The Detroit Red Wings got some tough news on Friday. The team will have to do without Drew Miller and Teemu Pulkkinen for at least a month and a half.
Pulkkinen is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks with a dislocated shoulder. The injury will not require surgery, according to M Live’s Ansar Khan, though he ominously adds “as of now.”
Miller, on the other hand, will require surgery to repair a broken jaw. Surgery is scheduled for Saturday and he will have plates installed, Khan reports. Miller is expected to miss six weeks.
It’s a blow for Detroit, who is a cusp team so far. The 23-year-old Pulkkinen has six goals and five assists this season, coming off a season where he lead the AHL in scoring despite playing nearly 30 fewer games than the guy in second place. He’s got loads of potential and has been showing flashes of what he can bring to the table, already scoring more NHL goals this season than he did last year despite playing fewer games.
INJURY UPDATE: Per Ken Holland: Drew Miller (broken jaw) out 6 weeks. Teemu Pulkkinen (dislocated shoulder) out 6-8 weeks. #RedWings
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 4, 2015
Miller brings less scoring potential, with just one goal and one assist through 26 games, but he’s a staple of the team’s bottom six, despite his -13.63% score-adjusted CF%Rel being second worst among team forwards.
With those two out for a while, here’s what their lines looked like during practice on Friday.
Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Abdelkader
Tatar-Sheahan-Nyquist
Helm-Richards-Larkin
Andersson-Glendening-Jurco
The team is also currently without Johan Franzen and Kyle Quincey.