With Paul Stastny out for the foreseeable future with a broken forearm and Joe Sakic remaining out, Avalanche center Tyler Arnason skated on the first line between Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk in the 4-3 shootout victory over Detroit on Saturday night.
Arnason didn’t have a point, getting 19:15 of ice time.
“He did pretty well,” Colorado coach Tony Granato said. “I think Ryan and Hedgie skated extremely well, and Arnie will understand it’s pretty easy to play with those two guys when they’re going like that. I thought for the first game together, they did a pretty good job.
“And you have to remember who they’re playing against too,” Granato added, meaning the Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk-centered line. “He played well defensively, and that’s the most important thing you need out of him, especially when you’re playing against the line that he did.”
Returning.
Avalanche winger Marek Svatos and defenseman Ruslan Salei were back in the lineup.
Svatos missed six games with a back issue, and Salei was out one with a torso injury. Winger Cody McCormick and defenseman Daniel Tjarnqvist were the healthy scratches.
Lidstrom out.
The Red Wings were without peerless defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, who had a swollen ankle after a shot by Predators defenseman Shea Weber nailed Lidstrom on Friday night.
“It’s still swollen,” Lidstrom said Saturday morning. “I can’t really put my foot the way I have to in my skate.”
From barn to stadium.
The Red Wings have the much-anticipated Winter Classic against the Blackhawks on New Year’s Day at Wrigley Field, but it has been somewhat overlooked that it’s the second half of a back-to-back set. The Wings and Hawks also play Tuesday in Detroit.
