Rookie center Cory Emmerton gave kudos to Commodore's practice skills at right win Monday.

After snapping a six-game winless streak Saturday night, the Red Wings were back at work Monday morning, albeit short-handed.

Forwards Todd Bertuzzi and Jiri Hudler are battling colds, and center Darren Helm was not available as he nursed a charley horse, which he received in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Anaheim.

Coach Mike Babcock wasn’t certain about the status for his two forwards for Tuesday's game against the Colorado Avalanche at Joe Louis Arena. But he said that Helm “got a bump on his leg the other night during the game. Just a maintenance day. We expect him back tomorrow.”

The Wings also received good news from forward Patrick Eaves, who skated for the second time since hurting his lower back last Tuesday against Minnesota.

“Back felt good today,” Eaves said. “I'll be aiming for Tuesday. It keeps getting better everyday. No troubles in the morning. It feels a lot better, that's all I can tell you.”

To help balance out the forward lines, defenseman Mike Commodore practiced at right wing Monday, and received kudos from rookie center Cory Emmerton, who tweeted, “Big shout out to @commie22 who celebrated his 32nd birthday today by playing right wing in practice, he looked comfortable.”

Commodore said he felt as comfortable as he looked. But don’t look to see him play up anytime soon.

“If I had to I could,” he said. “But you wouldn’t' see me do anything spectacular. I don't mind it when you have the puck, it's like the races to the puck. I wouldn't mind fore-checking, but back-checking would suck. I think I could get by. I'm pretty sure I could be a good defensive forward, if anything else provide a third D out there.”

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