Not many would have believed that the Detroit Red Wings, who missed out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year by a single point, would be second-to-last in the Eastern Conference with Christmas Day less than 24 hours away.
To put things in perspective, the divisional foe Buffalo Sabres are dangerously close to the Red Wings in the rear view mirror - and they just lost 13 straight games.
The Red Wings were forced to play without first-pairing defenseman Simon Edvinsson; he's missed the last 3 games. Additionally, Ben Chiarot couldn't play against the Blues after getting hurt in Saturday night's loss to the Canadiens.
Shortly after the horn blew on last night's frustrating loss, the Red Wings announced a pair of roster moves. Defensemen William Lagesson and Wallinder were returned to the Grand Rapids Griffins; they'd been re-called by the team following the aforementioned injuries.
Wallinder has yet to appear in any NHL action, while Lagesson has skated in a pair of games for Detroit this year. He already had 100 games worth of NHL experience by the time he joined the Red Wings organization over the summer.
Taken with the 32nd pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Wallinder has eight points (1G, 7A) in 19 games with Grand Rapids this year. Lagesson also has eight points (2G, 6A) in 20 games.
Right now, it remains unclear whether or not one or both of Edvinsson and Chiarot will be able to play in Detroit's next game against the Maple Leafs Friday night (7:00 PM, FanDuel Sports Detroit, 97.1 The Ticket).