Red Wings Team Report

INSIDE SHOTS

Jakub Kindl(notes) is one of the Red Wings’ top prospects and will be playing regularly on their defense next season and, if all goes according to plan, for many years to come.

But he’s still learning, and he still needs some seasoning in the minors. That was apparent Thursday, when Kindl was recalled from Grand Rapids (AHL) and made his NHL debut, replacing Brian Rafalski(notes), who is day-to-day with a sore back.

Kindl played 14:18, finishing with no points and a minus-2 rating. His turnover led to Edmonton’s second goal in its 4-1 win over the Wings.

The Wings, however, believe Kindl has made good progress in Grand Rapids. He accompanied the team on its trip to New Jersey for Saturday’s game, but will only play if either Rafalski or Jonathan Ericsson(notes), who hurt his knee on Thursday, can’t dress.

“We believe he’s an NHL defenseman, but there’s growing pains, that’s just the nature of the NHL,” Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “The people that step into this league and don’t miss a beat at the age of 21 or 22 are probably going to be stars and Hall-of-Famers. Everybody else has growing pains.”

Kindl, 22, has good size (6-3) and moves the puck well. But he needs to play with more consistency and shore up his defensive game.

Oilers 4, Red Wings 1:   The Wings were sluggish at the start, got more sloppy as the game progressed and lost in familiar fashion by committing too many turnovers and failing to generate enough offense.

The Oilers led 2-1 after one period and put the game away with a pair of goals from Patrick O’Sullivan(notes) just 2:57 apart in the second period.

The Wings failed to take advantage of a struggling team and a mediocre backup goaltender (Jeff Deslauriers). Coach Mike Babcock was disappointed in his team’s effort and execution, calling it his club’s worst game since a 6-2 loss in Buffalo on Oct. 13.

NOTES, QUOTES

• General manager Ken Holland said the club believes D Jonathan Ericsson, who hurt his left knee, is fine and will be able to play Saturday in New Jersey. Ericsson was injured while battling for the puck with Edmonton’s Dustin Penner(notes) behind the Wings’ net with 6:30 remaining in the third period. He appeared to catch a rut in the ice, twisting his left leg.

• Wings coach Mike Babcock switched left wings Ville Leino(notes) and Todd Bertuzzi(notes) on his top two lines. He put Leino on a line with Pavel Datsyuk(notes) and Tomas Holmstrom(notes), hoping to spark Datsyuk, who has just six goals and 20 points in 25 games.

Quote To Note:   “We need to win games and get back into the playoff picture. This is a team we should have came out with a better effort against and we didn’t, so it’s pretty disappointing.”—Wings D Brad Stuart(notes).

ROSTER REPORT

Goaltenders:   Jimmy Howard(notes), Chris Osgood(notes).

Defensemen:   Nicklas Lidstrom(notes), Brad Stuart, Jonathan Ericsson, Brett Lebda(notes), Derek Meech(notes), Jakub Kindl.

First Line:   Ville Leino, Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom.

Second Line:   Todd Bertuzzi, Henrik Zetterberg(notes), Dan Cleary.

Third Line:   Kris Draper(notes), Darren Helm(notes), Drew Miller(notes).

Fourth Line:   Brad May(notes), Justin Abdelkader(notes), Kirk Maltby(notes).

Player Notes:  

• G Jimmy Howard, making his third consecutive start in net, was victimized by a couple of bad breaks as Edmonton’s first and third goals were deflected in off the stick of a Wings player. But Howard also wasn’t as sharp as he had been the last several weeks.

• LW Ville Leino’s season-long struggles continue. He hasn’t scored a goal in his last 11 games and has only three goals and five points in 26 games. The rookie hasn’t been as strong on the puck as the team expected, losing too many 1-on-1 battles.

• RW Drew Miller has played in all 11 games since being acquired on waivers from Tampa Bay. He is skating well, has been responsible defensively and is a reliable penalty-killer.

Medical Watch:  

• D Brian Rafalski missed Thursday’s game due to stiffness in his back. He is listed as day-to-day.

• RW Patrick Eaves(notes) has missed two games with a sore left ankle and is listed as day-to-day. He skated over a rut in the ice during the morning skate on Monday.

• D Niklas Kronwall(notes) is out until mid-January with a sprained left medial collateral ligament suffered Nov. 21.

• RW Jason Williams(notes) is out until mid-January with a fractured right fibula sustained on Nov. 7.

• C Valtteri Filppula(notes) is out until late December with a broken right wrist sustained on Oct. 29.

• D Andreas Lilja(notes) is on long-term injured reserve due to concussion-like symptoms. He has been skating but remains out indefinitely.

• LW Johan Franzen(notes) isn’t expected to return until March due to a torn left anterior cruciate ligament, sustained Oct. 8.