Xavier Ouellet’s stay in Grand Rapids was a short one. The Detroit Red Wings announced Thursday that defenseman Danny DeKeyser had suffered an upper-body injury and would miss at least this weekend’s games against Florida and Toronto.
To fill the void, Ouellet, who was returned to Detroit’s AHL farm club in Grand Rapids late last month when Brendan Smith recovered from an infected hand, was recalled. Left-winger Justin Abdelkader (shoulder) was placed on the injured list retroactive to Nov. 30 to make a roster spot available for Ouellet.
“That's obviously a tough break for us,… Detroit forward Gustav Nyquist said of losing DeKeyser. “He's been real good for us. I love the way he plays.
“He can really skate, he's got real good speed and good heads-up play and knows when to make a play and when to play safe back there. I think for his age, he plays a real mature game and we'll miss him for sure.… At the same time, they aren’t concerned about what the steady Ouellet will bring to the table during DeKeyser’s absence. Ouellet, 21, has skated in five games with the Red Wings this season. He picked up his first NHL point with an assist Nov. 22 at Toronto and scored his first NHL goal Nov. 28 at New Jersey.
“Absolutely,… Nyquist said. “He's been great every time he's come up. He's shown that he can play here for sure.…
Panthers’ Prey Coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to Toronto, the Wings will play host to their nemesis, the Florida Panthers, Friday at Joe Louis Arena.
Florida beat the Wings 4-3 earlier this season at the JLA and overall the Panthers have won four of their last six games against Detroit.
“They're a good team,… Nyquist said. “I think they're an underrated team. I think they're a team that works real hard and sticks to their system and plays hard for each other and works hard every night.
“You know they're going to come in here and skate a lot. They're not going to give you anything for free or anything like that. They got a real good goaltender in (Roberto) Luongo as well. They're a tough team to play.…
Denies Report Detroit coach Mike Babcock downplayed reports that he might be close to agreeing to terms on a new contract with the Red Wings.
“Ken Holland and I when we talked before the year, we agreed we wouldn’t do this during the year,… Babcock said. “Our team is going good. Our team is playing good. I like the way we’re playing. We don’t need any distractions.
“I’m happy here. I like the general manager. They treat me good. I don’t know what else I can tell you, but as far as negotiations between Mike Babcock and Ken Holland there is none.…
Shootout Mystery If you are wondering why the Wings are so feeble at the shootout, you’re not alone. They can’t figure it out either.
“With the skill we have in the locker room I would say we can be one of the best teams in the shootout but it’s opposite,… Detroit left-winger Tomas Tatar said of their 1-4 record this season.
The Wings have scored just three times in 14 shootout attempts and are at a loss to explain their persistent failure.
“I don’t know,… Tatar said. “Maybe we don’t feel comfortable to go down (on a breakaway), I don’t know. We just have to be better, everybody. It’s hard to talk about it.
“Like I said, with that skill on the paper I think we can beat any team in the shootout but we don’t get two points. We just have to stay focused, try different things and don’t think about it much. Just use your mind and stay loose.…
Tatar admitted that they could be suffering from a mental block after so many misses.
“After a few losses, you think about what we’re doing wrong,… he said. “I felt this is straight from last year, too. We started the season and we lost lots of games in a row. We are trying to improve it. We are working on it.…
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