AFTER THE ALL-STAR BREAK: The pain
January 26, 2007
BY GEORGE SIPPLE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
The good news the Red Wings received Thursday regarding injuries to Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall was offset by bad news about the health of a couple of other players.
X rays taken Thursday revealed that forward Mikael Samuelsson has a broken right foot and will be out a couple of weeks. Samuelsson, who missed five games in October with a shoulder injury, suffered the foot injury in a 3-1 loss to the Avalanche on Saturday when he was hit by a puck but finished the game.
Defenseman Mathieu Schneider, who hasn't played since Jan. 7 because of a knee injury, had hoped to return after the All-Star break but will miss at least two games. Schneider has a history of groin problems, so coach Mike Babcock said the team would make sure he "skated a good bit before playing him."
Asked if that meant Schneider was day-to-day, Babcock said: "Nah, it's more than day-to-day. So I would say there's no way you'll see him play the first two games we play. Maybe after that."
The Wings were missing a couple of other players in their first practice since Sunday. Forwards Robert Lang and Kris Draper were both out with flu, and defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom was traveling back from the All-Star Game in Dallas.
At least one player from the Grand Rapids Griffins will join the Wings tonight in St. Louis, possibly more if Lang and Draper are unable to play.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Babcock said. "We'll wait and see tomorrow morning. One for sure."
The Griffins said forward Josh Langfeld, who has played eight games with the Wings this season, had been called up.
Babcock has mentioned a couple of times this season the team's inability to field a completely healthy lineup. That won't change anytime soon.
"So what?" Babcock said. "Find a way and find a way to make it good. That's what we've been able to do so far, and we gotta find a way to make it good now."
At least the Wings received good news on Zetterberg. The winger, who withdrew from the All-Star Game because of tendinitis in his wrist, did not need a cortisone shot over the break. He said four days of rest helped it feel better.
"Hopefully this was enough that was needed, just a few days of rest," said Zetterberg, who needed a cortisone shot in August to help relieve the pain.
The Wings were glad to learn that Kronwall, who suffered a severe cut on his nose against the Avs that required more than 20 stitches, won't miss any time. However, he will be wearing a helmet cage for the foreseeable future.
Kronwall said he hadn't worn a cage in a game in about a decade, but he was thankful the skate blade cut wasn't worse.
"Could have been my throat or ears or eyes or even the mouth," Kronwall said. "I think if you look at it that way, I think I got out of it pretty lucky."
