DETROIT — The hits just keep on coming for the Detroit Red Wings — only in a bad way.
To this point, the Wings have been able to survive an early rash of injuries because top players Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall remained healthy.
But Friday night, Datsyuk was out of the lineup due to a yet undisclosed injury. When the team came out for warm-ups before the game, Datsyuk was not with them.
Wings general manager Ken Holland said Datsyuk has a "nagging, upper-body injury" and is "day to day."
No doubt Valtteri Filppula, who had been playing on Datsyuk's wing, will play center while Datsyuk is out.
Datsyuk, who had played in all 13 games before Friday, was second on the team in scoring to Zetterberg. He's tied with Damien Brunner with a team-high six goals and has 14 assists (Zetterberg has 18).
The Wings recalled forward Gustav Nyquist from Grand Rapids (AHL) earlier in the day. Nyquist is making his second appearance with the Wings this season. He played in the home opener against the Dallas Stars on Jan. 22.
To make room for Nyquist on the 23-man roster, the Wings placed Todd Bertuzzi on injured reserve.
Bertuzzi has missed the last three games with a back injury and is not expected back soon.
Along with Datsyuk and Bertuzzi, the Wings are missing Jonas Gustavsson (groin), Mikael Samuelsson (groin), Brendan Smith (shoulder), Darren Helm (back), Johan Franzen (hip), Carlo Colaiacovo (shoulder) and Jan Mursak (shoulder).
