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Datsyuk practices with Wings, but shoulder ‘still not ready’

Boston Bruins v Detroit Red Wings - Game Four

DETROIT, MI - APRIL 24: Pavel Datsyuk #13 of the Detroit Red Wings moves the puck against the Boston Bruins of Game Four of the First Round of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Joe Louis Arena on April 24, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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The sight of Pavel Datsyuk skating with teammates for a second straight day today had a lot of Red Wings fans hopeful that the star forward could be ahead of schedule in his return from a separated shoulder.

But those fans may need to dial back their optimism a bit.

“I feel good to be with the team, skate and I try to keep the pace but it’s still not ready,” Datsyuk said, per MLive. “It still bother me. ... Need more time healing and I’ll feel better. No contact yet either.”

The Wings open the regular season on Thursday versus Boston. When asked if playing in that game might be a possibility, Datsyuk would only say, “We’ll see. One week to go. Lots of things happen.”

Based on the original estimate of 4-5 weeks, the Wings were preparing for Datsyuk to miss up to eight games of the regular season.