Pavel Datsyuk wasn’t as close to returning as everyone seemed to think. Datsyuk practiced on Tuesday but couldn’t yet handle the puck, saying he needs more time to recover from a broken hand.
As a result, Datsyuk won’t be in the lineup on Wednesday when Detroit travels to take on Ottawa. Jan Mursak was called up from Grand Rapids to replace him in the lineup.
On the plus side, Dan Cleary is set to return Wednesday, giving the Red Wings one of their top goal scorers back. Cleary practiced on the second line with Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula, while Johan Franzen, Todd Bertuzzi and Henrik Zetterberg made up the first line.
Detroit has a game Friday against Columbus, so we’ll see what his status is then (hopefully it’s good news because I’m attending this game).