The offensively stagnant Detroit Red Wings could use all hands on deck when they take the ice Thursday night at the Joe Louis Arena and host the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of their first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series and the team will get captain Henrik Zetterberg back in the lineup, though on a limited-minutes basis.
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Detroit believed that Zetterberg wouldn't be ready until Round 2 if the Red Wings got that far, but it appears he'll be back for Game 4.
The Red Wings have scored just two goals against the Bruins and goaltender Tuukka Rask in the series, so the addition of Zetterberg could be a huge lift to their chances of evening up the best-of-seven series with Boston. Rask leads all NHL goalies with a stingy 0.67 goals-against average in this year's playoffs.
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The Hockey News reported that sources close to the team believed that Zetterberg will make his return from a back injury for Thursday's Game 4 clash and play limited minutes while trying to help Detroit avoid falling into a 3-1 series hole before the series shifts back to Boston for Game 5.
Zetterberg is only expected to play "10-to-12" minutes as he takes the ice for the first time in 30 games (including playoffs) after missing all but one contest during the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
The Red Wings took the series opener from the Bruins in Boston on Friday with a 1-0 victory before dropping Game 2 by a 4-1 margin and being blanked by Rask in Game 3 which was the first home game of the series for Detroit and saw the Bruins cruise to a 3-0 victory and 2-1 series lead.
Zetterberg took the ice to practice on Wednesday and said he'd see how he felt Thursday morning before deciding whether or not he could play.
"I have to feel ready to play. Today was a good step in practicing," Zetterberg told NHL.com Wednesday. "We're still saying round two, but we all know we gained a couple of days. I can't really say anything now. I'm just happy I had my first real skate and now we'll see how I feel in the morning."
Zetterberg had 48 points in 45 games in the regular-season for the Red Wings off of 16 goals and 32 assists. In postseason history, Zetterberg has 114 points off of 55 tallies and 59 helpers.
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