Oates Will Rejoin Team During Trip

Center Adam Oates’ broken left hand was examined Thursday and deemed to be healing on schedule.

Oates will rejoin the Mighty Ducks on their trip and begin practicing with the team.

Oates was injured Oct. 24 against Vancouver and had surgery to place screws in his hand. He said last week that once cleared by doctors to practice he would return as soon as the pain allowed him to play.

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Defenseman Pavel Trnka was activated from injured reserve and played his first game of the season Thursday in a 3-2 victory over Columbus.

Trnka, who took Fredrik Olausson’s place in the lineup, had been sidelined because of a strained groin. He assisted on Jason Krog’s third-period goal Thursday.

Coach Mike Babcock said that the plan was to rest Olausson, 37, on Thursday when the Ducks played the second game of the five-game trip.

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Columbus’ Geoff Sanderson scored off an Andrew Cassels pass in the first period. It was Sanderson’s sixth goal in the last five games, tying the team record for goals in consecutive games.

It also gave Cassels a seven-game point streak, tying a team record. He has four goals and 12 points in the seven games.

TONIGHT

at Detroit, 4:30 p.m.

Site -- Joe Louis Arena.

Radio -- KPLS (830).

Records -- Ducks 7-6-3-1; Red Wings 8-5-2-0.

Record vs. Red Wings -- 0-1-0-0.

Update -- Jiri Fischer, one of the Red Wings’ top defensemen, is out four to six months after suffering a torn knee ligament Tuesday night. Mike Leclerc, who had a right elbow injury, returned to the Duck lineup Thursday.