Report: Veteran Expected Back Soon

The Detroit Red Wings ready themselves for yet another Atlantic Division showdown with their Original Six rivals Boston Bruins and take to the ice for practice ahead of tonight's matchup. 

Minutes ago, we reported that head coach Jeff Blashill will look to scratch three players in Steve Ott, Tomas Jurco and defenseman Ryan Sproul, although there is good news ahead of the weekend. 

Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports that general manager Ken Holland has informed journalists that veteran forward Darren Helm, who is currently skating with the team (as is veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall), is expected to make his return to the lineup sometime this weekend. 

Helm, 29, has had a relatively good season thus far, posting four goals and seven points while maintaining a plus-6 rating through 17 games. The center had been held pointless in his eight games prior to suffering a dislocated shoulder on November 15th 2016. Initially expected to miss six weeks, it appears as though he has fallen behind in his rehabilitation schedule, but could feature in the lineup either on Friday in Buffalo or on Sunday when they host the New York Rangers.