BREAKING: Healthy Scratches, Defensive Pairings Announced

With the Detroit Red Wings set to take on the Winnipeg Jets at the Joe Louis Arena tonight, head coach Jeff Blashill is happy to know that he can count on the return of veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall.

 

Kronwall had been sidelined for months after suffering a knee injury last season, and the 35-year-old was practicing regularly with the team for a few weeks and will make his regular season debut tonight, as reported earlier.

 

In light of the blue-liner’s addition to the lineup, two defensemen will unfortunately pay the price as Xavier Ouellet and rookie Ryan Sproul will be healthy scratches tonight.

 

As such, Brendan Smith will play alongside Kronwall, who was practicing today on the first wave of the power play. 

 

The defensive pairings should be as follows: