Red Wings' Cleary to be a healthy scratch vs. Jets

Tuesday, 11.12.2013 / 1:42 PM | NHL.com Staff

The Detroit Red Wings will scratch forward Daniel Cleary when they face the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.

Cleary has one goal and two assists in 18 games but just one point in the past 12, and Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said he hopes the time off helps Cleary rediscover his game.

"My job each and every day is to put the best 20 guys in the lineup that I think can help us win today," Babcock told reporters. "I've been with [Cleary] for nine years. I know him well; there's no one who's a bigger fan of Dan Cleary than Mike Babcock.

"I imagine he's very [angry] today and I don't know what you want me to do about it."

Cleary said he plans on using his benching as a motivating tool to get better.

"I've just got to work hard, stay positive and be professional about it," he said. "There's a lot of hockey left.

"Frustrating is normal. You can't dwell on the negatives, you have to be positive, you have to work hard. That's it."

The Jets likely will stick with the same lineup they used the past two games, wins against the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks.

"So there would be no need to make any kind of lineup change there," Jets coach Claude Noel told reporters in Detroit. "It doesn't always revolve around winning because some people say don't change a winning lineup and I'm not one of those that believe that so much. But if they play well, that's great. And I feel we have played well."

Here is how the teams could look Tuesday:

JETS

Andrew Ladd - Bryan Little - Blake Wheeler

Evander Kane - Olli Jokinen - Devin Setoguchi

Matt Halischuk - Mark Scheifele - Michael Frolik

Eric Tangradi - James Wright - Chris Thorburn

Grant Clitsome - Dustin Byfuglien

Tobias Enstrom - Zach Bogosian

Adam Pardy - Keaton Ellerby

Ondrej Pavelec

Al Montoya

Scratched: Anthony Peluso