Last Updated: November 05. 2009 11:17PM

All Wings defensemen ready to go for game vs. Sharks

Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Detroit -- Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said after Thursday's morning skate that his defense corps was back intact.

Both Jonathan Ericsson and Brian Rafalski have shaken the flu bug. To start Thursday night's game against San Jose, Babcock said he would pair Rafalski with Nick Lidstrom, moving Niklas Kronwall back with Brad Stuart.

Ericsson was back, as usual, with Brett Lebda.

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Babcock, though, said the pairing could change depending on matchups during the game. The Wings are going to pay extra defensive attention whenever center Patrick Marleau (22 points) is on the ice.

The forward lines remain the same:

• Todd Bertuzzi-Pavel Datsyuk-Tomas Holmstrom

• Jason Williams-Henrik Zetterberg-Danny Cleary

• Kris Draper-Darren Helm-Patrick Eaves

• Ville Leino-Justin Abdelkader-Kirk Maltby

Chris Osgood will start in goal.

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Brian Rafalski will be paired on defense with Nick Lidstrom on Thursday night. (David Guralnick / The Detroit News)

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  • Brian Rafalski will be paired on defense with Nick Lidstrom on Thursday night. (David Guralnick / The Detroit News)

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