Johan Franzen, here scoring against Nashville earlier in the playoffs, could be back in the lineup for the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night. (John T. Greilick/Associated Press)

The man known as Mule appears to be on the mend.

Fresh off a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals, the Detroit Red Wings could add more firepower as forward Johan Franzen may be ready to return to the lineup.

Franzen has missed six straight games with concussion-like symptoms he had been experiencing since the second round of the post-season but the Swede went all out in practice with the team on Sunday and he believes he'll be given the green light for Game 2 in Detroit (8 p.m. ET, CBC, CBCSports.ca).

"It's going to take maybe one more practice to get the legs going like they were before," he said. "If I get into Game 2, I'll start getting the timing back."

If Franzen doesn't have a headache after Monday's morning skate, and he says he hasn't had one in more than a week, it's expected that he'll receive medical clearance to play in Game 2 that night.

Franzen was a force in the first half of the playoffs with 12 goals in 11 games to lead all scorers but Detroit has clearly managed in his absence.

Fellow Swede Henrik Zetterberg grabbed a share of the goal-scoring lead in the post-season with his 12th on Saturday and when it comes to timely goals, it was another player from Detroit's seemingly endless pool of Swedish talent that provided a huge lift in Game 1.

Mikael Samuelsson got the Red Wings off on the right foot with a goal to open the scoring in the second period and then added Detroit's next goal just over two minutes into the third.

The continued roll of the Red Wings has been enough for Franzen to light-heartedly suggest that head coach Mike Babcock might not be able to find room for him.

"Maybe we're better off without me, I don't know," Franzen said with a grin before stripping off his pads. "I hope I can get my spot back, but you never know."

With files from the Canadian Press