NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Darren Helm had a short comeback for the Detroit Red Wings, leaving late in the first period of Game 1 after suffering an upper-body injury.
A team spokesman said Helm will not return to the game.
Helm had been out since March 17 with a sprained MCL. The Wings were counting on him to shore up their bottom six and help out on the penalty kill.
"He puts everybody else in the right spot," coach Mike Babcock said of Helm's return earlier today. "We had a great bottom six all year long, and then we lost our people. We had no bottom six; we had no support scoring. It's amazing when you put people in the right spot."
I've gotten a lot of emails about Danny Cleary, who is playing with a very sore left knee, but the fact is, so long as he can contribute in any way, he's in. "If he was at 50% effectiveness, he wouldn't be playing," Babcock said. "So let's get that straight. We sat down, and we talked about that, specifically. I said, 'I have lots of guys on deck, ready to go.' We need people that are ready to go, and he assured me he's ready to go. So there's no issue there."
Goalie Jimmy Howard is starting, of course, and the defense pairings are Lidstrom-Ericsson; Kronwall-Stuart and Quincey-White.
On Nashville's side, defenseman Hal Gill is a game-time decision, according to Barry Trotz, but the big guy hasn't skated since suffering a lower-body injury, so it would seem unlikely Gill will play.
Pekka Rinne is in goal for Nashville, and the top defensive pairing is Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, with Roman Josi, Francis Bouillon and Kevin Klein among the others.
Babcock and Trotz both tried to paint their clubs as the underdog going into the series, Trotz exalting the Wings' history of 11 Stanley Cup championships. Babcock responded with his ace: All along, the Wings have wanted to start on the road. He and general manager Ken Holland have had conversations on the benefit.
"It's interesting to me," Babcock said. "Kenny Holland and I have been together quite awhile. Each year at playoff time, we talk about the first round and being the high seed, except for one year. We always talk about (how) it'd be nice to start the series on the road. If we could decide, we'd start it on the road. See what happens."
Come again? What's the appeal to starting on the road now? "Just play the game. Just get out and get after them, you don't have to worry about anything. You just play nice and simple and put as much pressure on the opposition as you can and just watch them tighten up."
Contact Helene St. James: 313-222-2295 or hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @freepwings.
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