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For the first time since Oct. 10, when the Detroit Red Wings face the Colorado Avalanche, they will do so with defenseman Danny DeKeyser in the lineup.
DeKeyser suffered a hairline fracture of the ankle and a sprain while blocking a shot in Detroit’s game that night against the Dallas Stars, and has endured a series of setbacks along the way as he tried to rebound from what originally was not considered to be a long-term injury.
“At first looked like a sprain but the more it went on, they took a second look at it and there was a small fracture in there, so it just took a little while to heal,” DeKeyser said. “It wasn’t feeling great in the boot when I tried skating a few weeks ago, so just kind of shut it down for a couple weeks and let it heal up.”
This time, DeKeyser is certain that he’s ready to go and healthy enough to play a significant role for the team going forward.
“Mobility is fine,” DeKeyser said. “When I tried skating on it a few weeks ago, I knew something didn’t feel right but since they found the crack, it healed up and now it feels great. So it’s just about getting back into the swing of things and getting back into game mentality.”
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill originally viewed a scenario when he deployed DeKeyser and off-season free-agent addition Trevor Daley as his shutdown tandem along the back end, but since DeKeyser’s injury Daley and Jonathan Ericsson have developed into a stellar shutdown pairing, so it will be curious to see where DeKeyser is slotted into the picture long term.
“Having DeKeyser back in time will help,” Blashill said. “I say in time, because there’s going to be an adjustment period. He hasn’t played in a long time. You practice but not like you do in training camp.
“It’ll take a little bit for him to get up to full speed but having him back certainly helps puck moving, but it helps us period. He’s one of our better defensemen.”
One of the bright spots for the Red Wings in their start this season has been the improved play of the defensive six. Last season, often they were at the root of the team’s woes due to their inability to consistently get the puck out of the Wings zone and to safety, either by a clean, crisp first pass or by skating it out of the zone.
Daley, signed after winning back to back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, has played a large role in the improvement via his steadiness, his strong skating ability, patience with the puck and capability to make a good first pass and to also be able to calmly skate the puck away from danger.
“The more good players you have, the more guys that can eat up top four minutes,” Blashill said. “The more you can disperse those minutes on any given night, it lightens the load on everybody.
“We judge some of our players who play against other teams’ top players, when they make a mistake it’s glaring because the best players tend to make big-time plays against you, so I think within a game it’s impossible to be at 100 per cent every game. You’re going to have a bad night and it’s nice to have other guys that can pick up that load. Daley is one of those guys.”
Lashoff Demoted
With DeKeyser’s return to action, Brian Lashoff’s stay in Detroit lasted one game.
Lashoff was returned to AHL Grand Rapids prior to Saturday’s practice.
No Appeal
Detroit forward/defenseman Luke Witkowski won’t appeal the 10-game suspension he was handed Thursday by the NHL for returning to the ice to rejoin a fight after being escorted from the ice by game officials.
“Honestly, I didn’t know that was a rule,” Witkowski said. “Obviously, I know now. I knew it was a rule you couldn’t jump the boards.
“It’s kind of a grey area with still being on the bench and the door being open. But lesson learned, I guess. Move on from here.”
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