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Red Wings Notes: Blashill, Nielsen, Abdelkader, Green

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Though the Detroit Red Wings have struggled this season, the Detroit News’ Gregg Krupa doesn’t believe the blame all belongs at the feet of bench boss Jeff Blashill. In danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, Krupa notes a multitude of reasons for the team’s fall: lack of star power, an aging core, a useless power play, and needing to collect at least 65% of the the points they have available to them in the their next 42 games.

From Krupa:

In the first 40 games, they garnered slightly less than half the points.  Amid the maelstrom, Blashill, 43, grapples in his second season with destructive trends dragging down the franchise.  Players who won Stanley Cups are largely gone.

Prized free agents have decide to play with other teams. Misjudgments on personnel have hampered “the rebuild on the fly.”  A roster with a good supply of support players lacks top stars.Blashill is not to blame.  But he should be gauged by whether players improve and play up to their potential.

And, at about the halfway point of the season, those are big issues of concern. Unless there is a marked improvement in the Red Wings performance by April, there is likely to be a harsh review of Blashill’s first two seasons.

Fairly or unfairly, someone will pay for the Wings’ struggles. While the majority of fans and national analysts will point to the team general manager Ken Holland constructed, it will most likely be the end of Blashill’s tenure in Detroit if someone has to go.

In other Red Wings news:

  • It took a season with a new team for Frans Nielsen to earn his first All-Star game appearance. Nielsen was overjoyed with the news, telling  MLive’s Ansar Khan that “it’s something to be proud of.” There are a handful of Red Wings having better seasons, namely Anthony Mantha, but Khan reports that it’s a multitude of factors that go into the selection process, not just scoring.
  • The Red Wings will receive two crucial players back into their lineup as both Justin Abdelkader and Mike Green are set to return against the Blackhawks tonight. If anything the return of the duo can certainly inject some more talent into an anemic power play, that is failing at historical levels. Though both will be limited to shorter shifts, it’s certainly a step in the right direction for a team beleaguered by injury.

Atlantic Notes: Kadri, Alfredsson, Green, Sabres

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While Toronto center Nazem Kadri isn’t known for his defensive prowess, he has made considerable strides in his two-way game this season, writes Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star.  With the Leafs welcoming number one overall pick Auston Matthews into the fold, they wanted to shield him from checking the best players from the opposition which meant that Kadri would have to assume the role.

[Related: Toronto’s Depth Chart]

Already with the reputation of being an agitator, Kadri has quietly been effective at slowing down the opposition this year while also contributing at the offensive end, where he sits third on the team in goals with 12 and fifth in points with 20.

Needless to say, Toronto is certainly pleased with Kadri’s play this year, the first of a six year, $27MM pact signed last season.  Has his defensive play been good enough to realistically be considered for the Selke Trophy, awarded to the best defensive forward in the league?  That may still be a stretch at this point but if he keeps up this level of two-way play the rest of the way, he’ll certainly garner some attention for that award.

Other notes from the Atlantic:

  • It will be a banner-raising night in Ottawa as the Senators will be retiring the jersey of long-time captain Daniel Alfredsson in a pre-game ceremony tonight. Alfredsson sits second in games played in franchise history (one behind Chris Phillips) while he holds the club record for goals, assists, points, and shots on goal, among others.  He played for only one other organization in his career, the Red Wings, who are taking on the Sens tonight.
  • Detroit defender Mike Green is hoping to return to the lineup late next week, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan. He has missed the last three games with an upper body injury and will likely miss the next three as he has January 7th in mind as a potential return date.  Green is Detroit’s highest scoring blueliner this year with 18 points (7-11-18) in 32 games.
  • Home ice hasn’t been particularly friendly to the Sabres, notes John Vogl of the Buffalo News. Buffalo is playing in their 38th and final home game of 2016 tonight and have posted just a .500 points percentage in those contests, going 15-15-7.  In 17 games at home this year, the Sabres have scored just 35 goals, or 2.06 per night.  Only Colorado (34 in 17 games) has scored less in the friendly confines of their own arena.

Injury Updates: Hertl, Zibanejad, Senators, Canadiens, Green

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San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl is making progress in his rehab from knee surgery back in mid-November but there remains no timetable for him to even return to practice, reports CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz.  Kurz speculates that sometime after the All-Star Break (January 27-29) could be the target for him to get back into the lineup.

Last month, GM Doug Wilson told reporters that Hertl was likely to miss weeks rather than months but considering it has been over a month since the surgery was performed back on November 18th, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Hertl was off to a strong start to the season before undergoing the operation with nine points (4-5-9) in 17 games while averaging a career high 16:28 per game.  That came off the heels of a career 2015-16 campaign that saw him pick up 46 points (21-25-46) in 81 games while chipping in with 11 points (6-5-11) in 20 postseason contests.

While his slower recovery isn’t ideal, it should be worth it for San Jose if the procedure stabilizes the knee so that minor collisions no longer cause issues as they have in the past, including an injury in the Stanley Cup Final back in June.

More injury updates:

  • New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad is around the midway point of his recovery from a broken fibula, writes Matt Calamia on their official team site. He is no longer in a walking boot or on crutches and was on the ice shooting pucks today (although he didn’t have skates on).  Zibanejad, who last played November 20th, has 15 points in 19 games for New York so far this season.
  • Ottawa Senators goaltender Andrew Hammond is listed as week-to-week with an ankle injury, the team announced via Twitter. He has seen action in just three NHL games so far this season because of injuries and the fact he cleared waivers last month.  Prospect Matt O’Connor will serve as the backup in his absence or until Craig Anderson returns from his leave of absence.  Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun suggests that Hammond could be out for months with the issue being a high ankle sprain which are notoriously slow to recover from.
  • Still from Garrioch, Senators winger Clarke MacArthur has backed off his targeted return date of January 7th. Fortunately for the team, this isn’t due to a setback but simply due to the fact that he won’t be able to get the final test needed for clearance until after the holiday break instead of before as was originally anticipated.  He has yet to play this season due to a concussion sustained in training camp.
  • Montreal Canadiens right winger Sven Andrighetto has recovered from his upper body injury that caused him to miss the last two games and has been assigned to their AHL affiliate in St. John’s, per a team announcement on Twitter. After being a regular in the second half of last season, the Swiss forward hasn’t made much of an impact with Montreal this year with just two assists in eight games and cleared waivers back in October.
  • The Canadiens also officially placed injured defenseman Andrei Markov on injured reserve, reports Renaud Lavoie of TVASports. Markov was injured in Saturday’s game against the Washington Capitals, and the coaching staff expressed that the injury—described as a lower body injury—was nothing major. Markov is having a stellar year so far, posting 2G and 19A in 31 games for the surging Canadiens.
  • Detroit Red Wings blueliner Mike Green will not be available for tomorrow’s game against Florida, head coach Jeff Blashill told reports, including Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News (Twitter link). This will be the second straight game that he will miss.  Green is Detroit’s leading point getter on the blueline this year with seven goals and 11 assists in 32 games and ranks second to only Henrik Zetterberg in team scoring.

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