Helene St. James

Three Detroit former Red Wings were killed Wednesday morning in a plane crash in Russia.

Former assistant Brad McCrimmon, former defenseman Ruslan Salei and former goaltending prospect Stefan Liv perished when their Yak-42 plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Yaroslavl, about 150 miles northeast of Moscow.

DETROIT -- Valtteri Filppula calls him the silver fox, while Niklas Kronwall figures he can't really say anything. But by any description, the Red Wings agree forward Drew Miller is exactly the sort of depth player a team needs to succeed this time of year.

Miller's speed makes him a fit on any line, and his pursuit of the puck makes it easier on whoever his linemates are.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- It's close to a toss-up what his Detroit Red Wings teammates like best about Tomas Holmstrom: That he is as hard-nosed and relentless as they come, or that he can't really pronounce the letter "j."

The latter is just one of the many quirks that make Holmstrom who he is. He has been with the Wings 14 seasons, since he came over as a rookie in 1996, and yet he still sounds like he stepped off the boat from Sweden yesterday.

Goaltender Chris Osgood is certain he'll be back playing soon, which is just what the Detroit Red Wings have been waiting to hear.

Osgood's availability was in doubt as recently as last week, as he was dealing with the aftermath of Jan. 11 surgery.

"I feel better now, like, health-wise and strength-wise, than I did previous to the injury," Osgood said Tuesday morning. "There's no doubt I'll be back, it's just a matter of when."

DETROIT -- As the Red Wings prepared to close out 2010, several positives shine brightly into the New Year.

Entering Thursday night, the Red Wings lead the Western Conference with 52 points and lead the NHL with a 3.46 goals-per-game average, the latter a reflection of their forwards and their defensemen.

Led by Nicklas Lidstrom's 11 goals, the Detroit blue line corps is the NHL's top offensive contributor. The Wings are the only team with three players among the top 20 in scoring for defensemen, with Lidstrom at 35 points, Brian Rafalski at 24 points and Niklas Kronwall at eight goals and 20 points.

DETROIT -- Mike Modano will join the Red Wings, the Detroit Free Press has learned.

The Wings have been in hot pursuit of Modano, flying him in from Dallas a month ago and wooing him over lunch and a Tigers game. He also has suitors in San Jose and Minnesota, but has made up his mind.