Wings' injuries will force Salei back into action
Monday, 03.21.2011 / 2:36 PM / NHL Insider By Brian Hedger

DETROIT -- Ruslan Salei initially thought he'd sit out Monday night's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Instead, the Detroit Red Wings veteran defenseman will be pressed into action at Joe Louis Arena against the Penguins (7:30 p.m. Versus, TSN2, RIS) after missing a week to be with his wife in California for the birth of their third child.

The reason: minor injuries to forwards Pavel Datsyuk (lower body soreness), Johan Franzen (groin) and Jiri Hudler (upper body soreness). Veteran goalie Chris Osgood (groin surgery) also isn't ready to be Jimmy Howard's back-up yet, which leaves Detroit with a financial conundrum considering their limited space under the League's hard salary cap.

Joey MacDonald is currently backing up Howard, which means there's no further room under the cap to call anyone up from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League to replace the injured forwards. Therefore, Salei will be pressed into action in his first day back, possibly logging time at defense and forward on the fourth line with Drew Miller and Justin Abdelkader.

"We don't have the ability to call anybody up … cap space," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said, following Detroit's morning skate. "I don't think (Salei) will be worn out. He'll be alright."

Valtteri Filppula, the second-line center, may also see some double time in the game -- which Babcock also isn't concerned about.

"It's always good to have ice time," Babcock said. "I haven't heard one player in all my years complain (about) too much ice time. We've got enough players."

They've also got enough star power still able to suit up -- starting with top-line center Henrik Zetterberg, who stole the show last week by leading Detroit to victory with two goals in a highly-hyped matchup against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

Zetterberg said the latest Red Wings injuries -- which take 57 goals and 140 points combined out of the Detroit lineup -- don't necessarily mean he must change his approach on the ice. On the other hand, with more ice time usually come more scoring opportunities.

"Hopefully I can help the team to put a few away," said Zetterberg, whose goals against the Caps broke a nine-game drought. "They aren't big injuries, so you'd rather have those get squared away before the playoffs start instead of grinding it out now."