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Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk tries to keep control of the puck while being hooked by Tampa Bay's Dana Tyrell earlier this season.

(The Associated Press)

Pavel Datsyuk has been out since the Jan. 1 Winter Classic vs. Toronto.

SUNRISE, Fla. – Pavel Datsyuk has missed more than a month, so he’ll likely need some time to get up to speed. But just having him in the lineup will be a big boost for the Detroit Red Wings.

Datsyuk will return tonight against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center (7:30, Fox Sports Detroit). He has missed 14 games with an unspecified knee issue.

“Sooner or later I needed to start,” Datsyuk said after the morning skate. “I’ve been waiting enough.”

It was Datsyuk’s decision. He is the captain of the Russian Olympic team and wanted to play in a couple of games before heading to Sochi, Russia, on Sunday.

“I just hope we’re doing the right thing,” coach Mike Babcock said. “I hope we’re not bringing him back just because it’s the Olympics. I hope he’s actually ready and we’re going to find out tonight. One thing about getting back on the ice, you can’t hide out there.

“It’s in his country, he wants to play bad, but he’s a smart guy, he isn’t going to jeopardize his career over something like this. Makes no sense. So we got to trust him. Same way it happens all the time. You trust them. In the end they make the decision. That’s what injured players do.”

Asked how he feels, Datsyuk said, “It’s hard to say but when game starts, I start to more feel it and then I can say. But now it’s OK.”

He added, “Toughest thing is watching game in locker room, but now I’m hoping I’m in good shape to play and nothing bother me.”

It helps that he’s been skating regularly for the past month, except for a few days when he experienced a setback.

“It’s lot of help, especially when you skate with team,” Datsyuk said. “Try to pick up speed.”

Datsyuk will play a line with Darren Helm and Daniel Alfredsson.

“Alfredsson’s a good player, Helm’s a good player, Pavel’s a good player; why can’t that work?” Babcock said. “We got our (Henrik Zetterberg) line going good, we got our (Riley) Sheahan line going good, we got Glenny’s line going good. That other line wasn’t going anyway.”

Helm's speed should help Datsyuk.

“He can play center and help me on the back-check and the forecheck,” Datsyuk said. “It’s much easier for me.”

Playing with Datsyuk should help Helm, too. He has no points in eight games since returning from a groin injury that sidelined him for seven games.

“I just want to use my speed, open up the ice for him a little bit, let him make plays, get the puck to him,” Helm said. “He’s a pretty skilled guy with the puck. I just want to let him do his thing and help him out when he needs some help.”

Asked whether he will limit Datsyuk’s ice time (he has averaged 21:08), Babcock said: “Just going to let him play and see how he does.”

To make room for Datsyuk on the 23-man roster, the Red Wings placed defenseman Jakub Kindl (lower-body injury) on short-term injured reserve.

Here are the Red Wings' line and defense pairs for tonight:

Gustav Nyquist-Henrik Zetterberg-Justin Abdelkader

Darren Helm-Pavel Datsyuk-Daniel Alfredsson

Tomas Tatar-Riley Sheahan-Tomas Jurco

Joakim Andersson-Luke Glendening-Drew Miller

Patrick Eaves, Daniel Cleary, Todd Bertuzzi and Stephen Weiss also skated.

Jonathan Ericsson-Niklas Kronwall

Kyle Quincey-Danny DeKeyser

Brian Lashoff-Brendan Smith

Jimmy Howard (starting)

Jonas Gustavsson