Red Wings get good news on Datsyuk, DeKeyser

Wednesday, 12.04.2013 / 1:43 PM

By Brian Hedger - NHL.com Correspondent / 2013-2014 At the Rink Blog

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DETROIT -- Amid a slew of injuries to key players, the Detroit Red Wings received a slight bit of good news Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena.

Top center Pavel Datsyuk (concussion) and rookie defenseman Danny DeKeyser (shoulder) both participated in the morning skate prior to Detroit hosting the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Neither will play, but Datsyuk said he's symptom-free after missing the past four games with concussion-related symptoms.

"I don't have symptoms," Datsyuk said. "[I need] to talk to [the] doctor and make a decision."

Asked if he had any lingering issues, such as headaches, Datsyuk responded by using his sense of humor.

"Nothing, I hope … maybe from media, headaches," he said, smiling. "So far it's the first [concussion I've had] and I hope it's the last one."

Datsyuk, however, isn't going to press his luck by returning too quickly. Though he's tired of watching hockey on television, he's also smart enough to realize a setback could happen if he pushes it too hard.

"With head, yeah [I feel close], but I'm not doing it in one week," he said. "[I'm] trying to be safe … need to come back in shape."

As for DeKeyser, the 23-year old has missed six straight games and could be out until after Christmas due to a separated shoulder. He got back on the ice for individual workouts for the first time earlier this week and Wednesday was his first on-ice work with the team.

"I've got a lot of range of motion right now and it seems to be getting a little bit stronger every day, and I'm just trying to rehab it and get stronger as fast as I can," DeKeyser said. "I just started to pass the puck. I can't really shoot it quite yet so that just will kind of come over time with strength. We'll see. It seems like it's healing up well."

DeKeyser will be eligible to come off injured reserve Dec. 14 when the Red Wings host the Pittsburgh Penguins, but he's not sure he'll be ready to play at that point. He does think he'll be back by Jan. 1, 2014, when the Red Wings face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

In related news, filming of the HBO series "24/7" -- which chronicles the teams in the Winter Classic -- began for Detroit on Wednesday.

The Flyers will face the Red Wings without leading goal-scorer Vincent Lecavalier, who didn't participate in the morning skate and will miss his second straight game with back spasms.

Steve Mason will start in net for Philadelphia and Jimmy Howard will start for Detroit. Here is how the Flyers and Red Wings might line up Wednesday:

FLYERS

Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jakub Voracek

Michael Raffl - Brayden Schenn - Wayne Simmonds

Matt Read - Sean Couturier - Steve Downie

Jay Rosehill - Adam Hall - Zac Rinaldo

Kimmo Timonen - Braydon Coburn

Mark Streit - Nicklas Grossmann

Luke Schenn - Andrej Meszaros

Steve Mason

Ray Emery

Scratched: Hal Gill, Erik Gustafsson