The Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings will meet in a potential playoff preview Wednesday, and one of the best players in the world might finally return to the ice.
Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk has declared himself a “game-time decision” for the matchup of two teams that could meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. If Datsyuk does play, it will be his first game since Feb. 27.
Datsyuk has been dealing with a knee injury that’s had him in and out of the lineup this season. The play-making forward played through the injury during the Winter Olympics for Team Russia and played two games upon returning to NHL action before being shut down.
Datsyuk has played in just 39 games this season for the Red Wings while missing the last 15 and 29 of the last 33.
“The whole thing is to understand it’s not about Pavel one bit, it’s about the Red Wings and the guys that are playing and we just got to keep grinding,” Detroit head coach Mike Babcock said, according to the team’s website. “I don’t want to get caught up in that whatsoever. I want to have us keep on working.”
The Red Wings are 7-6-2 in the 15 games Datsyuk has missed since the beginning of March. His return certainly would be a boost to a Detroit team that is battling hard for one of the Eastern Conference’s two wild-card spots.
“It’s great to see him out on the ice skating and being part of practices,” forward Daniel Alfredsson said, according to the team’s website. “We feel that we’re playing pretty consistent hockey right now, and getting a guy with his experience and his offensive abilities, among other things, will be a big boost for this team.”
Photo via Twitter/@DetroitRedWings
