DETROIT — Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser was placed on long-term IR Wednesday with a separated left shoulder.
He suffered the injury early in the first period of Tuesday's 2-0 loss to Nashville, after getting hit hard by the Predators' Patric Hornqvist.
DeKeyser is expected to be out three to six weeks, which is a major blow to the Wings' defensive unit. The young defenseman has been extremely impressive since his debut for the Wings late last season.
In 22 games this season, DeKeyser has nine points, including two goals, is a plus-5 and has logged an average of almost 21 minutes per game.
“People get hurt; that’s hockey," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "The more depth you have, the less you notice it.”
“Somebody now gets an opportunity. Lash (Brian Lashoff) was supposed to be our seventh ‘D’ and I think he’s played near every game."
Since the Wings have six healthy defensemen, they won't call up another.
A source close to the team said that 24-year-old forward Gustav Nyquist -- who has seven goals and 14 assists in 15 games with Grand Rapids this season -- will be recalled for Thursday’s home game against Carolina.
Just play hockey
While the Red Wings are mired in one of their worst slumps in recent memory, Babcock said on Wednesday that he told his team to breathe.
“We have to get back to playing,” Babcock said. “We’ve had tough stretches every year I’ve been here, but as much as you have to work real hard and compete real hard, it’s still play hockey, not work hockey.
“You have to enjoy what you’re doing, and it’s hard to play the game when you’re tentative. When you’re tentative, you tend to overwork and you end up duplicating things and guys aren’t doing their own job, so we just got to be better.”
Zetterberg, Datsyuk split
Detroit’s dynamic duo of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg were split up as line mates during Wednesday's practice at the Joe.
Datsyuk centered a line with Todd Bertuzzi and Daniel Cleary as his wingers.
Zetterberg skated consistently with only Johan Franzen, which likely means that recalled forward Nyquist will be slotted in as Zetterberg’s other winger.
With the Wings having trouble scoring, the breakup didn’t surprise Datsyuk.
“We had fun with Z, but not really fun when you don’t win game," Datsyuk said. "Sometimes it’s better to (split). Maybe we’ll start winning.”
Weiss to return this weekend
Center Stephen Weiss practiced on Wednesday and expects to be back in the Detroit lineup sometime this weekend.
“I think that’s the plan," he said. "I felt good again today, no issues. It’s a matter of getting a couple more practices in and be ready for hopefully this weekend."
Weiss has missed five games with a groin strain and is eager to get back on the ice, especially with the Wings struggling.
“It’s brutal both ways," he said. "If you’re winning, you want to be in there, and if you’re not, you want to be in there even more.
“It’s not an easy time, but these things happen sometimes. You just got to work hard and make sure you’re ready when you come back and try not to come back too soon, so it’s not a recurring thing.’’
Since he’s been out, Weiss has observed the Wings from the press box and offered some thoughts on what he's seen.
“I think it’s one of those things where you lose a couple shootouts, couple of overtime games, and you need a bounce to maybe turn things around," he said. "You start pressing a little too hard for it.
“When things are going your way, you relax and the game comes to you. It’s an easy thing to talk about but harder to do when you get out there and the puck drops.
“We’ve talked about just relaxing and playing our style, not trying to force things too much. When you do that, you get into trouble sometimes."
