-- The Red Wings will welcome veteran Chris Chelios back to the lineup tonight, but veteran Mathieu Schneider will miss at least the next two games.
Chelios flew to Denver on Monday, rejoining his teammates after spending the past week dealing with the aftermath of the homicides at his downtown Detroit restaurant. Originally he wasn't to have played against the Avalanche, but the Wings would rather have his experience in the lineup than call up a minor leaguer who'd play maybe five minutes."I wanted to bring him back and let him practice for a few days, but he's skated on his own and, let's face it, he's played in a few games," coach Mike Babcock said Monday. He gave the team the day off after back-to-back games over the weekend.
Schneider suffered a strained knee Sunday at Anaheim and won't play the rest of this trip, which ends Thursday at Phoenix.
"They don't think it's very serious," Babcock said. "He'll sit out two games and then be ready."
Schneider played only two shifts against the Ducks, but his absence had an upside: It allowed Niklas Kronwall to shine. Kronwall, who turns 26 on Friday, played a career-high 30:55, second only to Nicklas Lidstrom's 31:25. Kronwall spent almost eight minutes on the power play and nearly scored. (His shot hit Anaheim goalie Ilya Bryzgalov in the shoulder.)
"I thought that was the best game I've seen him play since I've been here, for sure," Babcock said of Kronwall. "I thought he was real active on the power play, had great opportunities. He made some great plays, shot the puck a ton. ... I thought he was real good that way. That's a good sign too for us."
Kronwall had a slow first half of the season, beset by injuries and sagging confidence, but now he has five assists in his past six games. "I feel like I've got a little bit more jump now," he said. "I'm trying to join the rush a little bit more, trying to jump up a little bit more -- that's why it's fun to play hockey."
NOTEBOOK: Valtteri Filppula is 22 and Jiri Hudler 23, and Josh Langfeld has spent most of the season in the minors. But Sunday they were, at times -- especially in the first period -- the Wings' best performers. "I thought they were really good," Babcock said. "I thought they had spark, I thought they had jump. I think Filppula can play anywhere. He's that good. I thought Huds was really good with the puck, and Langfeld's been good for us. They gave us good shifts, and they had some good scoring chances early."
The Robert Lang-Dan Cleary-Mikael Samuelsson line, on the other hand, created very little. "I didn't think they had a good night," Babcock said. ...
Pavel Datsyuk returned Sunday after missing three games because of a groin injury. "I have lots of chances to shoot it, I stand in front of net, I still pass," he said. "Next game, try to more shoot it."
Chelios flew to Denver on Monday, rejoining his teammates after spending the past week dealing with the aftermath of the homicides at his downtown Detroit restaurant. Originally he wasn't to have played against the Avalanche, but the Wings would rather have his experience in the lineup than call up a minor leaguer who'd play maybe five minutes."I wanted to bring him back and let him practice for a few days, but he's skated on his own and, let's face it, he's played in a few games," coach Mike Babcock said Monday. He gave the team the day off after back-to-back games over the weekend.
Schneider suffered a strained knee Sunday at Anaheim and won't play the rest of this trip, which ends Thursday at Phoenix.
"They don't think it's very serious," Babcock said. "He'll sit out two games and then be ready."
Schneider played only two shifts against the Ducks, but his absence had an upside: It allowed Niklas Kronwall to shine. Kronwall, who turns 26 on Friday, played a career-high 30:55, second only to Nicklas Lidstrom's 31:25. Kronwall spent almost eight minutes on the power play and nearly scored. (His shot hit Anaheim goalie Ilya Bryzgalov in the shoulder.)
"I thought that was the best game I've seen him play since I've been here, for sure," Babcock said of Kronwall. "I thought he was real active on the power play, had great opportunities. He made some great plays, shot the puck a ton. ... I thought he was real good that way. That's a good sign too for us."
Kronwall had a slow first half of the season, beset by injuries and sagging confidence, but now he has five assists in his past six games. "I feel like I've got a little bit more jump now," he said. "I'm trying to join the rush a little bit more, trying to jump up a little bit more -- that's why it's fun to play hockey."
NOTEBOOK: Valtteri Filppula is 22 and Jiri Hudler 23, and Josh Langfeld has spent most of the season in the minors. But Sunday they were, at times -- especially in the first period -- the Wings' best performers. "I thought they were really good," Babcock said. "I thought they had spark, I thought they had jump. I think Filppula can play anywhere. He's that good. I thought Huds was really good with the puck, and Langfeld's been good for us. They gave us good shifts, and they had some good scoring chances early."
The Robert Lang-Dan Cleary-Mikael Samuelsson line, on the other hand, created very little. "I didn't think they had a good night," Babcock said. ...
Pavel Datsyuk returned Sunday after missing three games because of a groin injury. "I have lots of chances to shoot it, I stand in front of net, I still pass," he said. "Next game, try to more shoot it."
