from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Anthony Mantha slid the orange jersey over his head and deposited it in the laundry bin, proclaiming he didn’t like the color.

It signified he isn’t allowed contact during practice, but at least he’s allowed to wear a color. Sunday was his first time skating with his Detroit Red Wings teammates since he was injured Dec. 21 in a scuffle with Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin.

Mantha estimated he’ll be in orange for seven to 10 days, and then see how he responds to contact in practice, but he sounded confident he will be back this season. He was the last player off the ice Sunday after doing drills with assistant coach Dan Bylsma.

“If I keep skating with Disco,” Mantha said, “I’ll be back in no time.”

Mantha has missed six weeks since he left Scotiabank Arena with his right shoulder in a sling. He also needed two stitches to the back of his head, after being slammed to the ice by Muzzin. Mantha challenged Muzzin after seeing him hit Wings defenseman Madison Bowey, who was not injured.

“I thought maybe it was a high elbow from what I saw in my peripheral,” Mantha said. “I just went in there. Things happen.”

While video appeared to show Muzzin slew-footing Mantha, the NHL did not discipline Muzzin.

“It was obviously a slew foot but the league didn’t see it, I guess,” Mantha said.

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