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Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk is making progress three days after sustaining a second-degree shoulder separation, telling MLive.com he's feeling "much better" and has "good movement."

Datsyuk, expected to miss about four weeks, will be back on the ice soon, according to the report. He was at Joe Louis Arena on Thursday to receive treatment.

"I'll be skating, but it'll be alone," Datsyuk said.

Datsyuk, 36, was injured Monday when he was checked into the glass by Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi during Detroit's 2-1 win. He had 17 goals and 37 points in 45 games last season despite missing 30 games with a knee injury and seven because of a concussion.

"Obviously, it's tough to see Pavel down with a shoulder like that, but it's part of the game," Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg told MLive.com. "I'd rather have it now than later on in the year. Thought he looked a lot better [Thursday] than when I saw him last time, so hopefully it will be shorter than we expected."