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The Detroit Red Wings lost another forward for an extended period, with center Valtteri Filppula sidelined six to eight weeks because of a broken right wrist suffered in Thursday's 6-5 shootout loss at Edmonton.
Filppula was injured on a hit by Oilers forward Gilbert Brule in the second period.
"I feel terrible, but nothing I can do now," Filppula said of the injury, according to media reports. "When it's your arm, you can keep your legs going [to stay in condition]. It's tough to be positive right now, but that's a good thing."
The Red Wings are already without center Johan Franzen, who is recovering from a torn knee ligament and not expected back until March.
Filppula has two goals and four assists this season and had been one of the Red Wings' top forwards of late, centering a line with Todd Bertuzzi and Dan Cleary and notching five points in his past seven games.
"It's not good," forward Henrik Zetterberg said of the injury, according to the Detroit Free Press. "It's tough to lose a player and especially Fil, he plays a lot of minutes and plays in all situations, so it's a tough break for us."
The Red Wings are 4-4-3 -- not a bad early-season record, but below expectations for a team that has been to back-to-back Stanley Cup finals and is expected to contend again this season. But Detroit's team leaders pledged to deal with the latest bad break.
"That's a big ****, obviously. We're going to have to buckle down as a team and find a way," coach Mike Babcock said, according to Mlive.com. "It doesn't matter about who's not here, it's about who is here. We're going to miss Fil, you don't replace good players like that. The bottom line is, we got to find way to win games."
Team captain Nicklas Lidstrom echoed the sentiment, saying the Red Wings must adjust their game plan and increase their effort, especially on defense.
"We have to bear down and play even better," Lidstrom said. "We have to play even better defensively and be more conscious in our own zone, especially when you're losing some of the forwards that are going to contribute offensively. Missing [Filppula], he's a very important part of our team."
Filppula was injured on a hit by Oilers forward Gilbert Brule in the second period.
"I feel terrible, but nothing I can do now," Filppula said of the injury, according to media reports. "When it's your arm, you can keep your legs going [to stay in condition]. It's tough to be positive right now, but that's a good thing."
The Red Wings are already without center Johan Franzen, who is recovering from a torn knee ligament and not expected back until March.
Filppula has two goals and four assists this season and had been one of the Red Wings' top forwards of late, centering a line with Todd Bertuzzi and Dan Cleary and notching five points in his past seven games.
"It's not good," forward Henrik Zetterberg said of the injury, according to the Detroit Free Press. "It's tough to lose a player and especially Fil, he plays a lot of minutes and plays in all situations, so it's a tough break for us."
The Red Wings are 4-4-3 -- not a bad early-season record, but below expectations for a team that has been to back-to-back Stanley Cup finals and is expected to contend again this season. But Detroit's team leaders pledged to deal with the latest bad break.
"That's a big ****, obviously. We're going to have to buckle down as a team and find a way," coach Mike Babcock said, according to Mlive.com. "It doesn't matter about who's not here, it's about who is here. We're going to miss Fil, you don't replace good players like that. The bottom line is, we got to find way to win games."
Team captain Nicklas Lidstrom echoed the sentiment, saying the Red Wings must adjust their game plan and increase their effort, especially on defense.
"We have to bear down and play even better," Lidstrom said. "We have to play even better defensively and be more conscious in our own zone, especially when you're losing some of the forwards that are going to contribute offensively. Missing [Filppula], he's a very important part of our team."
