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Red Wings News & Notes: Back to work Monday, May 05, 2008 After a long weekend off, the Detroit Red Wings were back on the ice Monday, holding their first practice as they prepare for their Western Conference Finals series against the Dallas Stars. When the puck drops for Game 1 on Thursday, it will be a full week in between games for the Red Wings, who eliminated Colorado last Thursday in Denver. "I've always felt with a layoff like this, if you go deep into a series, that's where hopefully it'll pay off a little bit," defenseman Chris Chelios told the Canadian Press. "We're healthy and looking pretty good." But with the long layoff there's always concern about too much time off between games. "It could be both good and bad, resting this long," forward Johan Franzen said. "You get out of the rhythm a little bit, but at the same time you heal up your body." Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said he expects some rust to be evident in his team's game early on, but he expects it be short-lived. "It's always an
advantage for the team that played more recently in the first 20
minutes," Babcock said. "After that it's definitely good to have the
rest. We had a bunch of bumps and bruises last series and this gives us
the opportunity to feel fresher. The Stars' performance in the first two round of the playoffs - beating both Anaheim and San Jose in six games - has caught the attention of the Red Wings, who defeated Nashville 4-2 in the first round and then swept a banged Colorado team in the second round. "They're the team I've been most impressed by in the playoffs this year," said Franzen. "They play a lot like us. "It's hard to play against them. They don't give you any room. You can't give them anything. You have to play where you're supposed to be or they take real quick advantage of it." Babcock said he was impressed with the Stars as well. "I thought [Brenden] Morrow, [Mike] Ribeiro and [Marty] Turco were absolutely fantastic in the series," Babcock said. 'We are really going to have to do a job against all these guys. They have good depth, speed and they are well organized... They have a good hockey club. It's going to be lots of fun." Babcock on Morrow During his meeting with the media on Monday, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was asked about Stars captain Brenden Morrow and his play in these playoffs. "I've been coach coaching against him since he was 16, and I know him real good," Babcock said. "He's a good kid and he competes real hard. In playoff time it seems the hard guys always find a way to be good. He's a hard guy who really competes and has a lot of passion in his game. He's a physical guy who has good hockey sense, pretty good hands and hangs onto the puck pretty good. He presents some challenges for us. Injury update Red Wings forward Valtteri Filppula did not skate Monday due to a leg injury suffered in the third period of Thursday's Game 4 against Colorado. He is probable for Game 1. Defenseman Chris Chelios, who missed Thursday's game with a lower body injury, did practice Monday and said he'll be ready to go for Game 1. "I feel great, 100 percent. For whatever reason it acted up and now it's gone, so it's good," Chelios told reporters in Detroit about the injury, which he said is a nagging one he has had for several years. Red Wings line combinations and defensive pairings Here are the line combinations and defensive pairings the Red Wings rolled out in Monday's practice session.
Quotable "It's something I've had for six years, it's not a big deal. Let's just say the flu. Lower body is the flu, right?" Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios on the lower body injury that kept him out of Game 4 of the semifinals series against Colorado
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