Just as all four lines for the Detroit Red Wings were showing chemistry, alterations will have to be made.
Forward Justin Abdelkader will miss 2-4 weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament, general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press Friday. Abdelkader's absence leaves the Wings with just 12 forwards, and Holland said there might be call-ups Saturday, although odd man out Drew Miller also is available. There is almost certain to be a call-up on defense, as Niklas Kronwall so far has been held out of playing back-to-back games.
The Wings did not practice Friday, resting up before a stretch of three road games in four nights: Saturday at Pittsburgh, Sunday at the New York Islanders and Tuesday at Winnipeg.
Abdelkader was hurt when he fell awkwardly during Thursday's 2-1 overtime loss to Florida, becoming the fourth player hurt in the past week. The injuries have piled up along with points, as the Wings have banked eight points their last five games.
The lines, especially, had started to look promising after weeks of tweaking, with Abdelkader joining Frans Nielsen and Luke Glendening to form an effective north-south line. Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha and Tomas Tatar have looked good together, as have Thomas Vanek, Dylan Larkin and Gustav Nyquist. Tomas Jurco's debut earlier this week upped the skill level on the fourth line with Steve Ott and Riley Sheahan. It's possible that the Wings will slot Miller onto the fourth line and give Jurco a look in Abdelkader's spot.
The brightest outcome of the past three games has been Petr Mrazek, who has looked like the confident, go-to goaltender the Wings believe him to be. He has allowed just five goals in the span, after a stretch that saw him surrender four goals in four straight starts.
Abdelkader joins a sick bay already holding goaltender Jimmy Howard (groin, out at least another week), forward Andreas Athanasiou (sprained knee, at least a couple more weeks), forward Darren Helm (dislocated right shoulder, out till January), forward Tyler Bertuzzi (high ankle sprain, about four weeks), defenseman Alexey Marchenko (sprained right AC joint, maybe around a week) and defenseman Brendan Smith (right MCL sprain, out a month).
