Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk out again; seeking yet another opinion on injured knee

Clinging precariously to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the last thing the Detroit Red Wings needed was more bad injury news - but that's exactly what they got on Monday when they learned that star forward Pavel Datsyuk is on the shelf yet again.

At issue, the bothersome knee that has been the point of conjecture and controversy for two months, a knee that's not getting better, a knee that may ultimately require surgery to repair.

Three doctors have previously told Datsyuk and his employers that surgery is not required and that rest and treatment is indicated for whatever is ailing the joint, but Datsyuk will visit a fourth physician on Wednesday, missing the team's Tuesday night faceoff at New Jersey and being listed day-to-day...for now.

“Just rest and treatment,” Datsyuk said on Monday. “Every day, hoping.”

Datsyuk has been dealing with the knee since the beginning of the New Year, missing 14 games before returning for two matches before heading to Sochi to captain the Russian team in the Olympic Games, hobbling through the tournament in which his home country finished out of medal contention...

...an issue that may gain more steam if Datsyuk is forced to miss more time for a team already beset by injuries and missing it's captain, Henrik Zetterberg, who was forced from the Sochi Games himself with a flareup of a bulging disc, for which he had season-ending surgery for two weeks ago.

On top of that, winger Stephen Weiss suffered a setback from his recovery from sports hernia surgery and is being evaluated on Tuesday after having what general manager Ken Holland called "A bad day for him." on Monday - and forward Daniel Cleary suffered a knee injury of his own that will have him out of the lineup for at least a week.

But the focus is on Datsyuk's knee that forced him to repair to the room after just two periods against Ottawa last Thursday.

“It just won’t go away,” Holland said of the injury. “When Pav is healthy and he can help us win, he’ll be in the lineup.”

If the Red Wings could ever get healthy, they have the talent to go deep into the playoffs - but if they lose Datsyuk and don't get healthy anywhere else, they'll have a tough time even making the post-season as there are five teams within three points of each other in the race for the final seed.

 http://www.sportsinjuryalert.com/2014/03/red-wings-pavel-datsyuk-out-again.html#.UxkOSYUcq58