{"id":3687,"date":"2016-11-28T13:33:41","date_gmt":"2016-11-28T18:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=3687"},"modified":"2016-11-28T14:59:11","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T19:59:11","slug":"red-wings-injuries-pile-november","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2016\/11\/28\/red-wings-injuries-pile-november\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Red Wings Injuries Pile Up in November"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a tough month in Hockeytown as the <\/span>Detroit Red Wings <\/b>injury situation has taken a turn for the worse. The team lost two more players in Saturday\u2019s bout with the <\/span>Montreal Canadiens <\/b>bringing their injured-reserve count to six. <\/span><\/p>\n

Red Wings Injuries Pile Up in November<\/b><\/h1>\n

FORWARDS<\/b><\/h2>\n

Thomas Vanek<\/a><\/b><\/h3>\n

It started in late-October when team-leading goal scorer <\/span>Thomas Vanek<\/b> to a hip injury. Through the first seven games of the season with Vanek in the lineup, the team was scoring at an average rate of 3.4 goals per game played. Through the eleven games they played without him, the team scored at an average rate of 1.6 goals per game played. The Vanek injury was a tough pill to swallow. <\/span><\/p>\n

Andreas Athanasiou<\/a><\/b><\/h3>\n

Then, as if the Red Wings could afford to lose more energy, youngster <\/span>Andreas Athanasiou<\/b> fell to a sprained knee during the first period of a game against the <\/span>Vancouver Canucks<\/b>. Athanasiou, who just barely made the team this year, was wowing fans with his undying speed and highlight reel goals. This is one of those injuries that\u2019s really tough on the player. It took him so long to crack the lineup and he was playing so well, earning himself an average of twelve minutes of ice time per game.<\/span><\/p>\n

The silver lining in the Athanasiou injury is that <\/span>Anthony Mantha<\/a><\/b> was called up to fill the spot. Mantha started the season in Grand Rapids, despite having a strong enough pre-season to make the team. He\u2019s since played seven games with the Red Wings and put up four points. <\/span><\/p>\n

Darren Helm<\/a><\/b><\/h3>\n

Darren Helm <\/b>was then removed in the third period of the Red Wings\u2019 November 15th game against the <\/span>Tampa Bay Lightning<\/b>. He suffered a shoulder dislocation after being upended by <\/span>Nikita Nesterov<\/a><\/b> and would miss six weeks. Helm has a history of injuries. In 2012-13, he missed 81 games due to a back injury. He also missed half of the 2013-14 season. For the last two years, he\u2019s finally been putting in full seasons. <\/span><\/p>\n

Placing Helm on the injured-reserve prompted the team to call up <\/span>Tyler Bertuzzi<\/a><\/b> from Grand Rapids to take the spot in the lineup, but it didn\u2019t take long for him to go down either.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tyler Bertuzzi<\/b><\/h3>\n

Bertuzzi\u2019s injury came in the second period of the Red Wings 2-1 overtime loss to the C<\/span>anadiens on Saturday night. He was checked into the boards by <\/span>Alexei Emelin<\/a><\/b> and couldn\u2019t back get up. His left knee buckled and he needed to be carried off the ice. This is not a good sign for a young player who was showing a lot of potential in his call-up games. <\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>Fortunately, the injury didn\u2019t appear to be as bad as it looked. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

#RedWings<\/a> Tyler Bertuzzi said left ankle injury not as bad as it looked. Might not miss that much time. Waiting for more test results.<\/p>\n

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 28, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n