Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg is doubtful for Monday night's game at Anaheim, and winger Teemu Pulkkinen is a game-time decision.
Both were on the wrong end of hits by Dallas captain Jamie Benn in Saturday's 7-6 overtime victory.
Zetterberg was experiencing concussion-like symptoms after he was punched in the head. He didn't return for the third period, when his teammates overcame a pair of two-goal deficits to win in overtime on a goal by Niklas Kronwall.
Pulkkinen sustained a bruised leg in a knee-to-knee collision with Benn. The knee was tender on Sunday, but loosened up enough a day later to encourage Pulkkinen to give it a try during the pregame skate and make a decision then, General Manager Ken Holland said.
Meantime, both injuries were considered day-to-day, although Holland said the Wings are taking no chances pressing Zetterberg back into action before he feels 100 percent.
So Zetterberg should be considered questionable at best for Tuesday's game against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings. Never mind that the Wings are in a battle for the Eastern Conference lead with divisional rivals Montreal and Tampa Bay.
"There's still 24 games to go. There's a lot of hockey left," Holland said. "I talked to Zetterberg and basically said forget about the standings. At the end of the day, the attitude of our training staff and me as a manager -- when you're dealing with people's heads -- we're going to err on the side of caution."
Joakim Andersson and Daniel Cleary, both healthy scratches at Dallas, are available in the absence of Zetterberg and Pulkkinen, so there was no need for any roster moves, Holland said.
Benn had a goal, two assists and came out on the losing end of a fight with Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, a scrap Benn initiated early in the game in an effort to kick-start his team, which was being badly outplayed by Detroit from the outset.
It's hard to blame his thought process: Pick on a Swede, win an easy fight and get your team going. Except Benn never got in a punch and took plenty from Ericsson, who fights reluctantly but can still handle himself well.
The Wings didn't care for the way Benn played Saturday, when he appeared to be headhunting Detroit's better players. Opponents describe him as a throwback NHL player, someone who likes to play on the edge but doesn't mind it when opponents play that way, too.
In other words, he's someone you hate playing against -- although you'd love to have him on your team.
