Injuries force Red Wings to ice undermanned lineup against surging Jets

Gotta dig deep tonight, boys.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Injuries force Red Wings to ice undermanned lineup against surging Jets
Zuma Press

The saying goes, “All good things must come to an end”. Does that also include the reverse, i.e. all bad things must come to an end too?

The Detroit Red Wings are stuck in the midst of a horrific slump, having not won a game in a full month now. That’s 12 consecutive losses, many of them by multiple goals. In fact, their goal differential during that stretch is a -62. That hurts just reading it! 

They’ll have an opportunity to break that streak tonight when they bring in the Winnipeg Jets to Little Caesars Arena. Of course, the Red Wings are still smarting from Tuesday’s 5-1 loss to the same Jets on their home ice at Belle MTS Centre in Winnipeg. 

And tonight won’t be easy with the news that broke earlier today that forward Dylan Larkin will be a game-time decision with an illness. Trying to break a massive skid without your top player doesn’t exactly bode well, but they have no choice. 

Additionally, they’ll be without speedy forward Andreas Athanasiou (undisclosed injury) for a second consecutive game. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier is expected to be in the crease tonight with Eric Comrie serving as backup. 

The good news is that several injured regulars are inching towards a return. Leading team scorer Anthony Mantha participated in this morning’s skate, along with goaltender Jimmy Howard. Head coach Jeff Blashill also indicated that defenseman Danny DeKeyser is also nearing a return. Both Mantha and Howard could potentially return next week, while DeKeyser might take slightly longer than that to make his return. 

Tonight’s game will get underway just after 7:30 PM EST, and can be viewed locally on Fox Sports Detroit Plus. 

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