Red Wings hockey is almost back.  Russia got ousted today in a lackluster effort against Canada, and Sweden lost a stunner to the Czech Republic.  This means the only Red Wings remaining in the Olympics are Brian Rafalski (USA) and Valtteri Filppula (Finland), who are, interestingly enough, meeting on Friday to play for the medal game.

In 4 more days the Wings will take the ice in Colorado to play the Avalanche (a game that I will hopefully be at!).

And when that happens, we’re likely going to see Andreas Lilja play his first game in the NHL in over a year.  We will also not be seeing Kirk Maltby, who has opted to get shoulder surgery after all.  Via Helene St. James at the Freep:

Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland has told the Free Press he expects defenseman Andreas Lilja to be cleared either today or Thursday and that Kirk Maltby will have surgery.

Lilja said he still has to complete some paperwork before he is formally cleared. The Wings also need to put Maltby on long-term injured reserve, which would free up $700,000 to fit Lilja under the salary cap

Apparently there was some confusion about whether or not Maltby was actually going to get surgery, or if he was going to stubbornly decide to play the rest of the season, but the original article has been taken down (with no mention of the mistake.  Nice).  Regardless, it’s been sorted out now, and even though this clearly wasn’t the scenario Maltby, and I believe many fans, envisioned for him to end things, it’s still the smart move.  Especially now that the estimated recovery time has been shortened to 4-6 weeks, he could easily come back for a playoff run, should one be had.

It also sounds like Eaves and Holmstrom are ready to roll when the season starts up again.  So, barring Olympic injuries (knock on wood), the Red Wings should be able to ice a full lineup for pretty much the first time this season.

Oh, and Rafalski?  You better bring that level of play you’ve been showing with Team USA back to Detroit

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