Mike Babcock did not say much about the injury, but did make the following comment:

“He’s going to be a game-time decision.  He’s not skating right now. We’ll decide here tonight.”

How much of a loss this is for the Red Wings remains to be seen.  With only one goal and seven points in 13 games, Datsyuk has been relatively quiet on the score sheet, but his presence on the ice and his defensive abilities are almost irreplaceable, that is unless you are the Detroit Red Wings.  With Pavel ailing, players like Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg, Marian Hossa and Valteri Filppula will shoulder a bit more of the load, but with their depth up front (as well as a solid defense that can help chip in offensively) the Wings will not be hamstrung by the loss.

Look for Darren Helm and Filppula to be affected most, as they are both expected to bump up a line, and forward Ville Leino will be inserted into the lineup as well.  The lines combinations will likely look as follows:

Franzen – Zetterberg – Cleary
Holmstrom – Filppula – Hossa
Helm – Samuelsson – Hudler
Maltby – Draper – Leino

The loss of Datsyuk will likely be felt most on special teams.  His role will be a difficult one to fill on both the power-play and penealty-kill.  If the Blackhawks expect to come back and present a challenge in this series, they are going to have to take advantage of Datsyuk’s absence tonight.  That wont be easy, but things can only get worse for the young Chicago team when he is in the lineup. [NHL.com]

Here is more of what Roenick had to say:

“The coach just doesn’t like him for some ungodly known reason, I think he’s got a grudge against American players, but he does not like Cheli at all,” Roenick said. “There is an underlying, I don’t know if it’s a hatred, because hatred is a strong word. But there is some underlying issue there that I don’t understand.”

“If you’d know some of the things that Babcock says to Chris Chelios, it would make your stomach churn. Just total disrespect for not even just one of the best Americans, but one of the best defensemen to ever play the game. The way he is talked to is just unacceptable. I wish I could elaborate, but that’s not proper. It’s just disrespectful.”

Babcock simply deflected Roenick’s comments as dumbfounded and said, “The operative phrase here is ‘JR said’…We keep signing Chelios because we think he’s an important part of the team.”

Chris Chelios even came to the rescue of his current coach, stating the following about Roenick’s comments:

“How does JR know anything — is he playing? The last time I talked to JR was a few weeks ago, and it was about his charity pool party in Vegas. I don’t know what JR is talking about.”

With the sharks out of the playoffs, Roenick needs to find some way to get the attention back on him, and this appears to be his latest plan. Why doesn’t he ask Brian Rafalski (another American on the Wings) what he thinks about Babcock’s disliking for Americans. Someone did and and the reply was, “Yeah, sure, he doesn’t like me. He only lets me play with Nicklas Lidstrom, the Norris Trophy-winner.”

I guess Roenick was on to something (hopefully you can detect the sarcasm here).

Roenick: Wings coach Babcock dislikes Chelios – [TheDetroitNews]

Total Pro Sports – The Red Wings loose big defenceman Andreas Lilja for an extended period of time.  The Wings are so deep because of there great scouts, this should not affect them one bit.

——————————————————————

Andreas Lilja was in the hospital to have his appendix removed, Darren McCarty cleared waivers and remains a Red Wing, and Darren Helm got sent to the minor leagues.

It was a rather eventful Tuesday for the Wings before they left town for tonight’s game in St. Louis.

Lilja, 33, a 6-foot-3, 228-pound defenseman, underwent a laparoscopic appendectomy at Detroit Medical Center.

The laparoscopic technique is said to be minimally invasive, using small incisions and a camera.

The Red Wings announced late Tuesday afternoon Lilja could return to the lineup as soon as Friday’s game against the Thrashers.

“He’ll be fine,” coach Mike Babcock said. “He’ll be back right away. Friday night, he should be ready to go. That’s what I’ve been told. A healthy athlete, they say there should be no issue whatsoever.”

Lilja had practiced Monday, but was complaining recently about stomach pains.

“I didn’t even know anything until I got here this morning,” said Brett Lebda, Lilja’s defensive partner.

Derek Meech will replace Lilja in the lineup tonight.

Source: DetNews.com