Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg reportedly is set to return.
The Hockey News cited a source close to the Red Wings in reporting Zetterberg has been cleared to play Thursday night against the Boston Bruins. According to Hockey News’ source, Zetterberg will play only “limited minutes,” which reportedly means 10 to 12 minutes, in Game 4 of the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
It would be Zetterberg’s first game action since Feb. 8. He had back surgery Feb. 21 and recently resumed skating, but he hasn’t done a ton of on-ice work.
Even in limited minutes, however, Zetterberg could make an impact. The Red Wings trail 2-1 in the series and have struggled mightily to generate any sort of offense, scoring just two goals through three games. The Detroit power play also has been abysmal, going 0-for-9, and Zetterberg totaled 17 power-play points in just 45 regular-season games.
UPDATE:Â Zetterberg participated in the Red Wings’ morning skate, joining Pavel Datsyuk and Justin Abdelkader on Detroit’s first line. Todd Bertuzzi, who has not yet played in the series, was also on the ice. Judging by the line combinations at practice, forwards Daniel Alfredsson, Joakim Andersson and Tomas Jurco will not play Thursday night.
Here are the full line combos, courtesy of NHL.com’s Dan Rosen:
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