Less than 48 hours after their critical 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, the Red Wings gathered for practice at Little Caesars Arena.
But there were several notable absences on the ice, as reported by longtime beat writer Helene St. James.
Not only was captain Dylan Larkin absent from the morning skate, but forward Marco Kasper was also unavailable.
Additionally, goaltender Cam Talbot, who re-tweaked his injury last week in practice, was also unable to participate.
The somewhat good news from coach Derek Lalonde was that Larkin needed a maintenance day. But Kasper continues to deal with his illness, while Talbot isn't expected to be available on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers (7:00 PM, FanDuel Sports, 97.1 The Ticket).
1st year Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot, who was signed from the Los Angeles Kings over the summer, has performed well in his inaugural year with Detroit.
But he was hurt on December 1 in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks, and didn't return to gameplay until last week against the Flyers in Philadelphia; he was one of the only players to give a full effort from start to finish.
He re-aggravated his injury the next day in practice; Ville Husso was named the starter for Saturday's game against the Maple Leafs.
Thankfully, Husso turned in his best performance of the year and picked up his 1st win since December of last year with several huge saves.
POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 16 | 79 ANSWERS Key updates from missing Detroit Red Wings players at Monday's practice Which Detroit Red Wings player do they need more against the Flyers on Wednesday? | ||
Dylan Larkin | 61 | 77.2 % |
Marco Kasper | 18 | 22.8 % |
List of polls |