An update on the health of Patrick Kane, Ben Chiarot, and J.T. Compher
An update on the health of Patrick Kane, Ben Chiarot, and J.T. Compher
The Detroit Red Wings held a brief practice this afternoon, the morning after a disappointing 5-4 loss at the hands of the Dallas Stars last night.
That practice brought with it good news for Red Wing fans in the form of Patrick Kane. Kane was not a full participant in practice, but he was on the ice for the first time since suffering a lower body injury 10 days ago in Detroit's 4-2 win in Toronto over the Maple Leafs.
When asked about Kane's progress, coach Derek Lalonde said, "Good. Obviously, skated pre-practice, participated in the warm-up drill, and then no contact, so that was a positive step for him. We'll get a bit feel for how he feels [after] today. Kind of in that gray area. Does it make sense for that last game or two before the break or to give him the eight days after the break?"
The Red Wings play three more games (all at home) between now and the All-Star break and their subsequent bye week—tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers, Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights, then next Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators.
Now, Kane, Lalonde, and Detroit's medical team must decide whether it makes sense for the winger to be involved in either of those latter two or for him to wait until February 10th against the Vancouver Canucks (the team's first game after the break) to return him to the lineup.
Defenseman Ben Chiarot—who has been out since last Friday's loss to the Carolina Hurricanes—is in a similar position.
Chiarot did not practice Wednesday, and Lalonde said, "it's becoming more and more likely it'll probably be post-break, just give him the time to heal completely there. Still potential for one of the last two games, that same gray area...whether it makes sense to play him the last game or two or take the full advantage of the time off."
Meanwhile, J.T. Compher also did not participate in today's skate, with Lalonde explaining that the centerman was under the weather with flu-like symptoms. Lalonde said that Compher is "iffy" for tomorrow night's game, adding that Detroit "hope[s] to have him" available.
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