Jeff Petry and Klim Kostin skated this afternoon as they near their respective returns, while Alex DeBrincat missed practice
After Wednesday afternoon's practice, Derek Lalonde provided an update on some injury-related Red Wing absences.
First, Alex DeBrincat did not participate in the session, with Lalonde revealing that he was "under the weather." Lalonde added that the team prepared for a scenario where he was unable to play tomorrow against Winnipeg and that the team would re-evaluate his availability in the morning.
With DeBrincat out, Jonatan Berggren took first line reps with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. On the power play, David Perron moved over to DeBrincat's spot on the left flank, and J.T. Compher manned Perron's normal spot at the net front.
Both Jeff Petry and Klim Kostin skated during the day's practice, a preliminary cause for optimism, which Lalonde reinforced.
"I can't see any scenario where he won't be ready to go tomorrow," Lalonde said of Kostin, who last played a week ago against the Penguins.
He was slightly less certain when it came to Petry. "He was out early with the skating coach," said Lalonde of the veteran defenseman. "And we gave him the option if he felt up to it to come out to practice and to see how much he could get through at practice. And he got through most of it, so we'll see how he responds to practice and make a decision tomorrow."
The Hockey News caught up with Petry after practice, and he described the day's work as "a step in the right direction."
At 35 years old, you might imagine that Petry doesn't mind the occasional time off brought about by the Red Wings' seven-man rotation on the back end or even by a minor injury. However, Petry pushed back against this notion.
"I think everybody wants to play ever game and wants to be out there competing," he said. "But there's times where, for example, right now, just having the ability to take a little bit of time rather than push through something this early in the year and have it linger for a longer period—I think that's one of the benefits [of Detroit's defensive depth]."
To Petry, there is a give and take in the routine of playing every day versus the value of rest. "It's nice to get in that rhythm and get into feeling like that," he said. "It's nice having days off, for sure, but it takes a little bit more to get going that next day. You have to have those days and let your body recover, but to get it up and running again in the morning, it takes a little bit more into the warm-up, into practice."
Petry's availability for tomorrow night remains uncertain, though things are progressing in the right direction.