On Thursday, when he woke up at the team hotel prior to that night's game against Ottawa, Bruins forward Marco Sturm knew he wouldn't be available.
Sturm's children had been felled by a virus earlier, and their father was bound to go down with the flu-like symptoms as well.
Yesterday, Sturm was feeling well enough to return to the lineup for his 730th NHL game. He skated 25 shifts for 18:15 of ice time, passing former defenseman Uwe Krupp to become the career leader in games played by a player born and raised in Germany.
"Great guy, great man, great hockey player," Sturm said of Krupp. "He won it all, too. He's an idol for me."
Krupp, the coach of the German national team, will most likely be Sturm's bench boss for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Sturm plans to play in the Winter Games, serving as a leader for a country that has yet to match its European counterparts in hockey prowess.
"It's tough," said Sturm, one of nine German-born players to have seen action in the NHL this season. "You're trying to compete with soccer and tennis."
This year, Sturm is on pace to score 27 goals, the same number he potted last season.
This season, however, Sturm has taken on additional responsibility.
Since Glen Murray went down Dec. 20 with an injured hip flexor, Sturm has taken over the right wing's duties as an alternate captain. Aside from Thursday's Ottawa game, when P.J. Axelsson returned and served as an alternate captain along with Marc Savard, Sturm has worn the "A" for 17 matches.
During his three years in Boston, Sturm has primarily been a second-line left wing, with Patrice Bergeron his usual center. But after Axelsson went down with a broken right foot Jan. 10, Sturm was promoted to the top line, where he and Phil Kessel have given Savard some speedy options on the wings.
Sturm has 195 goals and 199 assists, good for 394 career points, third most on the team behind Savard (556) and Murray (640).
Allen back skating
Bobby Allen, out since Dec. 22 because of back spasms, participated in yesterday's morning skate at TD Banknorth Garden. It was the first time Allen skated with his teammates since aggravating the condition.
"It was good just to be out there with the guys, having fun and joking around," said Allen.
The 29-year-old defenseman had been skating on his own for the last week under the watch of strength and conditioning coach John Whitesides, who has also been monitoring Allen's workouts.
For approximately 15 minutes each day, Allen has been performing strengthening exercises for his core - a routine he'll continue for the rest of the season.
Allen, who missed his 17th straight game last night, has dressed for 15 matches this season, averaging 10:39 of ice time. Allen said he plans to participate in the team's next practice, with the goal of returning to action by the end of the week if he doesn't suffer any setbacks. In the meantime, he has something else on his mind.
Allen, who won the Beanpot during his senior year at Boston College, was talking trash about tomorrow's first-round game with Boston University.
High praise
Before last night's game, coach Claude Julien complimented Detroit for its skill and structure, noting that the Red Wings rarely have fewer than three skaters hovering around their blue line to defend opposing rushes. "They're highly skilled," said Julien. "They've got some experience on that hockey club. If you allow them time to make plays, they will make plays." The Wings, winners of their last seven, have lost only 10 games. They have scored a league-high 182 goals and given up an NHL-low 113. "If you turn pucks over at the blue line, they're going to be waiting for you," said Julien. "You can move it to the forwards and have two forwards going, but they'll always have at least a D and a forward waiting for you at the blue line. They'll put pressure on you to chip it in. They won't give you much room to just walk in at the blue line." Sturm's virus was not related to the bug that made its way around the club last month. But as a precaution, the players drank from their own designated water bottles during yesterday's morning skate, each marked with their numbers . . . Murray participated in yesterday's skate. "He's coming along well," said Julien. "As long as there are no setbacks, he's getting closer every day. I hate to put a time frame on it because we've had some setbacks. So we're going to be cautious in saying when he's going to be back." Murray missed his 18th straight game last night . . . Of the 23 players on Detroit's active roster, 10 were acquired via the draft, including two in the ninth round: Pavel Datsyuk (1998) and Tomas Holmstrom (1994).
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.
