do my best tomorrow."

Probably both can use more rest, but with the Red Wings five points out of a playoff spot, their team needs them.

Cleary said, "I can not wait for this to completely and fully recover, but I know that I can take a hit, and give a hit so I have to live with it."

Defenseman Brad Stuart felt it in the locker room. He said, "It is great. For us it will be a big boost, if nothing else, emotionally. You do not want to fall too far behind, as many games become harder to get 3 points, and this makes it hard to gain ground."

Though effectiveness from Zetterberg may be limited for some games, his accessibility has made this possible to bring back together the most effective line that the Red Wings have for the last few years. This year their power play has become so inefficient that there have been jokes that the Red Wings should refuse penalties.

Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom added, "It is going to help us to get a few boys back who have been a big part of this team in the past".

Babcock said, "It has been amazing how long we have not had all of our guys. We have done a really good job in the meantime, but now is the time. We have to make some runs together, and have a good run for a good period of time to get us in the position we want to be."

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