The Red Wings are set for a boost against Tampa in the form of JT Compher's return from injury
As the Red Wings look to stretch their winning streak to eight Saturday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena against the Tampa Bay Lightning, they are poised to get a significant return from injury to help their cause, in the form of J.T. Compher.
Compher—who has six goals and 15 assists in 48 games this season—has been out since the last time Detroit hosted the Lightning on Jan. 25, when he suffered an upper body injury after taking a high hit from Tampa defenseman Emil Lilleberg (a hit that earned Lilleberg a two-game suspension from the Department of Player Safety).
Per coach Todd McLellan, Compher "looks good" to return to the lineup Saturday. "I don't know if he came off of IR yet or not, but I talked to him this morning. He feels good, so I don't see any reason he doesn't play," the coach added.
At Friday's practice, Compher practiced in a fourth line role between Joe Veleno and Jonatan Berggren. Based on McLellan's post-practice assessment, it seems like a safe assumption that is where he will be for Saturday's game:
McLellan also tapped Alex Lyon as Detroit's starter in net for Saturday's game, while also speaking to the luxury of having two goaltenders simultaneously in strong form. "I think it's essential," McLellan said, of having two reliable goaltending options in the modern NHL. "Often you have two goalies, [and] one's maybe not playing as well, so you run the hot one, and you try to get the other one playing again. We're fortunate that both are playing well and contributing to the team success. They play off each other. They both practice hard. We haven't had to go and rescue a goalie yet, if I'm trying to find a word, to recover and rescue a goalie that maybe hasn't played well and overrun another one. So that makes the dual goaltender luxury even better."
It will be Lyon's turn on Saturday to send the Red Wings into the 4 Nations break with their good feelings still rolling.
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