After leaving Thursday night’s game with a lower-body injury, Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with a “slight MCL sprain” according to MLive’s Ansar Khan.
Abdelkader injured his right knee after hitting it into the boards while finishing his check. He left the bench shortly thereafter. Following the game, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill told the media that the team may call up a forward to replace Abdelkader, but could also insert Drew Miller into the lineup. On Friday morning, GM Ken Holland said there will be a call-up from the AHL, but he won’t play on Saturday night.
While he’s posted 40+ points two years in a row, Abdelkader has struggled this year with just eight points in 22 games after a much-maligned appearance with Team USA at the World Cup.
Abdelkader is the latest in a long list of injured Red Wings, which includes forwards Darren Helm, Andreas Athanasiou, and Tyler Bertuzzi; defensemen Alexey Marchenko and Brendan Smith; and goalie Jimmy Howard.
The Wings are sixth in the NHL’s Atlantic Division as they look to make the playoffs for a 26th straight year.