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The injury-hit Detroit Red Wings expect to be close to full strength when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game One of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday.

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock confirmed on Friday that Swedish defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Jonathan Ericsson would both be available, but Pavel Datsyuk, one of three Hart trophy finalists for the league MVP honours, will be a game-time decision.

"I think everybody's ready to go," Babcock said after the team's final practice for Saturday's opener. "Pavel's going to be the only last-minute decision.

"Everyone else will be ready."

Three gruelling best-of-seven series have exacted a heavy toll on the Stanley Cup champions, who will have had just two days to recover from their 4-1 series win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference final.

Lidstrom's return is considered key to Detroit's Cup defence.

The six-time Norris trophy winner, as the league's top defenseman, will be tasked with shutting down the Penguins' dynamic duo of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, the play-offs' top two scorers.

"For Nick to be back in game one is huge," said Red Wings netminder Chris Osgood. "It's going to help us on our power play obviously but Nick defensively is one of a kind.

"He's one of those guys that can shut down other teams' star players on his own."

The durable Swede has anchored the Red Wings blue line to four Stanley Cups, playing 228 postseason games, but missed the last two matches of the Western Conference final due to a lower body injury.

"It was very hard watching, sitting on the sidelines and watching the guys play," said Lidstrom. "I haven't experienced that before in the playoffs.

"But I feel fresh and ready to go and go at it now."

The Red Wings' rookie defenseman Ericsson returns just three days after having his appendix removed.

A decision on Datsyuk, one of the NHL's top two-way players, who has missed three games with an injured foot, will be deferred until the last minute.

"When he doesn't play we've got to have someone else hold on to the puck for 18 minutes of the game," said Babcock. "But you know, that's why you're on a team.

"When you get the sweater on you expect to do a job ... you expect your team mates to be the best they can possibly be.

"Whoever dresses tomorrow, that's what we expect."

Reuters