GAME DAY REPORT: Injured Red Wing could be back tonight!

Injured Red Wing could be back tonight

The Red Wings’ may be out of the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean the players are done with the season. Even if they’re a bit banged up.

Young winger Andreas Athanasiou sustained an upper-body injury in the process of scoring his game-winning overtime goal on Monday against the Carolina Hurricanes, but he is eager to return to the lineup. His ribs are apparently pretty tender after taking a good tenderizing via cross checks.

According to Ansar Khan of MLive.com, Athanasiou was making progress and skated in today’s morning practice. The 22-year-old was taking part in line rushes, rotating with veteran forward Ben Street, who filled in for the injured rookie in Tuesday’s game.

Detroit’s forward lines in practice were:

Tatar-Zetterberg-Nyquist  

Helm-Nielsen-Sheahan  

Mantha-Larkin-Abdelkade 

Street/Athanasiou-Nosek-Miller

Athanasiou is a game-time decision, his participation in practice was largely a way to test his recovery. It’s worth noting that Athanasiou did not take part the power play drills, which could suggest he’s not quite ready to return to the lineup yet.

In his first NHL season, Athanasiou has played in 37 games, scoring 9 goals and 5 assists for 14 points.

Street did a respectable job filling in on Tuesday, notching an assist in his first NHL game this season. Street has 25 goals and 29 assist for 54 points in 60 games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins this season.

Detroit plays the Tampa Bay Lightning in Florida tonight, and the Red Wings could play spoilers in a big way if they can deny the Bolts a win in this evening’s tilt.