Datsyuk said that the knee pain is the same as it was before the Olympic break. He represented Russia in Sochi, which appears to have hurt his status with the Red Wings. The Wings are already without their captain Henrik Zetterberg, so they need Datsyuk in their lineup if they are going to make the playoffs. Monitor his status following Wednesday's morning skate.

Datsyuk missed Monday's practice with the lower-body injury that has been plaguing him for over a month. He was back on the ice on Tuesday and was centring a line with Alexander Radulov and Ilya Kovalchuk. Datsyuk is the captain of Team Russia and he is determined to play in front of his home country. When asked how his injury felt, Datsyuk smiled and replied, "What injury?" Russia gets underway on Thursday at 7:30 am EST vs. Slovenia.

Datsyuk has been battling a lower-body injury, that could keep him out of Russia's tournament opener on Thursday vs. Slovenia. With the opponent being one that should be easy to beat, they could play it safe with Datsyuk and let him rest before Saturday's clash with the Americans. Datsyuk is set to centre the second line with former NHLers Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Radulov.

Datsyuk has not played since the Winter Classic on January 1st. The Red Wings are slowly starting to get healthy and they are still sitting in the last WIld Card spot in the East despite playing most of January with an AHL dominant roster. Datsyuk will centre a line with Darren Helm and Daniel Alfredsson tonight in Florida.

ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT THE TIME OF PRINT Two teams coming off opposite ends of a shutout will face each other tonight as Evgeni Nabokov and the NY Islanders host Reto Berra and the Calgary Flames. Nabokov blanked the Washington caps 1-0 the other night after losing 3 straight following his return from injury.  Hopes for a playoff spot lie on Nabokov's shoulders and he will get eh majority of starts from here on out.  Calgary is still in rebuilding mode but did manage to win 5 in a row before the shutout loss to Montreal.  The Flames are tough to douse but the Isles should be able to....Detroit's Jimmy Howard did not have a particularly good weekend in Washington following his return from injury, but did manage to fill in quite well when Gustavsson had to leave the game early against Vancouver. The two combined for a 2-0 shutout of the Canucks and you have to remember that Howard was playing well before his recent injury.  Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers are coming off a fine 4-1 effort against the Toronto Maple Leafs but Detroit is getting all their horses back with the return of Pavel Datsyuk. The Red Wings should prevail....The King gets a night off as Cam Talbot will man the pipes for the red-hot NY Rangers. The Rangers have won 4 in a row and 7 of last 9 and will face-off against he bottom feeder of the Western Conference, the Edmonton Oilers.  Ben Scrivens has been the best option for the Oilers since his acquisition but they are still only 2-3 in his starts, the only support he got was in a 3-0 win over San Jose. The team could only muster 1 goal in his other 2 starts.  Scrivens will do his best against a streaking Rangers team that is using their speed to dominant games of late....Two goalies who recently signed contract extensions will face-off against one another tonight as Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche goes against Steve Mason and the Philadelphia Flyers. Mason has played close to his pre-signing level while Varlamov has slipped back a bit.  Philly is coming back from a successful 3 game road trip out West but will face a Colorado team that will look to avenge their lopsided loss to the Rangers the other night.  I'd go with Mason as Varlamov has been inconsistent lately.....Ondrej Pavelec will lead the Winnipeg Jets into Washington to take on Michal Neuvirth and the Washington Capitals. Ever since the coaching change in Winnipeg, Pavelec has turned his game up a notch while the Capitals are looking ...

Datsyuk is skating on a regular line with Darren Helm and Daniel Alfredsson. Monitor his status during Thursday's morning skate, a decision is expected to be announced after Thursday's skate.

Datsyuk has not played since the January 1st Winter Classic because of a groin injury. He has been skating consistently, but has not felt 100 per cent. Datsyuk will captain Team Russia at the Olympics, so there has been a lot of pressure on him to get back to full health. The Red Wings and Datsyuk will decide whether or not he will play after Thursday's morning skate.

With only two games on the NHL slate, I just want to share a few thoughts. First of all, Detroit's Gustav Nyquist has been putting on an offensive show over the last few weeks, culminating into yesterday's 4-point explosion and first career hat trick against Washington. He needs to be owned ASAP, as he figures to be a top-six forward for Detroit all season long even when Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are both playing at full health. Second, all the uncertainties with Mike Green's head injury and constant health issues should have everyone thinking about acquiring John Carlson, who with another goal and an assist against Detroit, has collected 6 points in the last 5 games. He is easily Washington's top scoring option on the blueline with Green out, so his fantasy stock could skyrocket if he plays on the primary power-play unit for an extended period of time.

With only two games on the NHL slate, I just want to share a few thoughts. First of all, Detroit's Gustav Nyquist has been putting on an offensive show over the last few weeks, culminating into yersterday's 4-point explosion and first career hat trick against Washington. He needs to be owned ASAP, as he figures to be a top-six forward for Detroit all season long even when when Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are both playing at full health. Second, all the uncertainties with Mike Green's head injury and constant health issues should have everyone thinking about acquiring John Carlson, who with another goal and an assist against Detroit, has collected 6 points in the last 5 games. He is easily Washington's top scoring option on the blueline with Green out, so his fantasy stock could skyrocket if he plays on the primary power-play unit for an extended period of time.

Datsyuk hasn't played since January 1 because of a lower-body injury. He had been skating, then took a few days off, then began practicing again. He's considered close, but that's been his status for several days now.