ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Blues captain David Backes returned to the lineup Friday at Scottrade Center after missing the past two games of the Western Conference First Round series against the Chicago Blackhawks with an upper-body injury.

ST. LOUIS -- Chicago Blackhawks forwards Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa have had Grade A scoring chances off crisp in-zone cycles, odd-man rushes and breakaways in the Western Conference First Round series against the St. Louis Blues.

It hasn't amounted to anything on the score sheet yet.

"For a goal-scorer, if the puck doesn't go in, it can get frustrating," Hossa said.

Game 5 Friday at Scottrade Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS2, CSN-CH, FS-MW) offers the duo another chance to make a positive impact, so they're brushing aside any of their lingering frustration and focusing on the opportunity to make amends.

The best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series is tied 2-2.

"I'll take all the chances I can get; it means I'm creating something and doing something good out there," Sharp said. "Sooner or later they're going to start going in."

DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall would love a good night of sleep after the day he had Thursday. He might not get it for quite a while.

Kronwall's girlfriend gave birth to the couple's first child, a son named Douglas, at 11:31 a.m. ET, or shortly after the Red Wings morning skate at Joe Louis Arena, a practice that Kronwall participated in.

Kronwall was back at Joe Louis Arena to play against the Bruins. He scored with a goal 11 minutes into the first period and had an assist on Pavel Datsyuk's goal at 4:27 of the second.

The only negative in the day happened late, when the Red Wings blew a 2-0 lead and lost in overtime. But even that couldn't stop Kronwall from smiling when he was asked to describe his whirlwind, emotional day.

DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings goalie Jonas Gustavsson had no idea he'd be making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut when he arrived at Joe Louis Arena on Thursday evening.

"I got told that I might go just before warmup," Gustavsson said, "and after warmup they made the decision."

It's a good thing he was prepared and ready to play because No. 1 goalie Jimmy Howard had the flu.

DETROIT -- Jonas Gustavsson is making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut as the Detroit Red Wings starting goalie in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round series against the Boston Bruins at Joe Louis Arena on Thursday.

DETROIT -- Henrik Zetterberg returned to the Detroit Red Wings lineup for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round series against the Boston Bruins on Thursday at Joe Louis Arena.

DETROIT -- Forwards Brad Marchand, Reilly Smith and Tyler Seguin all have something in common other than being current or former Boston Bruins.

Once Bruins coach Claude Julien realized how good Marchand, Smith and Seguin could be, he put them on a line with center Patrice Bergeron so they would become even better.

That's how much Julien appreciates and trusts Bergeron, who was named as a finalist for the Selke Trophy on Thursday along with Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews and Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar.

Bergeron and the Bruins play the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference First Round series at Joe Louis Arena (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, NESN, FS-D). The Bruins lead the best-of-7 series 2-1.

DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg will be a game-time decision Thursday for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round series against the Boston Bruins (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, NESN, FS-D).

Forward Daniel Alfredsson (upper-body injury) will miss his second straight game, and forward Todd Bertuzzi will make his 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs debut, replacing Tomas Jurco in the Red Wings lineup.

DETROIT -- Acknowledge him, be aware of him, respect him, but don't change because of him.

That's how the Boston Bruins plan to approach the potential return of Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round series Thursday at Joe Louis Arena (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, NESN, FS-D).

Zetterberg, who hasn't played since Feb. 8 because of back surgery, will be a game-time decision for the Red Wings. He skated Thursday morning on a line with Pavel Datsyuk and Justin Abdelkader, then left the arena to visit with the team doctors.

The Bruins lead the best-of-7 series 2-1.

"In my mind he's going to be there [Thursday]. We expected that, so that's not a concern," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "The biggest thing here is they've got a real good player on their team. Where he is in his conditioning, I don't know. But at the same time, every playoff game has to be about your team; it can't be about the other team. We make adjustments to play against the other team, not the other individual, so that's not going to change for us."

DETROIT -- Brad Marchand vs. Brendan Smith has turned into a 1-on-1 matchup worth watching in the Eastern Conference First Round series between Marchand's Boston Bruins and Smith's Detroit Red Wings.

The Bruins hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series which resumes Thursday with Game 4 at Joe Louis Arena (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, NESN, FS-D).

Earlier in the series, Marchand revealed that teammate Reilly Smith, who is Brendan's younger brother, had given him the "inside scoop." Apparently the Red Wings defenseman doesn't like Marchand very much.

"Whenever he can take a run at me he's taken a run at me," said Marchand, who has no points, six shots on goal and two penalties in the series. "And I want to do the same to him."