Earlier this week, Red Wings defenceman Jonathan Ericsson, right, had surgery for acute appendicitis. (Mark Avery/Associated Press)Injured Detroit Red Wings forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Kris Draper took the ice for Friday's workout but, unlike defenceman Jonathan Ericsson, haven't been cleared for game action.
Ericsson was absent from Friday's workout as a precaution just days following surgery for acute appendicitis, but Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said he would play Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7:30 p.m. ET).
Datsyuk, meanwhile, wasn't exactly blazing up and down the ice after missing the last three games of his team's series win over Chicago in the NHL Western Conference final with a foot injury.
"I'm always optimistic," said Datsyuk. "There's always a chance. I improved a lot and [Friday] I skated with the team."
Draper missed the last two contests versus the Blackhawks with a groin injury and, like Datsyuk, his status remains uncertain.
"Pavel's the only last-minute decision, everyone else is going to be ready," said Babcock.
Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom also skated Friday alongside defence partner Brian Rafalski and will be in the lineup for the series opener.
He is nursing an undisclosed lower body injury that kept him out of the lineup for two games, including Wednesday's series-clinching 2-1 overtime win over Chicago in Game 5.
"You can see the depth we have now," said Lidstrom. "A few guys go down and other guys step in and play real well.
"To win a series for us when your top line didn't score, but [Darren] Helm came up big for us and got the winner, shows we have a lot of depth on our team."
Lidstrom leads all NHL blue-liners in scoring in this year's playoffs with 13 points in 14 games.
With files from The Canadian Press