Injury woes beginning to mount

Suddenly, Detroit Red Wings players are dropping as quickly as the November temperatures in the state of Michigan. Two more players were added to the walking wounded list as the team prepares for Wednesday’s game at Little Caesars Arena against the Calgary Flames. Forward Darren Helm, one of the team’s best penalty killers and a key member of what coach Jeff Blashill likes to call the Red Wings’ match-up line with Frans Nielsen and Luke Glendening, did not practice Tuesday due to an undisclosed injury. “Darren will be questionable right now,… Blashill indicated as far as Wednesday’s game. While not disclosing the nature of Helm’s ailment, the Wings did acknowledge that it was suffered during Detroit’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. “It would be just something that happened the other night there,… Blashill said. “I’m hoping it’s just a bruise, a pain-tolerance thing.… Also missing in action is forward Martin Frk. He left practice on Tuesday with what was confirmed to be a groin injury. “It looks like he’ll be out tomorrow,… Blashill said. “I can’t tell you how long - lower body, could be a week.… Blashill indicated that Frk’s issue is the result of an ongoing ailment. “I think it’s just more accumulation of the last couple days and it affected him today and he couldn’t skate great,… Blashill said. Nielsen will fill Frk’s spot on the Detroit power play. Detroit general manager Ken Holland stated that there would be no recalls from AHL Grand Rapids for Wednesday’s game, meaning both Luke Witkowski and David Booth will be deployed as forwards. Witkowski played on the defense in Saturday’s loss as Blashill went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Booth last saw game action on Oct. 20 against the Washington Capitals. DeKeyser Progress Practising for the second day in succession, defenseman Danny DeKeyser (ankle) reported continued progress and is optimistically targeting a weekend return to action. “It felt good,… DeKeyser said. “It felt even a little bit better than yesterday, which is good. I did a little bit of, just a little bit of kind of battling and stuff in the corners. I’ll try to do more of that in the next couple days. “It was a good day.… With the injuries at forward leaving the team shorthanded for practice, DeKeyser jumped up on a line with Luke Glendening and Scott Wilson. “I had to ask a few questions before going in those drills for sure,… DeKeyser said. “Playing forward is a little bit different, I wasn’t used to that. Frky went off, (and) I just filled in for the day.… Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer