Red Wings collecting injuries as fast as points
Detroit — Since Nov. 23, as they began pulling out of the November nosedive that dented their playoff aspirations, the Red Wings gathered points and injuries.
They have eight points in five games, and seven serious injuries.
Just as the Wings got going, they got hurt.
GM Ken Holland announced Friday that Justin Abdelkader is out two to four weeks with a “slightly strained MCL,” one of four major ligaments on the knee.
“Well, it can’t affect things,” Jeff Blashill said, after the most recent casualty. “I mean, that’s part of the game.
“I think lots of times we’ve seen ourselves step up when we’ve lost players.”
Wings' Abdelkader out 2-4 weeks with strained MCL
The injury occurred to Abdelkader’s right leg Thursday when he checked Vincent Trocheck, one of the Panthers’ top forwards and a frequent Red Wings nemesis, at about the 6:40 mark of the first period.
Abdelkader joins six other injured Red Wings: Andreas Athanasiou (knee), Jimmy Howard (groin) and Alexey Marchenko (shoulder), who are likely to miss at least another week; Tyler Bertuzzi (ankle), who is out three-to-five weeks; Brendan Smith (knee), out at least four weeks and Darren Helm (shoulder), who is out until January.
For the Wings, it adds to the upheaval in a reconstituted lineup.
They began the season without Pavel Datsyuk, who retired, and Niklas Kronwall (knee), while Henrik Zetterberg (knee) started the season but had to play himself into shape as it progressed.
Anthony Mantha, Ryan Sproul and Xavier Ouellet, who played in the AHL for Grand Rapids last season, are now regulars, with Mantha playing on the top line.
Goaltender Jared Coreau could well get his first NHL start Sunday evening against the Islanders in Brooklyn.
The Red Wings are likely to recall a forward from Grand Rapids after the Griffins play Iowa on Friday.
Drew Miller, a healthy scratch in recent games, will likely fill in for Abdelkader against Penguins.
“Well, I think the guys that come in do a good job,” said Zetterberg, when asked if playing with so many replacements is affecting the interaction of the team. We’re changing lines. We’ve got a good thing going there.
“If we stick together with the lines a little bit, we’ll have chemistry. In the lines, when a guy goes down, you have to move around a little bit.”
Entering play Friday, the Wings were two points behind the Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division and two points behind the Lightning for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Big loss
With four goals, Abdelkader is tied for third on the team with Mike Green, Darren Helm, Gustav Nyquist, Thomas Vanek, Athanasiou and Helm.
His eight points puts him sixth, tied with Dylan Larkin.
After never scoring more than 10 goals, Abdelkader notched 23 and 19 in the past two years, playing mostly with Datsyuk.
This offseason, the 29-year-old Muskegon native and Michigan State alumnus signed a seven-year, $29.75 million contract that expires when he is 36.
“Well, he’s a force for us every night,” Kronwall said.
“He’s one of those guys who wears his heart on his sleeve, and just does it right, out there.
“Of course, it’s a big loss.”
Blashill said Abdelkader is a key cog.
“Obviously, Abby’s a big piece of what we do,” he said.
A chance to shine
Two players could move up as a result of Abdelkader’s injury.
Tomas Jurco, who has appeared well-involved on the fourth line in the two games since his return to the lineup after missing the first 22 recovering from back surgery, could move up to the second line.
Abdelkader has played there recently with Frans Nielsen and Luke Glendening.
Jurco demonstrated last season that he can grind out games on the forecheck and defensively. But his offensive skills are still considered strong.
His coach in juniors, Gerard Gallant, who was fired this week by the Panthers, said it is a certainty Jurco eventually will be a scorer in the NHL. This could be a shot playing as a top-six forward, unless Blashill decides to juggle the lines further.
Against the Penguins, Miller is likely to slide into Jurco’s spot on the fourth line.
“Certainly, we’ve got a real good player in Drew Miller who can enter into the lineup if needed,” Blashill said.
Red Wings at Penguins
Faceoff: 7, PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh
TV/radio: FSD, 97.1
Notes: As the Wings fight to remain in the playoff hunt, the Penguins, the defending Stanley Cup champions, are having a fine season. The Wings have points in five-straight games, but are grappling with injuries. Petr Mrazek has looked strong in net in four games, including three starts, since Howard was hurt against the Devils Nov. 25… Maybe the only problem the Penguins have is getting their two star goalies, Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury, enough playing time. Fleury is having more difficulty with split time. In 18 games played, Sidney Crosby has 16 goals and nine assists. The Penguins are 6-1-2 in their last nine games against the Red Wings, including a 7-2 win in their last meeting, March 26. They jump-started their championship season last year by beating the Wings 5-2 in Joe Louis Arena Dec. 31, 2015, after trailing 2-0. They went on to win 31 of their last 46 games, the second-best record (Ducks) in the NHL during that time.