Barring any setbacks, Lupul back Saturday
TORONTO Joffrey Lupul has been through this drill before. It’s his first day back from a long injury layoff and he has to speak to the media about it how it is progressing.
Dripping sweat from head to toe after a lengthy session with skating coach Barb Underhill, Lupul talks about his umpteenth stint on the injury list and how he’s looking forward to coming back.
Barring any setbacks, he should skate with the team on Saturday. Toronto does not play again until Tuesday at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Since being acquired by the Maple Leafs in February 2011, Lupul has suffered a separated shoulder, a broken forearm, a concussion, a bruised foot, a strained groin, a broken hand and various knee issues. His injuries were just that. Injuries and they had to be treated.
Goaltender Antoine Bibeau was returned to the AHL Marlies on Thursday. He completed his second call-up without playing a game as Garret Sparks continued to get the call from Leafs coach Mike Babcock.
Bibeau is expected to see action on Saturday against the Syracuse Crunch, while Jonathan Bernier is expected to complete his fourgame conditioning stint by playing Friday (away) and Sunday (home) against the Utica Comets.
This time, though, he wasn’t dealing with an injury that was obvious to observers. In fact, Lupul was shelved while the problem was still just nagging rather than waiting for it to become a full-blown injury that would have kept him off the ice for a longer period.
The new sports science team led by Jeremy Bettle is working with players on injury prevention. Lupul has been among the first Leafs to deal with a new approach to handling certain ailments.
“This has been the first time in my career where someone’s come to me and said, ‘We think you should get off the ice.’ Usually, you play until that injury happens,” Lupul said. “We feel we’ve avoided a major injury by taking a week off. But, we’ll see.”
If he sounds a little pessimistic, there is a good reason.
Goaltender James Reimer suffered a lower-body injury in a practice on Nov. 24. He returned on Dec. 3 and made 27 saves in a 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Reimer is expected to return on Tuesday, but if his experience is any indication, Lupul understands there are no guarantees.
The Leafs have Friday off, but Lupul will continue to skate by himself in an effort to get his conditioning up to game level.
WINGS 3 HABS 2
DETROIT Darren Helm’s second goal with 6:01 left in the third period broke a tie and lifted the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
Helm scored 1:12 after Justin Abdelkader pulled Detroit into a 2-all tie, scoring off his right skate on a goal that stood after video review.
Petr Mrazek made 21 saves for the Red Wings, whose 12-game point streak matches their longest since 2010.
The Atlantic Division-leading Canadiens have lost four straight, their worst skid in a season that started with a 9-0 record and 18 wins in their first 24 games.
Montreal’s Tomas Fleischmann scored a go-ahead goal 4:30 into the third period, but goaltender Dustin Tokarski could not make enough saves to seal the win.