Short-handed Red Wings host Sabres (Nov 17, 2017)
DETROIT -- As they prepared to play the Buffalo Sabres on Friday at Little Caesars Arena, the Detroit Red Wings were left to wonder whether they'd have enough players to play the game.
The Wings confirmed that Luke Witkowski, who was assessed 35 minutes in penalties, including a game misconduct, during a late-game line brawl in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Calgary Flames, will receive a 10-game suspension from the NHL. After being escorted from the ice by game officials, Witkowski returned to rejoin the fight.
Defenseman Trevor Daley also left Wednesday's game with an upper-body injury.
"Right now, I'd call Daley day-to-day," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "I don't know what that means though. I don't know if that means day-to-day 10 days or day-to-day Friday.
"I would not rule him out for Friday, but he's certainly questionable."
If Daley can't go, there's a chance that defenseman Danny DeKeyser (ankle) could answer the bell. DeKeyser, who has missed the last 16 games, returned to practice this week and is targeting a weekend return to action, either Friday against the Sabres or Sunday at home to the Colorado Avalanche.
"That's what I'm hoping for," DeKeyser said. "That's kind of like the best-case scenario. If it keeps feeling better and I keep feeling better on the ice, it's definitely a possibility."
Forwards Martin Frk (groin) and Darren Helm (undisclosed) missed Wednesday's game but Helm is expected to play Friday.
The Wings currently have no extra healthy bodies, and suited up 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the last two games instead of the customary 12:6 ratio. If none of their other walking wounded are healthy enough to play Friday, they will recall someone from AHL Grand Rapids.
On the ice, the Wings will hope to see a continuation of the contributions they've been getting from their young forwards. Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou and Dylan Larkin combined for five goals in the win over the Flames. Larkin scored a short-handed goal, Detroit's fourth of the season, giving the Wings a share of the NHL lead in that category.
In the midst of a five-game homestand and a stretch where they will play 13 of 15 at home, the Wings, 3-2-2 in their new rink at Little Caesars Arena, are hopeful that Wednesday's game can be a stepping stone to establishing a home-ice advantage.
"We know we can score a lot of goals and obviously Howie (goalie Jimmy Howard) is playing great," Mantha said. "If we play as a team every time like this we'll be a hard team to play against."
As with the Wings, Buffalo is also dealing with some injury issues. Thursday, the Sabres placed defensemen Taylor Fedun (lower body) and Matt Tennyson (foot) on injured reserve and recalled defenseman Casey Nelson and forward Kyle Criscuolo from AHL Rochester.
The Sabres have lost three in a row, the last two in overtime, and are also winless in their last three on the road (0-1-2). They've surrendered 11 goals in their past three games, and coach Phil Housley is unhappy with his team's defensive awareness.
"If we have to play defense, we have to defend well," Housley told the Buffalo News. "You have to defend well. You have to play well without the puck if you're going to win."
