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Franzen in for game 2
By TonyH | May 26, 2008
Johan Franzen has been cleared to play and will be in the line-up for game 2
HELENE ST. JAMES of the Detroit Free Press says he is in.
Johan Franzen will play tonight when the Red Wings host Pittsburgh in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals.
“Mule’s been cleared, he’s in,” Mike Babcock just said.
Franzen hasn’t played since Game 1 of the third round, when he was sidelined by persistent headaches.
This is a huge boost for the Wings, since Franzen is a big body at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, and leads the NHL in playoff scoring with 12 goals.
“He was one of our best players,” general manager Ken Holland said. “We knew a day or so ago he was green-lighted for Game 3, but after practicing yesterday and skating this morning, the doctors have given him the green light. Thrilled to have him in there. You’re not sure where his game is at because obviously he’s been out for 2-3 weeks, but you expect as you go along in the series, you expect he’s going to find his game.”
Holland didn’t know where Franzen would play. Most likely, he’ll either be on the second line with Valtteri Filppula and Dan Cleary, or on the third line with Kris Draper and Dallas Drake, in which case Mikael Samuelsson would move up to the second line. Jiri Hudler probably will drop back down to the fourth line, and I expect Darren McCarty will be scratched to make room for Franzen.
The Wings remain unsure of what set of Franzen’s headaches, which he said started during the second round against Colorado.
“We don’t know anything about the Colorado series,” Holland said. “We think in Game 1 of the Dallas series, there was a hit that maybe kind of made it a little bit worse, and then … but in the end, we’ll talk about it when the playoffs are over. We’ve got a pretty good idea of what happened. He’s had concussion-like symptoms, but I don’t think he really had a concussion, which is good news long-term.”
Source: Detroit Free Press
Topics: 08 Playoffs, Coaches/GM's/Owners, Player Injuries, Red Wings |